School funding protest
Parents, students and teachers speak at Gantt Plaza in Asheville, urging County Commissioners to fully fund the 2025–2026 education budget requests.
ASHEVILLE – The Maryland-based development company Urban Atlantic has been recommended to the Buncombe County Commission as the master developer for the sprawling 645-unit mixed-use Ferry Road project.
Out of two proposals, Urban Atlantics’ stood out to Buncombe County staff for its experience developing major mixed-community projects, working in public-private partnerships and alignment with county goals, said county economic analyst EB Odderstol. Examples of the company’s projects include developments in Greensboro, Charlotte and in Washington, D.C.
The decision was made in partnership with the University of North Carolina Development Finance Initiative, which is also helping guide the county through the project’s development process. The other proposal was made by Lansing Melbourne Group.
The company proposed 530 multi-family rental units, with 270 of them being affordable at 80% area median income or lower. The other 260 units would be rented at market rate.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets 80% AMI at $52,150 a year for a single person living in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Some units are set to be more affordable with 108 being proposed below 60% AMI and 54 at below 30% AMI.
Urban Atlantic has selected the Asheville-based developer Mountain Housing Opportunities as the developer for the affordable homes at Ferry Road. The company would produce approximately 79 homes on the property, all of which would be sold. The project would also include a day care and healthcare provider and a series of trails across the 137-acre site.
The whole project is expected to cost over $160 million, according to a county presentation, and the developer is expected to ask the county for $19 million. Other project partners include the Asheville-based Civil Design Concepts as the project’s civil engineering team and the Raleigh-based Southern Energy Management for the project’s sustainability elements.
If approved as the developer, Urban Atlantic would likely begin the entitlement, permitting and financing process for the project within a year, according to a proposed timeline for the project. Ferry Road’s timeline has been delayed by approximately six months after Tropical Storm Helene devastated Western North Carolina in September. The timeline indicates construction on multifamily units could begin in 2028 and construction on homes for sale in 2030.
Sarah Odio, an associate director with the Development Finance Initiative, said the distribution of affordable housing could change during development and said that it was possible the community could be finished by late 2031.
“We believe that their timeline is reasonable and flexible enough to respond to changes in our environment,” Odderstol said.
Buncombe County Commissioners will vote to authorize the County Managers to develop a memorandum of understanding with the developer on June 17. The memorandum would be followed by a period of due diligence before a development agreement is made, according to county officials.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected] or message will_hofmann.01 on Signal. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
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