Summary (updated): The Asheville City Council voted in favor of more affordable housing.

The Facts: There are two New Business items on the June 24th City Council agenda. The first calls for a $250,000 grant to the Asheville Buncombe County Land Trust (ABCLT) to facilitate their acquisition of two properties that will be sold as permanently affordable homes. (You can read more here.) The second is to support a development on Biltmore Avenue that would provide a mix of affordable and market rate housing. (You can read more here.)

Our Assessment: We find both of these proposals encouraging. We appreciate the grant to ABCLT, which has an impressive record of securing homes for lower income folks, and which operates with an effective racial equity lens in all its programs. The Biltmore Avenue project will offer 29% of its units at 30% Area Median Income (AMI), which is the kind of deep affordability our community desperately needs. An additional 21% of the units will be offered at 60% of AMI, with the rest split between 80% AMI and market rate. While imperfect, this seems like an important step in the right direction.

The Ask: We invited you to join us in reaching out to the Asheville City Council and encouraging them to vote in favor of both of these New Business items.

Report Back

Updated 6/30/25: Both proposals passed unanimously. We got a response to our report from Council Member Kim Roney, which you can read below.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 10

Recipients and Responses:

Asheville City Council

• Mayor Esther Manheimer: No response
• Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley: No response
• City Council Member Bo Hess: No response
• City Council Member Kim Roney: Responded, See Below
• City Council Member Maggie Ullman: No response
• City Council Member Sage Turner: No response
• City Council Member Sheneika Smith: No response

Email From City Council Member Kim Roney:

Friends & Neighbors of GAP AVL, 

I am eager to support items A and B under New Business on tonight’s Council agenda that include deeply-affordable new development and permanently affordable housing preservation in East End / Valley Street and Southside neighborhoods.

With some additional context around 32 Grail Street, protecting vulnerable neighborhoods from gentrification can include: 

• Investing in property repair and preservation 
• Securing affordability 
• Zoning protections 
• Partnerships with neighborhoods and non-profits 
• Place-making, cultural identity, and historic designation 
• Multigenerational families and/or businesses staying or being able to return 

These are among the reasons I’m thrilled that 32 Grail Street is on our Council agenda this Tuesday! This decision is a significant investment I plan to support as it represents a first partnership between The Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County and Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust, and I hope there’s more partnership to come.

With gratitude,

Kim