Summary: The Asheville City Council approved this rezoning request at their September 10 meeting (the vote was 4-2, with Roney and Ullman opposed) , which will facilitate the completion of this development. This proposed housing development will offer only 5% of its units at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), which continues the troubling local trend of building so-called affordable housing that is not actually affordable to most Black and Latine community members.

The Facts (Updated 9/16/24): City Council approved this proposal at their September 10th meeting with a 4-2 vote (Roney and Ullman opposed). No additional affordable housing has been included in the project proposal.

This project was originally approved by the City Council on August 24th, 2021, but the developer has changed enough in the proposal that new approvals are now necessary. Here is a summary of those modifications from the staff report: “changes in use from mixed-use to residential only, an increase in density, and modifications to the design that increase building height, increase the number of building stories and alter related site plan elements.”

Despite these modifications, the project is still only offering 5% of its 240 units as “affordable” at 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). City staff express a concern about “the significant increase in height and length of the building without providing increased affordability,” and recommend that City Council defer voting on this project until that (and other) concerns have been addressed.

Source: Staff Report regarding 179 & 144 Riverside Drive (for City Council 8/27/2024)

Our Assessment: City Council should not approve this project as it currently stands. Our region desperately needs more affordable housing, and especially deeply affordable housing for those who earn 50% AMI and below. As demonstrated in the Thrive Asheville study last year, projects like this – which offer only a small number of units that are only minimally affordable – actually increase racial disparities in housing access. This is why we have repeatedly advocated for the City and County to prioritize projects that offer significantly affordable housing.

Our Ask: We invited you to email the members of the Asheville City Council and encourage them to vote “no” on this project because it does not provide an impactful number of units at meaningfully affordable rates.

Report Back

Update 9/16/24: City Council approved this proposal at their September 10th meeting with a 4-2 vote (Roney and Ullman opposed).

Update 9/9/24: The revised proposal doesn’t include any increase in affordable housing.

Update 9/2/24: City Council voted unanimously to defer the vote until their next meeting on September 10th, 2024. We’ll have to wait and see whether the developer revises the proposal to include any deeply affordable housing.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 6

Recipients and Responses:
Asheville City Council

• Mayor Esther Manheimer: No response
• Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore: No response
• City Council Member Antanette Mosley: No response
• City Council Member Kim Roney: No response
• City Council Member Maggie Ullman: No response
• City Council Member Sage Turner: No response
• City Council Member Sheneika Smith: No response