BOA to consider nearly 700 apartment units in South, East Asheville

THE LONG WAY: The above map shows where Long Shoals Apartments would be located at 556 Long Shoals Road. The project includes 472 apartment units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County

Nearly 700 apartment units are up for approval when the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment meets on Wednesday, Sept. 13. The bulk of those are attached to a project, Long Shoals Apartments, that received a conditional use permit last year allowing for 472 units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space. However, the project is slightly altering its footprint and that has triggered a second conditional use permit hearing. County Planner Debbie Truempy tells Xpress, via email: “The revised [conditional use permit] is required because some building locations have shifted more than 10 feet and the entrance drive has been relocated. The application is for phase 1 which consists of 260 units in 10 buildings plus a community building and pool.”

No additional apartment units or commercial space is being applied for. If the new conditional use permit is not approved the developers of Long Shoals Apartments could still move ahead with the original permit.

The apartment complex would sit on 39.8 acres at 556 Long Shoals Road. The commercial aspect is slated for a 2.2-acre property located adjacent to Long Shoals Road at 12 Wooster Street.

ANY RESERVATIONS? The Reserve at Charlotte Highway would bring 214 apartment units to East Asheville. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County
ANY RESERVATIONS? The Reserve at Charlotte Highway would bring 214 apartment units to East Asheville. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County

Meantime, more apartments could be heading to East Asheville as a housing development called The Reserve at Charlotte Highway is asking the Board of Adjustment for a conditional use permit for a 214-unit apartment complex. Truempy says this project would consist of nine buildings, a clubhouse and a pool. It would be located on 22.2 acres of land at 251 and 263 Charlotte Highway.

Both Long Shoals Apartments and The Reserve at Charlotte Highway are considered Planned Unit Developments, Level I due to their plans calling for more than eight units per parcel. Buncombe County’s Planning Ordinance defines PUD, Level I as:

Planned unit development, level I (PUDI) means more than four (4) principal buildings or uses on a single lot; any principal building with a gross floor area of 25,000 square feet or more; any residential complex of more than eight (8) units; or a subdivision of more than ten (10) lots where building envelopes are defined, areas are set aside for open space and/or amenities, and a decrease in minimum lot size and/or interior setbacks is desired. A PUDI may be comprised of residential uses; a mix of residential and nonresidential uses; or the following nonresidential uses: health care facilities; private or public utility stations and substations, pumping stations, water and sewer plants, water storage tanks; recreation uses; schools; and vacation rental complexes and shall not include places of worship.

You can view the entire agenda here. The Board of Adjustment meets at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 30 Valley St.

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About Dan Hesse
I grew up outside of Atlanta and moved to WNC in 2001 to attend Montreat College. After college, I worked at NewsRadio 570 WWNC as an anchor/reporter and covered Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners starting in 2004. During that time I also completed WCU's Master of Public Administration program. You can reach me at dhesse@mountainx.com.

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8 thoughts on “BOA to consider nearly 700 apartment units in South, East Asheville

  1. Mike

    They paved paradise and put up 10,000 apartment units. Any day now some developer will propose resurrecting Cabrini Green or Pruitt Igoe in Buncombe County..

  2. luther blissett

    “Meantime, more apartments could be heading to East Asheville”

    ITYM “east of Asheville.” It’s in the county. So is the Long Shoals development. Yes, there’s a lot more fuzziness about city/county boundaries when talking about “South Asheville” or “East Asheville” than for parts north and west, but it’s important to note how projects like these are bringing Asheville-level density to Reynolds and Arden (and Candler and Fletcher).

    • bsummers

      ITYM “east of Asheville.”

      Yes, but these days, how many thousands of dollars less do you suppose a developer can get for an “Asheville” address vs. “Arden” or “Swannanoa” or “Candler”?

      • luther blissett

        I should have kept notes of the creative ways mid-00s apartment/condo developments in Fletcher were “Ashevillized.”

        But my gripe here isn’t about the developers. I understand how “Asheville” conceptually extends past the city limits, but when discussing county hearings on projects in the unincorporated county, it’s not pedantry to avoid “Asheville” terminology. The jurisdictional stuff is messy enough already, and these developments are part of that messiness.

      • bsummers

        Sorry – I meant “how many thousands of dollars more…”

        You’re right, though – the blurring of lines of authority doesn’t help.

    • Jay Reese

      The County doesn’t require traffic studies for new development so you’ll have to form a neighborhood group and complain a lot until the Developer and Commissioners agree to meet with you like the residents on Overlook Rd. You may get more info from South Asheville Neighborhood activist Vijay Kapoor.

      Keep in mind that development isn’t the cause of traffic issues it’s all the cars that people choose to drive that creates congestion. If more people chose to ride a bicycle or the bus there would be a fewer problems

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