Press release from city of Asheville:
On Friday, the City of Asheville announced that the conveyance of City-owned property at 3 Hunt Hill Place was complete. The new owner, KL Training Solutions, received the property for $1 after the City Council voted on April 25, 2023 in support of the transaction.
According to the April staff report, KL Training Solutions will use the property to house its programs, My Daddy Taught Me That, My Sistah Taught Me That and My Daddy Taught Me That Jr., which provide youth ages 6 – 19 with college and career readiness and enrichment opportunities. The conveyance of the property for this purpose will provide community development services and support the City’s vision of reducing the educational achievement gap. The property deed restricts usage to community development programs and non-profits.
Earlier this week, My Daddy Taught Me That was recognized by the North Carolina Gang Investigation Association as the 2023 Program of the Year.
“The success of the My Daddy Taught Me That approach to violence interruption has been held up as a national model for fostering youth empowerment in the community,” said Debra Campbell, City Manager of the City of Asheville. “I am inspired by Keynon Lake’s leadership and was glad to see statewide recognition of the work of this non-profit. Conveying this property to host My Daddy Taught Me That will help them to continue their work, which ultimately benefits our community as a whole.”
The property at 3 Hunt Hill Placed was owned by the City since the 1940s and is considered part of the East End/Valley Street neighborhood. According to a staff memo on the real estate process, the property housed the City’s Purchasing Division offices and warehouse until 2017, when it became the interim location for the Parks and Recreation Maintenance Division. However, nearby residents brought forth concerns about traffic volume and noise coming from the facility, so the Parks Maintenance Division was relocated to 81 Thompson Street in the spring of 2023. It was at that time that Community Development staff saw an opportunity to repurpose the former operations facility for a community-driven program while reducing impacts on the surrounding community.
“KL Training Solutions demonstrated broad support from local nonprofit leaders and leaders in the East End/Valley Street community,” said Campbell. We are excited to offer this level of support for the important work they are doing in the community.”
Find a copy of this press release on the City News website.
In a quick call to the BCG tax assessor department I got that as of a few years ago the property in this case is worth $1.4 million. That may or may not be without the buildings or anything else on the property. I thought that maybe COA would share that data directly in the related initiative documents. I’m not sure why media would skip that either.