UNC Asheville Foundation buys additional property for campus expansion

Here’s the press release from UNC Asheville:

The UNC Asheville Foundation has purchased two parcels totaling seven acres off Zillicoa Street for $1.1 million. The parcels, purchased from Highland Park LLC, border two other tracts the foundation acquired last year and in 2011. Highland Park LLC offered the UNC Asheville Foundation a reduced price as a contribution to the university.

“We are grateful to the owners of Highland Park LLC, for this combination purchase/gift that helps us ensure the long-term growth of the university,” said Chancellor Anne Ponder.

This recent acquisition will give the university and the foundation 22 contiguous acres for future campus growth. It is common practice for a university foundation to purchase land on behalf of the university and later transfer the land to the university.

“The UNC Asheville Foundation is delighted to help acquire these properties for the use of the university in the future,” said Michael Andry, who chaired the UNC Asheville Foundation Board of Directors during the time the sale/gift was negotiated. “This land, along with the other parcels acquired during Chancellor Ponder’s tenure, will allow the university the space and flexibility to adapt to educational opportunities going forward as one of the leading institutions in the UNC system.”

According to John Pierce, vice chancellor for finance and campus operations at UNC Asheville and treasurer of the UNC Asheville Foundation, the university does not have specific plans for immediate use of the land. Its use will be determined through the university’s ongoing campus master planning process.

The most recent land purchase includes two tracts: 2.5 acres that border land acquired last year from the Odyssey Community School; and 4.5 acres near the corner of Zillicoa Street and Montford Avenue that also border the 6-acre Odyssey Community School property and the 9.3-acre 525 Broadway Property. The 525 Broadway site was acquired in 2011 from TD Bank when the former Health Adventure children’s museum development filed for bankruptcy.
Pierce said, “UNC Asheville currently has little room for expansion and the remaining undeveloped property on campus would be difficult and costly to develop because it lacks flat building sites. So when property that is close to campus becomes available, the university makes every effort to acquire that land for future growth.”
During the past two years, the nearby 525 Broadway property acquired in 2011 has been stabilized and improved. The foundation is working with the N.C. Parks and Recreation Department, the City of Asheville, RiverLink, UNC Asheville students, and others to complete the construction of a new section of greenway along Reed Creek to provide a safe and more scenic pedestrian route into downtown.