Council considers affordable housing development at former Ramada Inn

Posted on by Pat Moran

At its Tuesday, Sept. 24 meeting, Asheville City Council will be asked to adopt a resolution that could result in a facility including 50 units of supportive housing for veterans and 63 units of affordable housing at the site of a former Ramada Inn. (Supportive housing combines affordable housing with services intended to help people live more stable, productive lives.)

Developer Friendship for Affordable Housing is under contract to purchase 148 River Ford Parkway, the former Ramada Inn, to create 113 units of affordable housing. They’re requesting a change from the city’s current requirement of 100 units of supportive housing to a mix of 50 supportive housing units for veterans, 50 affordable housing units for people at or below 50% Area Median Income ($42,050 for a family of three) and 13 affordable housing units that are not population-specific.

Since 2021, when the city acquired the property to originally provide permanent housing for 100 homeless residents, the project has gone through several changes.

In other news

Four public hearings will take place before Council.

One public hearing will ask Council to adopt a zoning amendment to update standards for tree canopy preservation during land development. The amendment includes creation of a “Heritage Tree” classification that promotes the preservation of very large canopy trees.

Another hearing will ask council to amend a previously approved Urban Village master plan for property at 5 Michael St. The project site, adjacent to Isaac Dickson Elementary School,  consists of 42 properties totaling ten acres, and is currently vacant. The amendment proposes a new development with a mix of residential and commercial uses spread across five buildings.

Consent agenda and public comment

The meeting’s consent agenda contains 10 items, which include:

Allowing the City Manager to increase the contract with Equinox Environmental Consultation and Design of Asheville for the Swannanoa River Greenway Project by $20,000 for a total of $778,402. The completed greenway will be approximately one mile in length, connecting Glendale Ave. to Bleachery Blvd., and is anticipated to be complete by Sept. 2025.

Adopting an ordinance that changes speed limits to 25 mph on Haywood Rd. from Patton Ave. to Oakwood Street and Haywood Rd. from Westwood Pl. to Riverview Dr. The ordinance also changes speed limits to 35 mph on Swannanoa River Rd. from Bryson St. to Tunnel Road.

Authorizing the City Manager to contract Parker Technology, LLC to provide continued 24-7 video-based customer service at City parking garages.

Council members will gather at 5 p.m. at Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 70 Court Plaza. The meeting will also be carried live on Charter/Spectrum Channel 193 and livestreamed through Asheville’s public engagement hub and on the city’s YouTube channel. Members of the public can listen live by calling 855-925-2801, meeting code 10509.

Those who wish to speak during the meeting must attend in person and sign up at the door. No live remote comments will be permitted. Prerecorded voicemail messages can also be left at 855-925-2801, meeting code 10509; written comments can be sent to ashevillecitycouncilsept242024@publicinput.com until 9 a.m. Sept. 24. General comments for City Council can be sent at any time to AshevilleNCCouncil@AshevilleNC.gov.

The full meeting agenda and supporting documents can be found here.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Pat Moran
As Mountain Xpress' City Reporter, I'm fascinated with how Asheville and its people work. Previously, I spent 25 years in Charlotte, working for local papers Creative Loafing Charlotte and Queen City Nerve. In that time I won three North Carolina Press Association Awards and an Emmy. Prior to that, I wrote and produced independent feature films in Orlando, Florida. Follow me @patmoran77
View all posts by Pat Moran →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Council considers affordable housing development at former Ramada Inn”

  1. Think about it

    The lowering of the mass number of roads (if you read the full list) is quite silly.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.