From Asheville Watchdog: New proposal replaces controversial Bluffs project

Site of proposed Richmond Hill development
Neighbors have banned together in opposition of building projects proposed for Richmond Hill. Photo courtesy of Richmond Hill and River Rescue

By Barbara Durr, Asheville Watchdog 

Just as the new reform-minded commissioners of the town of Woodfin — now a solid majority — have settled into governing, a fresh controversy is brewing. A new application for a housing development on the site of what was the highly contentious Bluffs proposal has been submitted by a different group of real estate investors.

The application from Concept Companies of Gainesville, Fla., submitted to the town Aug. 5, proposes a smaller development of 672 multi-family apartments with three clubhouses called “Mountain Village.” The controversial Bluffs at Riverbend, with some 1,500 rental units, a 250-room hotel, and commercial space, was vehemently opposed by residents of Woodfin and the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Asheville.

A coalition of neighbors from Asheville and Woodfin, called Richmond Hill and River Rescue, is gearing up for a new fight. Their GoFundMe page has raised $34,400 for potential legal costs. Robert McGee, a Woodfin property owner who has been leading the opposition, said in his funds request that even the smaller development is “still far too large for the location and the neighborhood.”

The coalition contends that the site, nearly 90 wooded acres adjacent to Richmond Hill Park, an Asheville public park, and the French Broad River, would suffer devastating impact and that storm run-off would further pollute the river. They also object to the additional traffic on Richmond Hill streets, particularly large construction vehicles that would need to navigate the neighborhood’s narrow hairpin turns.

McGee told Asheville Watchdog that the project “will surely blight and depress our neighborhood.”

Representatives of Concept Companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The original Bluffs controversy — including pickets and protests at town council meetings — galvanized Woodfin voters last year, who elected three new commissioners: Jim McAllister, Eric Edgerton and Hazel Thornton. Two other reform-minded commissioners, Judy Butler and Betsy Ervin, were appointed to fill vacancies.

The remaining old guard includes Jerry VeHaun, who has been mayor for 19 years, and commissioner Lonnie Lunsford, both of whose terms expire in November 2023.

Concept Companies’ application says that the proposed development “is consistent with the underlying zoning” and that it will be “on the sections of the property which are reasonably feasible for development while maintaining the character of a majority of the existing site for use as open space and recreation.” It acknowledges that the public wants to continue to use the property for recreation.

The investors will need approval from the town’s government, where stricter steep slope regulations and building height limits have been passed. The new commissioners were elected with promises to protect green areas and only allow environmentally sensitive development.

As part of Woodfin’s new approach for developers, Concept Companies will be required to hold a neighborhood meeting, according to Shannon Tuch, the Woodfin town manager. After that meeting, the proposal will undergo a technical review and be considered by the town’s planning board, which could attach conditions. The Town Commission will make the final decision.

The Concept Companies investors, Verso Sub IV, LLC, bought the property from the Bluffs of Riverbend, whose principal was John Holdsworth, for $9.64 million on July 27, according to real estate records. Holdsworth had purchased the property 10 months earlier for $7 million.

It remains unclear how the property would be accessed unless construction equipment and vehicles move through Richmond Hill or a bridge across the river is built, which would involve a complicated multilayer approval process.

With activists from the Richmond Hill and River Rescue ready to fight, the new proposal looks set to revive the Woodfin’s development controversy.

“We have won many battles, but the next stage is about to begin,” McGee said.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Barbara Durr is a former correspondent for The Financial Times of London. Contact her at bdurr@avlwatchdog.org.

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11 thoughts on “From Asheville Watchdog: New proposal replaces controversial Bluffs project

  1. Phar

    Never seen a bigger, more pathetic group of NIMBY crybabies than I have in Asheville. Constant whining about housing costs and cost of living, and then strike down any solution to it as soon as there’s one proposed. You can’t have it both ways.

    • kw

      Then why don’t you move? I’ve personally never complained about the cost of living or the cost of housing here. That’s only coming from the wannabes who should stop drinking so much over-priced beer and move someplace they can afford…the Bluffs project won’t solve anything, will only enrich wealthy Trumpers and scumbag attorneys.

  2. Enlightened Enigma

    The new proposal sounds much more equitable for the area! The first one was a little too massive. Housing is needed.

    • kw

      As long as Woodfin builds their bridge first and proves that they themselves aren’t NIMBYs.

    • MV

      Housing may be needed, but local leaders are incredibly naive and short-sighted not to purchase and protect a forest next to Asheville’s largest park. If population is going to double in future years, doesn’t it make sense to conserve some outdoor space not far from town? Did we learn nothing during the pandemic?

        • MV

          Carrier Park = 32 acres.
          Richmond Hill Park = 100 acres, with the potential to be 180 if they add the conservation/walking forest.

  3. MV

    The people of Richmond Hill have been right along. The Fire Marshall has determined that the project needs a second fire access road, despite the developers’ continued attempts to wiggle out of conditional zoning. Hopefully local leaders will protect the health and safety of locals as they were elected to do.

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