Plans for some tourism-funded capital projects are at a standstill after Tropical Storm Helene destroyed key infrastructure and has made some properties inaccessible, according to a presentation from Explore Asheville’s Tiffany Thacker during the Feb. 26 Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) meeting.
Per state law, Buncombe County spends two-thirds of its occupancy tax collected from overnight stays on tourism advertising, while one-third goes to tourism-based capital investments, such as greenways, wayfaring signs and public art.
That 33% share is split between two funds with similar missions: The Tourism Product Development Fund (TPDF) and the Legacy Investment from Tourism Fund (LIFT). Thacker, who serves as the vice president of partnership and destination management at Explore Asheville and oversees the two funds, explained during the meeting that of the 31 currently funded projects, 19 are funded through TPDF and 12 through the LIFT Fund.
While she explained that construction and permitting delays unrelated to Helene were expected and have slowed the development of some projects, six projects, including the Swannanoa Greenway, the African-American Heritage Museum and the Aston Park Tennis Center, are on hold due to unknown recovery costs, making it difficult for staff to project timelines for completion.
“Either the damage to the projects has not been able to be fully assessed, or there is a lack of access to the site, and there’s uncertainty when they will get that access. Or, there is a need to assess whether the project is even feasible,” Thacker said.
Another project with an uncertain future is the Ferry Road project, a proposed mixed-use development on a 137-acre Buncombe County-owned tract along the French Broad River off Brevard Road in South Asheville. The project includes 645 housing units with about 360 deemed affordable. Last year, the BCTDA awarded $4 million from its LIFT Fund toward “public recreation and conservation components” of the project, which includes 1.9 miles of greenway, 1.7 miles of trails, public parking access and more.
Both Thacker and Terri Wells, Buncombe County commissioner and ex-officio BCTDA member, explained that shifting priorities in light of damage from Helene may mean that the project is delayed while the county focuses on more pressing needs. “We have changed that prioritization. That doesn’t mean that Ferry Road will not happen, and we are definitely assessing the timeline on that as well,” said Wells.
Three more projects, including AVL Unpaved, a plan to create a natural surface trail along Azalea Park and French Broad River Park, investments at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center and Picnic Area and improvements to Black Wall Street in the River Arts District, are stalled indefinitely due to lack of access to the properties, said Thacker.
“There’s two significant landslides that’s blocking access to the Craggy Garden area, as well as substantial tree fall,” she explained. “Both Azalea Park and French Broad River Park are not accessible at this time. … And then Black Wall Street AVL also is not able to be accessed at 8 River Arts Place until the city completes the remediation of the flood damage in that building.”
Funding for all nine projects on hold amounts to roughly $10.8 million, which drew concerns from some board members.
“That’s a lot of funds locked up when there’s a lot of people in our community looking for immediate funding for some of these capital projects,” said BCTDA board member and Treasurer HP Patel.
Explore Asheville President and CEO Vic Isley said that board members will have the opportunity to review the projects and grant allocations next month during the BCTDA’s annual planning session Friday, March 28.
“We’ll be talking more strategically about some of the projects that we funded in the past — what is the [return on investment] of this project? And what do we look at going forward more strategically?” she said. “We will continue to be in touch with the county staff in terms of [its] priorities. We won’t wait till next January, when this cycle is required to occur as part of the grant process.”
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