“Demand for affordable housing is high because of the sum of our individual actions.”
Tag: Affordable housing
Showing 169-189 of 346 results
Two hotels face Council scrutiny at Dec. 11 meeting
Two lodging projects will be up for debate: a 56-room hotel spread across four buildings on Biltmore Avenue downtown and a 170-room project on Fairview Road in Biltmore Village. The first proposes to convert three historic houses into accommodations and construct a new five-story structure with a restaurant, while the second would build a new six-story building.
No easy fix for affordable housing at CIBO breakfast
“Unless you are using the city and county tools and financing from either the city’s housing trust fund, the county’s affordable housing fund or some kind of funds from a taxpayer project,” real estate developer Kirk Booth told around 40 people at the Council of Independent Business Owners’ Dec. 6 breakfast meeting, “it’s not going to happen.”
Asheville shows proposals for affordable housing on city-owned land
The three parcels currently being considered for affordable housing are on South Charlotte Street, where the city currently has its Public Works Garage and Fleet Management facilities; on Biltmore Avenue at the old Matthews Ford site and on Riverside Drive at the “Ice House.” Up to 550 new affordable rental units could be developed.
Asheville City Council approves ownership approach to Hilliard affordable housing
Due to construction cost increases that made rentals infeasible, the Kassinger Development Group proposed a for-sale condo plan. Of 64 total units, 33 would be affordable, with the city providing support through a $1.28 million Housing Trust Fund loan and a $375,000 discount on the land itself.
Habitat to build multifamily housing in Candler
A new Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity development in Candler will mark the organization’s first foray into constructing multifamily homes. The move is necessary, the nonprofit says, to meet the area’s need for affordable housing in the face of high land prices.
Council considers renewable energy goal at Oct. 23 meeting
The resolution would commit city government to meeting all of its energy needs from 100 percent renewable sources by the end of 2030. A previous version also called for all energy demand in the city to make the renewable transition “as soon as practicable,” but this goal is absent from the language Council will vote to approve.
Net housing increase
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Asheville City Council expands affordable housing incentives
The Land Use Incentive Grant point maximum will increase from 140 to 200, with every 10 points worth a rebate of one year of city property taxes above a property’s pre-development total. But developers will also face stricter conditions when applying for LUIG money: The minimum period for which a project must guarantee affordable housing will increase from 15 to 20 years.
News in brief: Party green, explore affordable housing, community EMTs on the beat
Community EMTs will hit the streets of downtown Asheville for a six-week pilot program to test a new model of providing community policing and response services.
Asheville City Council to readjust priorities at Sept. 11 meeting
At Asheville City Council’s upcoming regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11, officials will consider a resolution updating council strategic priorities for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Letter: High-rises, trailers are not the answer to affordable housing
“Creating multi-income, multiuse developments and requiring affordable units in new multifamily developments is a much better way of solving this problem and maybe actually helping some folks along the way.”
Let’s not let WNC become the next flavor of the month
“We need city and county managers who, together with our elected officials, can tackle key issues and help us navigate this new reality called the greater Asheville area.”
Local problems: Bold solutions
ASHEVILLE, NC
Letter: Be aware of tourism’s links to gentrification
“Most urgently, gentrification is creating a demand for buildable lots and houses within the city limits that is invading our historic African-American neighborhoods and displacing lifelong residents who have been here for generations.”
Solving Asheville’s affordable housing crunch: The Gospel According to Jerry
“When local workers can’t find housing they can afford and our less fortunate population — including families with children — is one rent check away from living on the street, this predicament has reached critical mass.”
Letter: It takes a village to end homelessness
“The reason for this extraordinary housing retention rate is Homeward Bound doesn’t just put people in homes and forget about them; we provide ongoing support called case management.”
An unvarnished look at affordable housing: The Gospel According to Jerry
“As soon as outraged neighbors show up at municipal meetings screaming and shouting about traffic, quality of life and property values, our elected officials quietly slide down in their chairs and hide their faces behind their computer screens, concealing their shame about discouraging developers, both public and private, from increasing our woefully inadequate housing inventory.”
Letter: Don’t give political power to litter and rats
“At the unconsciousness rate we are polluting our planet and the threat of nuclear annihilation by our militaristic world leaders, vermin will probably inherit Earth soon enough.”
Letter: Asheville’s future lies in investing in our kids
“The way forward starts with understanding that the sugar high of property speculation and the accompanying trickle-down lies are not the answer: Up-skilling our kids is.”
City sustainability efforts fall short of annual goal in 2017
After years of progress toward waste and carbon emission reduction goals, the city hit a wall in 2017, according to a report presented to Asheville City Council on April 10. Asked for bright ideas about how sustainability efforts can get back on track to achieve long-term goals, city staffers said that, without significant additional investment, progress is likely to be limited to incremental gains.