Four hotel projects, sized between five and 115 rooms, are still waiting for review under the new standards.
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Four hotel projects, sized between five and 115 rooms, are still waiting for review under the new standards.
After pandemic-related financing and permitting delays, work is now underway on the conversion of downtown Asheville’s Flatiron Building into a hotel, with a grand opening planned for 2023. Xpress reached out to some of those directly affected by the Flatiron’s evolution to learn how the building’s sale in 2019 has impacted their lives.
Asheville, home to more than 8,465 hotel rooms and counting, is providing a pathway for hotel operators to rack up some major brownie points by incorporating sustainable features and practices in plans for new hotel construction.
After months of discussion, two Council work sessions and multiple opportunities for public engagement, frustrated residents told Asheville City Council the final hotel proposals did little to advance equity or support employees working in the service industry.
In its latest effort to promote affordable housing, Asheville City Council voted 6-1 on Sept. 22 to approve a $1.1 million Housing Trust Fund loan to the Juna Group to develop 11 single-family units in Oakley.