ASHEVILLE - Over 190 townhomes were approved during the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment's Aug. 12 meeting as two other housing proposal hearings were continued to a later date.
A special use permit for "Alden Asheville," a plan to build 191 townhomes off of Glenn Bridge Road near the Asheville Regional Airport, was unanimously approved by the board after a roughly two and a half hour-long hearing. Alden Asheville was proposed by Flournoy Development Group, a southeast U.S.-based developer whose other projects in the Asheville area include Ellison and Weller at the Preserve in South Asheville and Ellison Lake Julian, according to Flournoy's website.
Proposed with 34 buildings including a variety of one, two and three-story options, the Alden
Asheville townhome community will include a clubhouse, play areas and new pedestrian paths, according to Buncombe County's development portal.
During the meeting, land use attorney Craig Justus said Flournoy agreed to a condition to install a 20-foot landscape buffer consisting of two rows of evergreen trees, ostensibly blocking the view of the Hadley Park neighborhood. Justus represented Flournoy as several residents from Hadley Park attended the meeting, expressing concerns that the new development could increase traffic and impact their property values.
A traffic impact analysis survey of a theorized slightly larger townhome development at the same site would add 1,534 new trips to Glenn Bridge Road, according to a June 23 traffic impact analysis submitted in the development application. The proposal includes two entrances, which also serve as exits with stop signs, according to site plans.
The traffic impact analysis found that Flournoy would have to widen the existing travel lanes along Glenn Bridge Road to 12 feet, which is the minimum set by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, according to traffic engineer Jeff Moore, who was one of Flournoy's expert witnesses. According to the 68-page analysis, there is "no indication" the new development will "will have an undue adverse impact on the surrounding infrastructure."
'The Carroll' and Orange Capital proposals continued
Two other proposals, collectively set to bring over 600 new apartment units to the Asheville area, were continued to a later meeting.
"The Carroll at Sweeten Creek," a 305-unit proposal near Sweeten Creek Road and the Blue Ridge Parkway, was continued at the encouragement of the developer's attorney, Derek Allen. The developer, The Carroll Companies, has submitted a new site plan for the development that reconfigures the project and "also has a land swap," Allen said. The Sumer family had sought standing against the proposal in a earlier hearing. The family owns "Round Top," a historic estate directly adjacent to the development site. The board continued the project to the Sept. 9 Board of Adjustment meeting.
Similarly, Orange Capital Advisors' 312 apartment proposal near Acton was continued to the Sept. 9 meeting.
In the application for the development, the company wrote that the project would bring "much needed housing stock" to the area. Orange Capital will construct 13 buildings as part of the development, along with a pool and dog park. The company is also behind "Evado at Asheville South," a 270-unit apartment development in Fletcher that is expected to be complete in the fall of 2026, according to the company's website.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com or message will_hofmann.01 on Signal.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe board approves 191 townhomes near Asheville Regional Airport
