Development roundup: Enka Commerce Park requests change of plans

Enka Commerce Park new plans
PLAN TO PIVOT: After a tenant expected to lease the space — widely suspected to be online retailer Amazon, according to the Asheville Citizen Times — backed out, Enka Partners of Asheville is seeking a change to plans for the Enka Commerce Park. Graphic courtesy of the city of Asheville

City of Asheville

The public will be able to provide input on the South Slope Vision plan and five zoning map amendments at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, which will take place in person at City Hall’s first-floor North Conference Room at 70 Court Plaza. A pre-meeting of the same body to review the agenda, which is open to the public but does not allow public comment, will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the fifth-floor Large Conference Room.

(Although the PZC unanimously recommended the adoption of the South Slope plan last month, according to Chair Joe Archibald, “an error was made with public comment.” The item must therefore be revisited this month. Further information on the proposal is available at avl.mx/bqc.)

The Design Review Committee will meet virtually at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18. The agenda for that meeting was not available as of press time.

Planning and Zoning Commission

Members of the public can submit comments over email and voicemail until 24 hours prior to the meeting or provide in-person comment during the meeting itself. Instructions on how to attend and comment, as well as the full meeting agenda, are available at avl.mx/8b6.

645 & 651 Brevard Road, 28806

Jeffrey T. Brown of Asheville-based engineering firm Brown Consultants requests the rezoning of 1.35 acres on Brevard Road from Residential Single Family High Density (RS-8) to Community Business II (CB II).

Unlike conditional rezoning, which is required for projects with more than 50 residential units or more than 100,000 square footage of construction, a rezoning request does not allow zoning requirements to be waived or reduced, according to city planner Will Palmquist. The city also cannot attach any extra requirements to the property as a requirement for approval.

No plans for what might be done under the new zoning are available at this time.

Enka Commerce Park (264 Enka Heritage Parkway, 28715)

Enka Partners of Asheville requests an amendment to the conditional zoning on 45.5 acres on Enka Heritage Parkway to allow for new site plans. The site is currently zoned as Commercial Expansion – Conditional Zoning. Because a tenant expected to lease the space — widely suspected to be online retailer Amazon, according to the Asheville Citizen Times — backed out, the plans have been redesigned as spec space, or space built for potential future tenants.

The current plans call for three buildings with a combined total of 585,360 square feet. A new traffic analysis by Greenboro-based Ramsey Kemp Associates anticipates that, while the number of vehicles per day to the area will increase by almost 300 compared with the previous site plan, there will be 176 and 157 fewer trips during peak morning and afternoon hours, respectively.

Detailed project documents can be found at avl.mx/btx.

Laurel Woods II (650 & 652 Caribou Road 28803)

National nonprofit Volunteers of America requests a conditional rezoning from RM-8 (Residential Multifamily) to RES EXP – CZ (Residential Expansion – Conditional Zoning) to build 54 affordable one- and two-bedroom housing units for seniors on 14.73 acres. Current plans call for 32 units designated as affordable for residents at 80% of the area median income ($45,000 for one person and $51,400 for two), as well as 17 units affordable at 60% AMI ($33,750 for one person and $38,550 for two) and five two-bedroom units affordable at 30% AMI ($16,900 for one person and $19,300 for two).

Twelve of these units — five two-bedrooms at 30% AMI and seven one-bedrooms at 60% AMI — will accept federal affordable housing vouchers. One- and two-bedroom units will be 660 and 900 square feet, respectively. The project would expand the existing VOA Laurel Woods development at 650 Caribou Road.

Detailed project documents can be found at avl.mx/bty.

Woodland Development (100 Woodland Drive, 28806)

Asheville-based Birch Circle Associates requests a conditional rezoning from RM-8 to RES EXP – CZ to build a 72-unit development on 9.12 acres. Available documents do not indicate that any of the townhome-style rental units will be designated as affordable.

This project was on the July PZC agenda but was postponed to the August meeting.

Detailed project documents can be found at avl.mx/bqb.

Buncombe County

Four projects requiring special use permits and a lot size variance will be on the agenda for the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment meeting at noon Wednesday, Aug. 10. The in-person meeting will take place at the Board of Commissioners Chambers, 200 College St.

Two of those special use permit applications were on last month’s meeting agenda but were postponed. More details are available from the most recent Xpress development roundup at avl.mx/bu4 or at the following project pages:

  • Brevard Road Apartments SUP (1754 Brevard Road, 4 and 6 Atrium Trail, Avery Creek Township)avl.mx/bqa
  • Clayton Crossing SUP (642 Long Shoals Road, Arden, 28704) — avl.mx/bq8

Information on how to attend the meeting and apply for comment can be found at avl.mx/anq. Details on the new agenda items are listed below.

Board of Adjustment

Penley Variance (10 Roundabout Way, Asheville, 28805)

Timmy Ray Penley of Asheville requests a reduction of the minimum lot size on 10 Roundabout Way from 30,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet to divide property on the site. When development started in 2001, the property was unzoned. It now falls within the R-2 zone, which has a 30,000-square-foot minimum lot size.

Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/bu0.

Pinnacle View Rental Units SUP (17, 21 and unaddressed parcel on Pinnacle View Rd, Asheville, 28803)

TR 31 Pinnacle View, based in Alpharetta, Ga., requests an SUP to construct fourteen buildings housing 73 rental units on 6.53 acres. Each unit will have a one-car garage and driveway, and seven additional parking spaces will be available.

The application requests that the 20-foot minimum distance between buildings be reduced to 15 feet.

Detailed project documents can be found at avl.mx/bu5.

Wanderlust Vacation Rentals SUP (49 Reeds Creek Road, Fairview, 28730)

Charlotte-based Wanderlust NC requests an SUP to build four vacation rental units — two one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units — on 10.48 acres of vacant wooded land in Fairview. The proposed density is 2.54 units per acre.

A firetruck turnaround will be added where a single-family home once existed.

Detailed documents can be found at avl.mx/bq4.

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About Sara Murphy
Sara Murphy lives in Leicester. Her work has appeared in 100 Days in Appalachia, Facing South, Polygon, and Lifehacker.

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