April 14, 2009
By Mark Barrett
City Council is scheduled to decide this evening whether to approve a local nonprofit's plans to develop 72 affordable apartments in West Asheville.
The complex proposed by Mountain Housing Opportunities would be located off Deaverview Road on property just west of the Deaverview Apartments public housing complex. It would be one of several complexes of a similar size that MHO has developed in and around Asheville.
An MHO official and an outside analyst said demand for affordable housing remains strong in the area despite the economic downturn.
As currently planned, rents for the one- to four-bedroom units in the complex would range from $227-$615 a month and are designed to be affordable to people earning 60 percent of the area's median household income.
A shortage of affordable housing is a constant problem in Buncombe County, given the area's relatively high housing costs and low wages.
When MHO developed a similar complex recently near the U.S. 19-23-74/Interstate 40 exit, there were more than 600 applications for the 63 units, said Rich Olejniczak, a rental development officer at MHO.
An analysis done for the nonprofit found that the 72 units would meet only 5.5 percent of the demand for similar units in the area, Olejniczak said.
“Demand is incredible,” he said.
Engle Addington, an analyst for Real Data, a Charlotte-based firm that does apartment market research, said the apartment vacancy rate in West Asheville was 9.6 percent late last year, highest of the five zones the company divides Buncombe County into.
Plenty of interest
But Addington, who has no connection to the MHO project, said there will still be plenty of potential tenants.
“Demand for affordable housing is always good. (MHO) tends to lease up their units fairly quickly,” she said.
The complex would consist of seven buildings, two-three stories tall, around a central courtyard on a 5.5-acre tract at the end of Westmore Drive.
City Council approval is needed because city rules require that the entire site — which is currently split between commercial/industrial and residential multifamily zoning — have the same multifamily zoning.
Close to buses
The site, Olejniczak said, has a relatively gentle grade with grass and a few trees and is close to a bus line.
Development of the $8.2 million complex depends on MHO winning use of tax credits that help finance affordable housing projects, Olejniczak said.
Construction would begin in spring 2010.
Additional Facts COUNCIL MEETSCity Council will also consider buying a student-built modular home from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to replace the 100-year-old Police Resource Center in Oakley. That 100-year-old building would be demolished to make way for the energy-efficient home. Staff will update council on proposed cuts to close an $800,000 gap in the upcoming budget. Those cuts could include cutting back brush collection to once per month and discontinuing ice skating and hockey at the Asheville Civic Center. Council meets at 5 p.m. today on the second floor of City Hall.
