New 300-unit Woodfin home development rezoned to include 10% affordable

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read
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A zoning notice sits outside the Goodman Road and Riverside Drive property in Woodfin where 300 new units have been proposed by developers.
A zoning notice sits outside the Goodman Road and Riverside Drive property in Woodfin where 300 new units have been proposed by developers.

WOODFIN - A new development for 300 single family and duplex homes off of Riverside Drive and Goodman Road has been approved for rezoning, allowing it to proceed to the next steps of development.

However, the process comes with a caveat — 10% of the final number of homes built will be offered to those earning 80% or less of the Woodfin area median income. Town Council Member Jim McAlister, who is running for mayor, estimates that "first dibs" would go to those earning under $48,000 a year.

The approval came during the Aug. 15 Woodfin Town Council meeting, where Town Council Member Eric Edgerton brought the idea of using a conditional rezoning amendment to include the mandate.

“We'll restrict 10% of these units to only go to people who make 80% of the area median income. Then we would know that is an actual value,” Edgerton said. “And it's one that you're going to be held to.”

The rezoning amendment passed unanimously during the meeting.

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Charter Mountain Properties, a Florida based developer, intends to build 208 single family units alongside another 92 duplex units on the 89.7-acre property. While the development will not have sidewalks, the developer intends to include a network of trails within the development for exclusive use by residents, according to project plans. The community will also have a small park alongside an overlook designed for yoga.

A proposed outline of the 300-unit Woodfin development. If approved for construction permits, the development could bring up to 30 affordable homes to the area.
A proposed outline of the 300-unit Woodfin development. If approved for construction permits, the development could bring up to 30 affordable homes to the area.

During the meeting, Teresa Carroll, representative for the property owners, said the “main objective” of the development is “affordable housing.” Carroll agreed to the conditions, but said it seems unlikely they could do any higher.

“Ten percent I think would be doable,” Carroll said. “But with building costs going up, it's a little scary to commit to anything more than that.”

McAllister said the move not only came as a way of offering more affordable housing for those in Woodfin, but as he finds many travel out of Woodfin to find housing.

“We have only three town employees who live in town and none of them are police officers. That is ridiculous,” McAllister said. “But it's a problem that lots of other towns are running into; we priced out our workers.”

Woodfin Town Council member Jim McAlister stands next to the property where 300 new single family homes and duplexes have been proposed.
Woodfin Town Council member Jim McAlister stands next to the property where 300 new single family homes and duplexes have been proposed.

While sale prices for the city of Asheville dropped 0.8% over the last year, the average buyer still paid $643,751, according to previous Citizen Times reporting. That is higher than the $457,007 average calculated for a similar time period by Smart Asset, but that also included homes not for sale.

According to recent Zillow home values data, the median sale price of a home in Woodfin is $398,295, which is nearly 41% cheaper than the average sale of an Asheville home.

Another report for the first quarter of 2023 put the median sales price for Asheville at $465,000 and $426,995 for Buncombe County, not including Asheville.

McAlister said conversations about affordable housing in Woodfin are just starting.

“We're going to — with every big project and every small project — start having discussions with developers about affordable housing,” McAlister said. “And let them know, that if it's big and it's coming before the board, you better get ready."

While the development must still earn Buncombe County construction permits, a start date of spring 2024 was suggested by Brandon Quinn, the builder for Charter Mountain Properties. Quinn’s company, Eden Rock Enterprises, has worked on other affordable housing projects in Mars Hill.

“For little Woodfin, it was a leap of faith into the future,” McAllister said. “We need new places for people to live, and we want school teachers and cops and bartenders to live in our town.”

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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.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Proposed 300 home Woodfin development to include affordable housing