Buncombe, UNCA to partner on $26M 'aging center' on university campus

The UNC Asheville sign at the roundabout that leads onto the campus. The university may in the near future partner with Buncombe County to bring an Active Aging Center to its campus.
The UNC Asheville sign at the roundabout that leads onto the campus. The university may in the near future partner with Buncombe County to bring an Active Aging Center to its campus.

ASHEVILLE - UNC Asheville and Buncombe County could be going in together on a proposed $26 million building project to support Western North Carolina’s aging population.

First made public during a specially called meeting Sept. 26 of the UNCA Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, the project proposes a partnership between the county and the university to create an “Active Aging Center” on campus.

Though the center would be located at UNCA in North Asheville, it would be on land owned by the county or operated via a ground lease with a landowner, according to a packet of information on the project obtained by the Citizen Times.

UNC Asheville:AI: UNCA monitored students' social media for 3 years. What about emails?

UNC Asheville:UNCA active-shooter training under investigation; dean of students admits ‘blind spot’

The center — which was supposed to be discussed during a Buncombe County Board of Commissioners briefing Oct. 4 but was removed from the agenda to make room for other presentations — will be 67,450 square feet and cost $26.2 million.

It is not known what portion of that cost, if any, Buncombe taxpayers would shoulder.

“There have not been any funding approvals at this time,” said spokesperson Kassi Day when asked if the county would be investing in the project.

It would be by July 1, 2024, according to the packet. Additionally, Buncombe County’s Health and Human Services Board already has voted unanimously to support the recommendation that the county own and operate the center.

UNCA Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed the project at its Sept. 26 meeting, noting the center fits into a larger master plan for UNC’s millennial campus designation, which gives universities regulatory flexibility to finance projects and to collaborate with industry and the private sector on innovative ventures.

More:Asheville City Council OKs 54-unit expansion of 100% affordable Shiloh senior housing

More:Affordable homeownership in Asheville? 11 new townhomes proposed for West Asheville

“This has been discussed at length and in a variety of different places including … including OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), and of course, the master planning committee. And more recently, in the attaining of our millennial campus designation,” Chancellor is Nancy J. Cable said during the meeting.

“This could mean a good revenue flow as well as social service of the university to the needs of our citizens in the region. And so, I'm fully behind this and I'm very, very excited about the prospect that this could mean for the university, both short term and very long term.”

More services for the local aging population have been an emphasized need elsewhere.

Buncombe's future:Buncombe County population might grow 80,000 by 2045. Is dense development a good idea?

A move to bring 67 new acute care beds to Buncombe through the state’s certificate of need process is bolstered by claims from medical and health care market professionals that a growing population of seniors will require more hospital beds.

The proposed Active Aging Center isn’t a hospital, but it will be a place to help people with a variety of needs.

“(The Active Aging Center) will provide an integrated service delivery model, incorporating healthcare, childcare, adult day, retail, technology, community resources and other services for Buncombe County,” one of the documents in the packet states. “This approach encourages greater community collaboration, connectivity and congregation of people and places.”

According to demographic data from 2020 — which was cited in the packet — 28% of Buncombe County’s population, or 75,000, include people 60 and older.

Additionally, almost 30% of individuals age 65 and older in Buncombe County fall below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Catherine Frank, executive director of UNCA’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — whose stated goal is to “enable our members to thrive in life’s second half” — wrote a letter of support for the center, listing ways it could benefit the county and aging services inside the University.

  • Shared programming and shared facilities for OLLI and the many organizations who will be part of a “one-stop shop” for older adults on campus.

  • Blending of people who would be served by the Active Aging Center and OLLI.

  • Potential for UNC Asheville students and faculty to design and participate in research and intergenerational programs to change the conversation about what it means to be part of an “aging society.”

  • Collaboration of agencies in the community to learn best practices in services to older adults and to test and model new practices and technology, to define and improve identities of varied programs to reduce duplication of effort.

“We know that loneliness and isolation have health consequences equivalent to smoking and obesity,” Frank wrote in her letter. “To have an active aging center that provides safe space for older adults to gather, to learn, to pursue purpose, and to receive services would elevate many aspects of our university and wider community. Asheville has for many years been listed as a top place to retire, and OLLI has been cited as one of the reasons. The addition of an active aging center to our community and on our campus would increase our standing as a top place to age comfortably.”

Health care: 'We are the mice': Brevard public forum reveals disturbing local stories of HCA Healthcare

Buncombe had its own outline on what it thinks the center will achieve. These include:

  • Better navigation and access for aging adults and their caregivers that underpins community health initiatives.

  • Improved utilization of financial and funding resources across aging services providers with both the reduction of duplication of services and subsequent resources.

  • Creation of an innovative model that is ready for the future, that will be proactive, collaborative, and responsive to the needs of those that will be aging in our community.

  • Incorporate a collective impact model and strategies to accomplish common goals for our aging community members across providers.

  • Establishing a model of best practices in the delivery of aging services in Western North Carolina.

Moving forward, the project’s final iteration will likely go through Board of Commission review and approval in the coming months.

Andrew Jones is an investigative reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: UNC Asheville and Buncombe County to partner on "aging center"