How an Asheville bus station could become an affordable housing solution

ASHEVILLE - The city's affordable housing problem can be seen in the skyrocketing costs of homes and the increasing number of people forced to sleep in wooded lots or doorways.

Now an unlikely solution could be seen at the center of the region's biggest transit hub.

A $2.5 million purchase expected to be approved by the City Council May 25 would set the stage for the expansion of the Asheville Rides Transit center. It is also intended to provide room for a "larger mixed-use development to include affordable housing, commercial uses and other public institutional spaces," according to the proposal before the council. 

The purchase, aided by a $1.3 million infusion by the Dogwood Health Trust, would be for the 0.9-acre "Talbert Lot." The land is now a 120-space parking lot leased by the city at 50 Asheland Ave., directly south of the transit center. 

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The project would have another deeper purpose, city staff members say, of looking to reverse some of the historical housing discrimination faced by Black residents who lived in the area and were denied loans through "red-lining."

The end result could deliver on city racial equity goals, said Interim Community and Economic Development Director Nikki Reid and Assistant Transportation Director Jessica Morris in their report to the council. That would come through partnerships with a community land trust, "Black-owned business space, a 'Purpose Built Community' type structure around intention," or other measures, they said. 

The project is a response to a severe shortage of affordable housing, seen with a 58% spike in area rents over a decade and a similar 55% jump in the price of a typical four-bedroom home. For its part, the city has set a goal of helping developers build more than 870 affordable units from 2020-2021, though rising construction costs are hampering those efforts.

Among the planned new housing are the currently unspecified number of units that could be built using the Talbert lot plus the transit center itself, which together make up nearly 1.5 acres.

The model is already being used in places such as Los Angeles and Silver Springs, Maryland where housing costs are high and there is available land near transit, a service that residents use.

The center was recently renovated with improvements to lobby, additional outdoor seating, upgraded lighting, new digital display boards, public wi-fi and 180 solar panels. But to meet what officials say is the need for additional bus service, an expansion is needed.

Downtown land is expensive, though city officials say keeping the transit center there, near medical offices, social services and shops, makes sense. The city spent an additional $75,000 on researching and testing of the site. It was found that $500,000 in "soil conditioning" would likely be needed to make the area stable for a multi-level building. 

Dogwood, which dispenses money from the purchase of the nonprofit Mission Hospital by the for-profit HCA, agreed with the city's goals of keeping the transit center downtown, providing affordable housing and rectifying discrimination. 

Historic maps show that the area, along with other parts of south and east downtown with a higher minority population, was set aside by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation as an area not suitable for loans. That process, called red-lining, has been banned as discriminatory.

The city has rented the Talbert lot since 2018 to provide cheaper parking to workers. City spokeswoman Polly McDaniel said that is expected to continue into the foreseeable future "until a public planning process takes place for this property."

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.