Buncombe TDA funds Orange Peel expansion, Pack Square Park pavilion, Moogseum, Momentum

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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From the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce blog:

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) announced today that it is awarding more than $2.6 million to five community projects and serving as a potential loan guaranty to one other through its Tourism Product Development Fund (TPDF). Funding will assist with construction of projects that are expected to further enhance the community while also driving more overnight hotel stays and pumping additional dollars into the local economy.
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The BCTDA voted to award the grants during its most recent meeting, basing its votes on recommendations from the TPDF committee. Recipients of the 2009 funding cycle for the

Tourism Product Development Fund include:

• The John B. Lewis Soccer Fields which will receive a $500,000 grant for lighting that will enable night time playing,
• Momentum, The Health Adventure’s new science and health museum, which will receive a $500,000 grant to build an indoor planetarium within the new facility,
• Pack Square Conservancy which will receive a $500,000 grant for construction of a Visitor Pavilion at Pack Square Park,
• Asheville Art Museum which will receive a $500,000 grant for its planned expansion of galleries, public spaces, education facilities and visitor amenities,
• The Moogseum, an innovative interactive exploratorium of science and music to be built by the Bob Moog Foundation, which received a pledge of $600,000 in grant monies over four years, once it breaks ground,
• And, The Orange Peel, which may receive as much as $300,000 in the form of a loan guaranty, once it gets funding for a planned expansion which includes new seating at the music facility.