Ashvegas commenter: Larchmont project will make Asheville a better place to live

Here’s the comment, from loyal reader Sarah Dickson:

Hello, North Asheville Neighbors,  

There seems to be a lot of negative comments about the site and I wanted to make sure that everyone, at least everyone I know, knows the facts.  

I have been an avid promoter of Mountain Housing Opportunities since 2001.  I have served on their board and helped them with Marketing and Development.  I was not recruited.  I wanted a way to “serve” or “help” the people of our community and found MHO a perfect vehicle to do that.

Mountain Housing is the most professional non-profit organization, I have ever been a part of.  Their programs and their projects are aimed at people just like you and me who are working parents or seniors who cannot afford the exorbitant real estate market in Asheville, but we choose to live and work here.  They are single working parents who need to provide safe housing for their families.  They are teachers, nurses, policeman who we depend on every day.

This particular site that is up for zoning is a particular concern, because I do not think you all have the full story.  If you are interested, here are some facts, that I hope you will consider.

1) Traffic- there has been some concern that the building will add more traffic to Merrimon Avenue.

The City of Asheville has a sophisticated traffic study computer program that determines traffic volume and patterns.  A building that holds 60 dwelling units would increase traffic by an additional car per minute during peak traffic time which is 4-6pm.  That means that a building, such as the one proposed would only add one car per minute.  We all know that traffic on Merrimon Avenue is crazy.  I do not think that one car is going to make a difference.

Mountain Housing Opportunities knows that neighbors are concerned about these traffic patterns, and they are buying a bus pass for all the residents of this building for a year.  MHO tries to offer city bus routes to all of its properties, so that people without the luxury of a car, do have an alternative to transportation.

Another point, the 60 dwelling MHO proposed unit will have 32 one-bedroom units.  Therefore, there will be less traffic on Merrimon Avenue than the study, because 32 units will only have one person in them.

2) Size

I have heard complaints that a 60 unit building is too big.  You have to understand, to make an affordable housing project work, you have to have a certain number of units to leverage the cost of the units so that they are in fact “affordable.”  Some people say that they are for affordable housing, but the building should be smaller.  They clearly do not understand the math.

3) Zoning

That site is zoned “Institutional.”  The “institutional” rating includes things like government buildings, health and fitness gyms, nursing homes, universities, assisted living facilities.  This rating allows a 15 story institutional building to be built on that site WITHOUT a height restriction.  If that site were not to have the zoning changed to residential, the owners of the new RUSH gyms, those lovely purple and orange buildings, could potentially build a 15 story orange and purple gym on that site.

That site is surrounded by a church, a neighborhood, a firehouse and restaurants.  I am sure the folks who live beside there would love a 15 story Rush gym beside them.    

The rendering of the new Mountain Housing Opportunities building is beautiful, as are all of their buildings and homes.  I would encourage you to drive by some of their properties and look for yourself. Or you can look at their website.

4) Money

Basically this project would create jobs.  They hire local construction crews, architects, engineers, which is crucial when this industry is struggling,

The development will pay taxes- which it is not generating the same amount of taxes right now.

This project will not lower surrounding property tax values- which was found by a study by Beverly-Hanks.  Actually MHO properties have been proven to increase the tax value of surrounding properties on every project they have.  

I do live right off of Merrimon Avenue.  I was born and raised here.  And I know that projects like this only make our city a better place to live.