Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
More of what’s going around, including an update about a planned Broadway apartment complex:
-An apartment complex planned for Broadway will be scaled down, according to Hobie Orton of Madison Capital Group. The development, which began with between 43 and 46 apartment units, will now have 36 units. The amount of commercial office space available has been scaled down from 4,000 to 3,700 square feet. The building, as seen from Broadway, will now stand two stories tall, rather than three stories tall as originally planned, Orton said. The Broadway apartment complex is on schedule to submit plans in January and have construction start in February, he added.
-Here’s a cool Asheville neighborhood map, via reddit.
-Some well-known Asheville beer festivals are making changes, Carolina Beer Guy Tony Kiss reports for Mountain Xpress. For the first time in 10 years, there won’t be a Winter Warmer Beer Festival in January, Kiss reports. Also, the AVL Beer Expo in February will move to the Masonic Temple and be slightly downsized. Finally, the Beer City Festival in June will offer a new, lower-priced ticket that allows attendees to buy tokens in exchange for beers, Kiss reports. (There will still be a ticket option for unlimited pours.)
-One of the (many) top priorities for Buncombe County commissioners in the coming year will be to fund and expand quality preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. (See the next item for more info.) The key issue is a lack of teachers.
-The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently approved grants totaling $1,446,162 to nonprofits across the region, according to the press release. More:
The awards were made in CFWNC’s focus areas with $1.15 million in People in Need grants going to nonprofits serving economically-disadvantaged populations across the Foundation’s 18-county service area.
Sixty-seven People in Need grants of up to $20,000 totaling $1,151,162 were awarded throughout the region. “These grants touch every county we serve and represent investment in this region by 62 funds we steward,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “Grant partners include our affiliate funds, current fundholders and private foundations that partnered with us to provide more than 50 percent of the funds that will help the region’s most vulnerable individuals and families. This truly is a collaborative effort.”
Affiliate funds who partner with CFWNC to raise local resources contributed $140,000 to the cycle. Current fundholders contributed $525,000 to the grants and include: Carol Waggle Oliver Fund, Charles F. Hamrick & Marguerite D. Hamrick Charitable Fund, Connestee Falls Endowment Fund, Craig Family Foundation Fund, Crutchfield Charitable Fund, Dahlia Fund, Delphinium Fund, Dogwood Charitable Endowment Fund, Dr. Robert J. & Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund, Gretchen Batra Fund, Little Acorn Fund-W, Oliver Family Fund, Peterson Endowment Fund, Penny Fund, Walnut Fund, Wasson-Stow Charitable Fund, Yeager-Cole Fund and four anonymous funds. The Lipscomb Family Foundation, Sutherland Foundation and an anonymous family foundation also provided generous support.
Early Childhood Development grants totaled $200,000 and included:
$50,000 to the Buncombe Partnership for Children’s Asheville Buncombe Preschool Planning to conduct Phase 3 of its work to develop and implement a county-wide plan for expanding high-quality preschool for three- and four-year-olds. The Sutherland Foundation and Ramble Charitable Fund partnered with CFWNC to fund this grant.
$150,000 to the Southwestern Child Development Commission over three years to fund the Nurse Family Partnership program serving low-income first-time mothers in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. The Brown Family Fund, Carol Oliver Waggle Fund, Oliver Family Fund, Dogwood Charitable Endowment Fund and an anonymous CFWNC fund as well as the Lipscomb Family Foundation and an anonymous family foundation co-invested in this grant.
A Food and Farming grant of $35,000 was awarded to Isothermal Planning and Development Commission for the Community Food and Health Hub of McDowell County. The project builds on work accomplished over the last four years by a coalition of churches, food pantry leaders, government agencies, nonprofits and residents, working to reduce food insecurity, increase healthy food at food pantries, support a stronger and more prosperous local food system and increase access to fresh, local, healthy food for the county. CFWNC affiliate The McDowell Endowment and the Dr. Robert J. & Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund partnered with CFWNC to fund this grant.
Natural and Cultural Resources grants totaled $60,000 and included:
$30,000 to the Nikwasi Initiative over two years to further develop a Cultural Corridor, a co-developed and managed heritage-related community economic development project involving Macon County, the Town of Franklin and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The Gretchen Batra Fund and the Dogwood Charitable Endowment Fund co-invested in this grant.
$30,000 to the Toe River Arts Council for the Burnsville Glass Gateways, a public artwork that will visually connect the 19E corridor to the downtown. The project employs artists and promotes tourism. A “Dark Sky” community, Yancey County is one of the world’s 30 Dark Sky Parks and houses the largest public telescope in the Southeast. The Gateways will draw attention to that distinction. CFWNC affiliate The Yancey Fund and the Crutchfield Charitable Fund partnered with CFWNC to fund this grant.
The Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving eighteen counties in Western North Carolina. The Foundation is a permanent regional resource that facilitated $18 million in charitable giving last year. CFWNC inspires philanthropy and mobilizes resources to enrich lives and communities in Western North Carolina. More information can be found at www.cfwnc.org.
