Black Mountain News: $120 million eco-development planned for Black Mountain area

Jason Sandford

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

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From Joel Burgess and the Black Mountain News:

Plans for a $120 million eco-development that would be the first of its kind in North America are taking shape in eastern Buncombe County.

Developers said they have gathered 75 percent of funding necessary to build the proposed Noble Rock Resort and Spa off N.C. 9 south of Black Mountain. Construction could begin next year with a first phase completed by 2015.

The resort would supply its own power and water, protect more than 40 percent of its area under conservation easements, and follow other guidelines of the “Living Building Challenge,” a set of stringent sustainability standards meant to lessen impact and boost the local economy, developers said.

Designer Marty Yates, of Atlanta, Ga., who is lead developer along with her husband, Michael, said the ultra-green design is her way of “trying to pay back for bad developments I’ve been involved with.”

The resort would be built on 678 acres north of the Straightaway Cafe and northeast of Crooked Creek Road. A portion of the land stretches into McDowell County.