(The Center Square) – The University of North Carolina at Asheville plans to lease some of its land for a $250 million mixed-used development that will include student housing, a soccer stadium and retail space, the university said Wednesday.
The project, which will create 300 jobs, will not cost the university system anything, but will actually produce revenue for the university from ground leases to a private developer. Jennifer Haygood, senior vice president for Finance & Administration and chief financial officer of the UNC System, provided the update to a committee of the UNC Board of Governors.
“In a nutshell, UNC Asheville would not be taking on any debt nor paying out any cash,” UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort told members of the board of governors’ budget and finance committee. “This proposal would result in an inflow of cash under the ground lease.
“It will really enhance the visibility of UNC Asheville across the state and region.”
For students, Asheville’s off-campus housing market is tight. About 7% of the available housing was impacted by Hurricane Helene last year, reducing supply and raising prices, the chancellor said.
“We have about a 94% occupancy off campus within a 15-minute drive,” van Noort said. “The average market monthly rate for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,557. We’ve seen a 24% increase in that average rate over the past five years.”
The university’s student housing was at 106% capacity this school year.
“And we already have a significant waiting list for the fall,” van Noort said. “We expect that demand to grow as we grow our student body and as housing costs continue to rise in Asheville.”
The new project will offer market-rate housing for students who want to live off campus, she added. Under the lease, the developer, not the university, will assume all the financial risk of the project.
UNC Asheville would partner with the city’s amateur soccer club, to build a 5,000-seat soccer stadium that would also provide a venue for the university soccer team. The stadium construction will require about $29 million in public grants, officials said.
If the developer later decided to sell the project, the university would be given the option to buy it at market rates.
The stadium could open in 2028 and the housing and retail by 2029.
Wednesday’s Board of Governors committee meeting was informational only, with no decision made on whether to approve the project.
