(The Center Square) – Leasing on 54 acres for apartments, retail and a soccer stadium at UNC Asheville was given approval on Thursday by the University of North Carolina System.
The Board of Governors authorized the university to lease the property to its endowment fund for $1 a year for 99 years. The endowment fund is authorized to “enter into negotiations with the developer for the development of the millennial campus project,” according to the resolution approved Thursday. “The developer will be responsible for the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the millennial campus project.”
Under the terms of the ground lease, the endowment fund would receive rents from the developer, starting at $1.69 million in 2030 and rising to $4.69 million in 2075.
“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 last month. “This proposal would result in an inflow of cash under the ground lease.”
The project has sparked opposition by some Asheville residents who are concerned about the loss of trees and greenspace.
“This cherished forest, adjacent to neighborhoods, has been a vital resource for the health, safety, and welfare of the Asheville community and UNCA students,” the resident’s organization, Save the Woods, says on its website.
The forest helps the environment by purifying the air, capturing carbon and mitigating flooding, the group said. It also provides habitat for wildlife and a place for recreation and research, it said.
But the university said it will help relieve the shortage of off-campus student housing in Asheville.
The market for apartments near campus is tight, with prices rising, particularly after Hurricane Helene, university officials said.
The developer, not the university, would assume all the financial risk, she added. If the developer decided to sell, the university would first option of buying the buildings.
UNC Asheville and the city’s amateur soccer club would jointly construct 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.