Biltmore Village Infrastructure Recovery
Biltmore Village Infrastructure Recovery
The City of Asheville is working to restore storm-damaged public assets in Biltmore Village. The first phase of work is funded by a grant from the NC Department of Commerce, and will include repair and/or replacement of historic brick sidewalks, granite curbs and ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps, as well as removal and replacement of high-risk street trees and landscaping. The project area will include three primary corridors: Biltmore Plaza/Kitchin Place, Boston Way and Swan Street (map below). Future phases of the project will address similar repair needs on All Souls Crescent, Angle Street and Village Lane. The Biltmore Village Restoration project is being implemented in coordination with the Biltmore Village Lighting Recovery project.
Happening Now
City staff are conducting site survey work and tree assessments in preparation for the upcoming design phase. Licensed landscape architects and engineers will prepare design documents in preparation for construction. These will be shared with community stakeholders at key milestones. This in-house design approach supports a more expedited timeline which business and property owners in Biltmore Village have highlighted as a need. Final designs will reflect stakeholder input while ensuring compliance with Public Right-Of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) requirements as well as the historic district standards.
Why This Matters
As the gateway to the Biltmore Estate, Biltmore Village is one of the most highly trafficked commercial nodes in Asheville. It was listed as a “multiple resource area” in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was subsequently designated as a local historic district in 1987. The intent of this project is to restore historic infrastructure elements within the district to support economic recovery in this important commercial area after damage was caused by Tropical Storm Helene in 2024.
Opportunities for Staying Informed
The City of Asheville is committed to a transparent, inclusive design and construction process. Anyone who is interested in this project is encouraged to stay informed by signing up to receive updates in the subscriber box on this page.
Background
On September 27, 2024, Tropical Storm Helene caused catastrophic damage to the region. Areas closest to river corridors, including the whole of Biltmore Village, were heavily impacted by this historic flooding event. As the gateway to the Biltmore Estate, the village is one of the most highly trafficked commercial nodes in the city. The intent of this project is to restore the historic infrastructure elements within the core of the local historic district overlay in accordance with the design standards for the district.
This project aligns with the City’s infrastructure and economic recovery efforts and several planning documents, including:
The Biltmore Village Development Plan (1992)
The Biltmore Village Historic District Design Standards (1988)
The 2018 Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan
The Historic Preservation Master Plan for Asheville & Buncombe County (2015)
City Planning and Urban Design (PUD) staff conducted an initial site investigation in Summer 2025, which involved visual assessment, documentation, GIS data verification, initial project scoping, and cost estimation. To meet the constraints of a specific funding opportunity (NC Dept. of Commerce Small Biz Infrastructure Grant Program), the team focused on addressing tree and infrastructure needs, specifically damage and ADA-compliance issues, along the primary corridors within the district's core where over 50 businesses were/are located.
In Fall 2025, the City submitted the required grant application materials, including a project summary, cost estimations, a timeline, supporting small business tax information, and a Preliminary Landscape Architecture Report. The City was subsequently awarded just under $2.5 million from the NC Department of Commerce’s Small Biz Infrastructure Grant Program to complete this work.
The project scope for the grant application was strategically limited to necessary repairs to brick sidewalks, granite curbing, ramps and the removal and replacement of street trees and landscaping on Biltmore Plaza, Kitchin Place, Boston Way, and Swan Street. This focus was selected due to the per-county funding cap of the grant program, as Buncombe County was also seeking funding from the same program.
In addition to the grant-funded work, Planning & Urban Design staff also developed cost estimations for the same types of repairs on All Souls Crescent, Angle Street, and Village Lane. Staff is actively exploring other funding avenues, such as TDA LIFT, to implement this expanded scope as part of the overall recovery project.
Past Updates
April 28, 2026 presentation to Historic Biltmore Village Association stakeholders