Major manufacturing project could bring 1,200 jobs to Buncombe County

ASHEVILLE - The Biltmore Farms Co. has plans to build a 750,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on property in southwestern Buncombe County that could employ 1,200 people.

Called "Project Ranger" in permit applications on file with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and other state and federal agencies, the project also will include the construction of a 610-foot, five-lane bridge over the French Broad River. The proposed bridge would meet Brevard Road at the current entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway access road, and it would require two sets of piers in the river.

Documents state the facility is for an existing company but give no details. The building will be erected on a 445-acre tract between the French Broad River and Interstate 26 owned by Biltmore Farms.

"I would love to be able to tell you what we're doing for this exciting project, but we're not at liberty to talk about it," said Ben Teague, vice president of strategic development with Biltmore Farms, the development company behind Biltmore Park and numerous local hotels, as well as other commercial development. "We're under nondisclosure agreements."

New bridge

Permit applications state Biltmore Farms will disturb about 0.67 of an acre of wetlands for the bridge, as well as 138 feet of riverbank on the French Broad. The bridge, with a water clearance of 20-30 feet, would be 1,000 feet downstream of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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The N.C. Division of Water Resources will hold a public hearing March 19 in Asheville to gather comments on the application for a water quality certification Biltmore Farms has submitted.

The project would be the largest economic development win in recent Buncombe County history, and the building would be one of the largest commercial facilities in the county. The building itself would comprise 17.2 acres, "with possible future expansion areas," with total parking spaces listed as 1,149 in one document.

Biggest project in recent memory

"To my knowledge, there's never been anything that big locating here," at least not in the past 20-30 years or even more, said K. Ray Bailey, a former president of A-B Tech Community College who has served as a county commissioner and a member of the Economic Development Coalition of Asheville-Buncombe County. "It would be something we would all be excited about it, because it’s going to provide, hopefully, top-wage jobs, quality jobs, for that many people."

The Citizen Times was unable to reach the EDC for comment on this project.

This century, some of the larger jobs announcements in the Asheville area have included GE Aviation, which announced in 2018 it would boost its workforce to approximately 555 employees; and Nypro, a medical plastics manufacturer in the Avery's Creek area that announced this year it will invest $18.5 million in its plant and add 68 jobs, bringing the total to nearly 400.

The New Belgium brewing company opened its $140 million Asheville facility in 2016, and employment has ranged from 140-175 people. In 2017, Avadim Technologies announced plans to build a $20.4 million facility in Black Mountain that ultimately will create 551 new jobs.

Bailey, 78, also mentioned Arvato, formerly Sonopress, the Weaverville manufacturer that made compact discs and at its peak employed about 1,500 people. But the company shuttered the disc operations in 2015 after a 32-year run.

Asheville has had larger employers, such as American Enka/BASF, a rayon and fiber producer, but those days of massive manufacturing facilities are mostly over.

The Biltmore Farms project, if it comes to fruition, should stimulate the local housing market and be a boost to the economy in general, Bailey said.

A sense of urgency

In a Jan. 9 letter from Biltmore Farms to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biltmore Farms Vice President Lee Thomason notes that "Project Ranger is an economic development project with an extremely sensitive time schedule.

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"As you may know, the Company (being recruited) has selected the Buncombe County site for their proposed expansion," Thomason wrote. "To meet the Company's prescribed schedule, we are going to have to complete clearing and grading for the first portions of the building pad no later than May 15, 2020. To meet this deadline, we plan to start work as as soon as possible."

But Thomason also noted that, "Beginning construction prior to completion of all consultation and coordination is not a standard practice for our company. However, in this case we believe this is the best course of action based on the known timing of the Gray Bat activity on the site."

The endangered gray bats' activity doesn't begin before April 15, Thomason noted, citing the agency's opinions for the upcoming I-26 widening project the North Carolina DOT is conducting.

In a Jan. 17 letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Thomason, the Corps states starting work prior to completion of Endangered Species Act consultation and National Historic Preservation Act coordination "may unintentionally result in a delay of the Corps' final permit decision and additional project costs."

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Project details in letter

A Jan. 31 letter from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides the most detail about the project, noting that the new bridge "would connect N.C. 191 (Brevard Road) with a new road on Biltmore Farms property. This road would be cleared and graded to accommodate a four-lane road, with only a two-lane road being constructed initially."

"The road would lead to an industrial facility that will be approximately 750,000 square feet (17.2 acres) with possible future expansion areas, which will be cleared and graded in association with the initial phase of work," the letter states. "Parking for approximately 1,200 employees will be provided, with 617 parking spaces providing initially; future parking is proposed to include another 532 spaces. Blasting (60 total blasts) may occur for site development for approximately 6 months."

The letter also notes that Old River Road on the Biltmore Farms property will be used to access the construction area from Schenck Road.

Teague said the new bridge, which would lead traffic from NC 191 onto the site, would be open to the general public and designed to carry all sorts of vehicles.

David Uchiyama, a spokesman for the N.C. DOT in the mountain region, said the bridge would be "a private property development."

"N.C. DOT's only involvement — as with any private property development — is to work with them to ensure their access to a state-maintained road, in this case N.C. 191, meets N.C. DOT standards so a driveway permit can be issued," Uchiyama said. "Also, we have agreed that if the bridge and roads meet our design and construction standards, then N.C. DOT could consider adding them to the state maintained system."

That's consistent "with any other private property development which might be interested in turning their roads over to the department," Uchiyama added.

Public hearing

The N.C. Division of Water Resources will hold a public hearing on March 19 in Asheville to gather comments on the application for a water quality certification Biltmore Farms has submitted to the N.C. Division of Water Resources.

The hearing starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Conference Center at 16 Fernihurst Drive in Asheville. Sign-in starts at 5:30 p.m.

The application is available online and is also available at the DWR Asheville Regional Office located at 2090 U.S. 70 in Swannanoa, and may be inspected with an appointment between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For questions or to schedule an appointment, contact Andrew Moore at 828-296-4500.