ASHEVILLE - Residents near a proposed seven-story boutique hotel and condominium project in downtown had a unified message in a meeting with its civil engineer: Thanks, but no thanks.

About 90 people were on hand Thursday in the basement of Pack Memorial Library to discuss the details of a project proposed by local developer Victor Foo of Foo Enterprises. Foo's plan calls for a hotel with 30 rooms and seven condominium units as well as 25 parking spots at a property he owns at 95 Broadway St., near its intersection with Woodfin Street.

Chris Day, a senior project manager at Civil Design Concepts, and architect Michael Driskill said the property also would have basic hotel amenities such as a café with wireless internet access and a meeting room.

It's also expected to feature a rooftop garden area accessible to hotel guests and condo owners, Driskill said.

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Project is in beginning stages

Day told the room the project is in its earliest stages with stops required at the city's Technical Review Committee, the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.

He said it will not be able to get underway until at least spring 2019.

The meeting was the second community gathering about the project. The first drew just seven attendees with notes from the developer showing neighbors "liked the overall project" and thought it was "better than existing conditions."

In stark contrast, residents Thursday largely expressed opposition to the project. It was characterized by various neighbors as "a detriment to this community," "a terrible location," and "predatory." One resident requested the developer "take the building and move it somewhere else. We don't want it."

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Asheville resident Casey Campfield, who organized a Facebook event promoting the meeting, said Foo's project was "out of character" with the existing neighborhood and business district. The area houses tattoo shops and dive bars such as its neighbor, The Lazy Diamond.

Campfield suggested the developer instead consider designing an affordable housing project that would be more desirable to residents in the room.

"We have dozens of hotels already and dozens under construction," Campfield said. "We don’t need any more. End of story."

A host of other issues were raised: lack of parking near the site and for boutique hotels in general, existing traffic concerns the project could exacerbate, neighborhood gentrification, a lack of affordable housing for Ashevillians, and the potential for noise complaints coming from hotel guests and condo owners given its proximity to several music venues.

Some also argued their concerns were not being heard by Foo — who was not in attendance Thursday — or Day, effectively a client of Foo's, as he was not recording the meeting.

"What are you going to do specifically that will make people come see us, talk to us, make the city understand?" resident Anthony McPherson said in an impassioned series of remarks to Day.

"We’re reasonable people and took time out to understand, but everything you're telling me is a big (expletive) you."

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In response, Day requested a copy of the audio from a person recording it. He also urged residents to continue raising concerns at future city meetings, saying, "I am not here to be the mouthpiece," and joking, "I don't think any of you are going to allow" him to fill that role.

Driskill, in turn, thanked residents for their passion before departing the still-in-progress meeting.

"It’s inspiring to see so many people in the community show up. It is inspiring," he said, adding, "it's wonderful to see y'all here and hear what you have to say."

Developments draw community concern

The property at 95 Broadway St. has been owned by Foo since 2016, when he purchased it for $405,000, Buncombe County property data show. A 1,788-square-foot building stands on the land, which is near the Asheville Masonic Temple and HomeTrust Bank.

Foo's project is far from the first to draw heat in a community forum, as residents continue to grapple with the undesirable effects of development and bearing the brunt of an economy favorable to tourism.

In August, about 150 people packed Asheville's St. Mary's Episcopal Church to raise concerns about a four-story, mixed-use apartment project proposed by Kassinger Development Group on Charlotte Street at the site of what is now a Fuddruckers restaurant.

"We live here, so we want to do it," developer Chip Kassinger said during the meeting, "but it's got to be a certain size to make sense."

Separately, residents of two East Asheville neighborhoods spoke out in opposition to a 214-unit apartment complex development proposed at 423 Moffitt Road. The project was submitted to the county for approval earlier this year by developer Michael Posey, but ultimately turned away by the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment.

Posey later appealed the decision. Neighbors — who expressed concerns about the project's inconsistency with the surrounding area and for increased traffic — successfully filed to intervene in the appeal.

A decision on the project's future is pending a decision by Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope.