A large new apartment complex is under consideration for the Fuddruckers restaurant location on the corner of Charlotte and Chestnut streets in Asheville.

That’s according to the president of a local neighborhood association, Suzanne Escovitz, who has issued an email asking neighbors to offer up their opinions of the proposal to the developer, the Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission and Asheville City Council.

Kassinger Development Group has not yet acquired the property, according to the email, and the sale apparently is contingent on city and neighborhood approval of the development plans, according to Escovitz, president of the Grove Park Sunset Mountain Neighborhood Association. (See the full email below.)

Escovitz writes that the plan includes “several hundred apartment units” on the lot, as well as new ground floor retail spaces. There are green building elements to the construction, and a number of units will be set aside and rented as “affordable,” she writes.

It’s apparent that developers have been talking with city staffers for quite some time as they work out details. I haven’t seen any official development plans come before the full Asheville Downtown Commission or the Asheville Technical Review Committee for review. It’s hard to comment on plans when none have been submitted, though it’s not unusual for developers to hold meetings with neighborhood groups before making their plans known to the public.

The growth and development of Charlotte Street was the focus of Asheville City Council in April when it voted to make the street more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. The “road diet” plan includes reducing the four-lane street to three lanes for motorists, with new infrastructure for bicyclists, as well as improved crosswalks and the lowering of the speed limit on Charlotte Street from 35 mph to 25 mph. These changes start at Charlotte Street’s intersection with Chestnut Street and go north, leaving the four-lane road in place on Charlotte Street heading south across the Interstate 240 overpass.

Here’s the full email Escovitz: