News

Plans for 967 more dwellings in pipeline as boom continues

A site plan shows the layout of the proposed Baystone Glen development, which would construct 430 dwellings on 56 acres on Asheville Highway.

By Bill Moss, Published: May 12, 2025

A recent housing assessment found that Henderson County needs 10,000 dwelling units over the next five years to keep pace with growth, and developers continue to propose new single-family homes, townhomes and apartment as they capitalize on the in-migration.

In recent weeks, zoning applicants have submitted plans or gained approval for 967 units, including two developments on Asheville Highway, a 192-unit apartment complex on South Allen Road, the conversion of the shuttered Cascades motel into apartments and a workforce housing complex off Duncan Hill Road.

The proposed developments are moving toward review as area residents already are seeing earth-moving for new dwellings or framing rising from the ground on Greenville Highway, North Main Street, Frances Road and Sugarloaf Road. The Hendersonville City Council has approved 1,938 multi-family units over the past three years, and 1,825 are either under construction or active in the development process, the city planning staff says.

Of those, just 163 are categorized as affordable —meaning families earning between 30 and 80 percent of area median income could rent one. One new workforce housing project could be coming to the city, however.

The Housing Assistance Corp. wants to build a 132-unit multifamily development for affordable apartments on Dermid Avenue off Duncan Hill Road and behind Lowe's. The development would be made up of six three-story apartment buildings plus a 2,000-square-foot community building and a playground. HAC, which plans two phases, has applied for North Carolina housing finance tax credits to build the first phase of 60 units. The City Council OK'd a rezoning application for the development on May 1.

Here's a roundup of other new developments.

Baystone Glen

Tranquil Waters Development LLC and Boones Station LLC and their agent, Justin Rohde, are seeking county rezoning from Regional Commercial and to a Conditional District to allow the 430 dwellings on 56 acres of vacant land south of the Tar Heel Lanes and across from the Jackson Steel Ferris wheel. The land is owned by Nancy and David Bayless and their children

Plans call for 30 single-family lots, 120 townhome units in 23 structures and 280 apartments in 10 structures, for a total density of 7.63 units/acre. Amenities include a clubhouse with rental office, pool, dog park, outdoor common area and sidewalks. Landscaping would be included as required by the county land development code. The development would have three driveways on Asheville Highway, a gated access at Randy Drive and two driveways on Halsbury Avenue, 15.1 acres of open space and 7.6 acres of common space. It would be served by Buncombe-based Metropolitan Sewerage District and Hendersonville city water. The developer also volunteered to set aside an area for an Apple Country Transit stop near the apartments.

The rezoning request is scheduled to come before the Henderson County Planning Board at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at the county building at 100 N. King St.

Asheville Highway at I-26

Landowner Jeff Egolf, the retired car dealer and father of County Commissioner Jay Egolf, is seeking a rezoning to allow a mix of 69 single-family homes and duplex units on 8.6 acres at 35 N. Cureton Place and 44 Cureton Place, in a lightly developed pocket of single-family homes and mobile homes west of Asheville Highway and south of I-26.

The rezoning applicants are Egolf Properties, the Sand Companies and civil engineer Warren Sugg of Civil Design Concepts.

A site plan shows 41 single-family homes, 28 duplexes in 14 structures, a minimum 10-feet setback between dwellings, a clubhouse with a mailroom and rental office, sidewalks, 142 parking spaces, 24-foot wide private roads and two driveway connections on North Cureton Place. The development would be served by Hendersonville city water and Buncombe-based Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Following a Technical Review Committee, “they needed to amend the site plan to account for an easement on the parcel that we were not aware of,” county Planning Director Autumn Radcliff said in response to the Lightning’s question about the project’s status. The project is expected to come before the planning board for review on June 19.

South Allen Road

Paul Aiesi, manager of Greenville, S.C.-based Graycliff Capital Development LLC, and property owners Robert O. Camenzind, Peggy C. Cabe, John T. Fleming, Enno F. Camenzind and Paula Camenzind Carter are seeking the city’s OK to build a 192-unit multi-family development with garages, a pool and other amenities on 17 acres between South Allen Road and I-26. The area is already home to the Summit at Hendersonville apartment complex and the Stonecroft senior apartments.

A site plan shows eight three-story buildings containing 24 units each plus a 3,500-square-foot clubhouse, five 12x9-foot garages, pool, a cabana, fire pit, community garden, dog park and playground. Plans show 324 parking spaces — 120 more than zoning regulations require. A traffic impact analysis projected that the apartments would generate 1,306 trips per day.

Cascades reimagined

Jacob Glover of Pace Living and Cascades owner Hendersonville Hospitality are seeking a rezoning of the 6.7-acre parcel at 201 Sugarloaf Road to Urban Residential conditional zoning district to allow for 120 apartment units. Multi-family residential is not a permitted use in the current C-3 Highway Business zone.

The applicants want to convert the two existing buildings on the site to 100 studio units, 10 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units. The 181 spaces already there is 61 more than the density requires. An analysis showed that the apartments would generate 809 trips per day.
1966.

On April 11 the city fire marshal shut down the Cascades Mountain Resort, which was built in 1961 as a Holiday Inn, over persistent fire code violations.

The redevelopment, which planners declared consistent with the city’s GenH comp plan, “would reimagine and reuse an underutilized property … provide needed housing and address ongoing code violations,” a staff analysis said.

Big Hills at Horse Shoe

The developers of Big Hills at Horse Shoe — Nicholas Bowman, Davis CivilSolutions and Art Bayluk — have added additional acreage to a previously approved subdivision. They’ve filed a revised master plan to add 24 units to the previously approved 30 lots off Ascension Valley in Mills River Township. A new subdivision entrance would be off Turnpike Road.