Asheville East End church affordable housing conversion project gets planning board OK

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times
Updated ·3 min read
Cappadocia Church is seen next to a newly built home, January 18, 2024.
Cappadocia Church is seen next to a newly built home, January 18, 2024.

ASHEVILLE - The plan to convert a nearly 100-year-old church to affordable housing in the historically Black East End neighborhood will soon be voted on by City Council after its adaptive reuse was unanimously recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission during its May 1 meeting.

The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe, in collaboration with the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association and Dogwood Health Trust, have proposed converting the inside of Cappadocia Fire-Baptized Holiness Church to three units of affordable housing, as previously reported by the Citizen Times.

The effort comes after the groups saved the church from demolition after a development company purchased the building in 2021.

The preservation society bought back the property and with help from the neighborhood association hired the Asheville-based Native Forms Architecture and Davis Civil Solutions to develop plans that would convert the church into three units of affordable housing.

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Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County, Jessie Landl, left, and Amanda Moore, Director of Historic Preservation, inside Cappadocia, January 18, 2024.
Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County, Jessie Landl, left, and Amanda Moore, Director of Historic Preservation, inside Cappadocia, January 18, 2024.

During the meeting, city planner Clay Mitchell described the plan as a "really interesting preservation project." Mitchell also discussed its background and history, how "Cappadocia" likely gets its name from a region of the same name in Turkey, as written by Dale Slusser, who produces the PSABC's "Architectural Tid-bit" articles.

"Here we have great architecture and urban design to enhance placemaking by adaptively reusing a building that has a significant and deep historic connection to the area of Catholic Hill," Mitchell said of the Cappadocia plan.

Retired Rev. Jim Abbott, an East End resident since 1999 and assistant treasurer for the East End Valley Street Neighborhood Association, spoke during the meeting, expressing the neighborhood association's support for the project and stating "it really has been a cooperative effort since the beginning."

"This is really important for the neighborhood," Abbott said of the effort, noting the conversion could help prevent further gentrification in a neighborhood that faced urban renewal and redlining.

The Rev. LaPrince Edwards, right, and Father Jim Abbott, left are seen in this file photo. Abbott, a resident of East End/Valley Street, said the church conversion into housing would help prevent further gentrification in the neighborhood.
The Rev. LaPrince Edwards, right, and Father Jim Abbott, left are seen in this file photo. Abbott, a resident of East End/Valley Street, said the church conversion into housing would help prevent further gentrification in the neighborhood.

The project is seeking a conditional zoning request to create a 20-foot buffer that would accommodate a retaining wall, garden plots and new plantings.

Commission Chair Geoffrey Barton noted if the project didn't seek to add parking, it wouldn't require a conditional zoning as the project could lose the retaining wall and buffer exception.

Nick Bowman, an engineer with Davis Civil Solutions, said the team had been "toying with" possibly getting rid of parking, but the team wanted to make the apartments accessible, which would require the parking spots.

"If we were to park somewhere else, there's no way to get an accessible route," Bowman said.

Commissioner Brenton Faircloth noted that the development team has not provided a conditional zoning commitment on "any level of affordability" in the conditional zoning requirements. Mitchell said the development team is currently unwilling to specifically commit to affordable housing in writing due to possible unknown costs the project may hold.

The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County, in collaboration with the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association and Dogwood Health Trust, is working to preserve the historic Black church, Cappadocia, by converting it into three apartments.
The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County, in collaboration with the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association and Dogwood Health Trust, is working to preserve the historic Black church, Cappadocia, by converting it into three apartments.

In January, PSABC Executive Director Jessie Landl said funding is expected to fluctuate, depending on "what surprises" might come up in the process of refurbishing the church building built in 1926. The congregation

All commissioners gave positive comments on the effort, with Commissioner Jared Wheatley noting the adaptive reuse of the building is "one of the most aligned things we can do" in relation to the Asheville comprehensive plan.

The unanimous recommendation of the conditional zoning request means the plan will move to City Council. Mitchell said the church has a tentative date of May 28 for City Council review.

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville historic church affordable unit conversion heads to council