Former South Asheville golf club land sees new project with homes, townhomes for sale
ASHEVILLE - The property formerly known as Brookwood Golf Club has recently seen an application for a housing development of more than 200 units at 455 Mills Gap Road in Arden.
The 9-hole Brookwood Golf Club closed in 2008 after 30 years of operation. A 156-unit development was set for the property before the Great Recession hit the housing market.
The new development, dubbed "Central Park," is set to go before the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment on April 10.
If approved, Central Park would bring 23 single-family homes and 185 new townhomes to two parcels just north of Christ School and directly adjacent to Mills Gap Road.
The development proposal indicates the amenities for the development include a gazebo, dog park, fire pit, sidewalks, green area and a walking trail. A "tot lot" — an alternate term for a playground — is also proposed.
All of the 208 homes will go up for sale after completion, according to development documents. A homeowner's association will be established to maintain open space, streets and utilities.
The development has been proposed by the Florida-based Ambach Communities, LLC. Ambach has applied for other housing developments in the area before, including the Creekside Community, a large multi-family and single-family development in Arden.
Mark Ambach, the developer of the property, noted the Asheville-area has a need for both single-family and townhome development.
"We think there's a real need for housing of this type in the marketplace that's not available," Ambach told the Citizen Times.
The property was most recently sold for $1.5 million in 2020, according to Buncombe County Property Records.
The stream adjacent to the development had also seen the implementation of a 20-acre land conservation easement and stream restoration project on behalf of the Asheville-based environmental nonprofit RiverLink. The developer plans to build around the 20-acre easement, which bisects the 47-acre property, according to development documents.
A traffic impact analysis has been conducted for the development. The 110-page document indicates that conditions at the intersection of Mills Gap Road and Weston Road would likely see some change during the morning and evening. Estimates for additional delays do not exceed more than a three second delay from current conditions.
The portion of Mills Gap Road adjacent to the development will soon see improvements as part of the N.C. Department of Transportation State Transportation Improvement Program. Construction is expected to start in 2025, according to the NCDOT website. The project is estimated to cost a total of $25 million.
The proposal indicates that 434 new parking spaces will be included in the development, with garages for both townhomes and single-family homes.
During Board of Adjustment hearings on development applications, attendees who would like to provide witness testimony for or against development can sign up to speak toward the end of the hearing. Those who may suffer probable damages from development can apply for legal standing.
The board reviews applications in a quasi-judicial process, where board members decide how current laws apply to an application, obtain evidence and review ordinance standards.
As of March 26, no applications for legal standing against the development have been uploaded to the Buncombe County website.
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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.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: New housing project proposed for former South Asheville golf club
