University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

Register of Manuscript
for

 Housing Authority of the City of Asheville Records

M2007.12.01-122

Asheville Housing Authority booklet, "Our Community - Civic Redevelopment," 
in Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, N.C., Records, Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNCA

In general project records include standard planning documents such as project area maps, a survey of the existing structures in the project area, the redevelopment plan, appraisal reports, and ownership data.  Also included are general project administrative documents such as correspondence, contracts, reports, news clippings, and summary documents.  In addition to general administration files and planning documents are several series pertaining to the acquisition, disposal, or rehabilitation of individual parcels, as well as the relocation of individual occupants.  

The collection is currently being processed and has not been thoroughly examined.  Consequently information about the collection and the activities it documents are not fully known and described at this time. Several series containing sensitive information are closed to all researchers (faculty, students, public) while retention and privacy laws are being researched by library staff.  

Over time this agency has taken on several different names. The original agency, the Asheville Redevelopment Commission, was officially merged with the Housing Authority in 1971, although they had shared a common director and project staff for several years prior to the merger. [Note:  The name of this agency seems to have been the same since its inception; however the name Asheville Housing Authority is often used as an informal or shorter name.  This informal name is generally used by non-agency staff, such as contractors or private citizens, as well as agency staff and other city employees on internal docs and memos.] Today the agency is officially referred to as the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville.

The records contained in this collection are those primarily concerned with what the city and public referred to as 'redevelopment projects'. The redevelopment projects fall under the general rubric of 'urban renewal', hence the frequent reference to the files as 'urban renewal' files. The largest volume of  records in this collection are those from Asheville's  East Riverside (Southside) Urban Redevelopment Project (NC R-48) and from the Civic Redevelopment Project (NC R-13).

The records from the Housing Authority City of Asheville were transferred to UNCA by the Asheville Planning and Development Department with the assistance of  Mountain Housing Opportunities, in July 2007, and  formal transfer occurred October 16, 2007 when the Asheville City Council officially approved the transfer of the material files and photographs and provided a subsidy for the processing of the collection.

NC R-48, the largest of the urban renewal projects included in this collection, was planned to address "a blighted area predominantly residential in character and considered to be eligible under Section 110c 1. of the federal Housing Act of 1949 and amended under the North Carolina Urban Redevelopment Law of 1951, 'as amended, N.C.G.S. 160-454 through 16-474.'"  The renewal Project Plan for NC R-48  provided for both rehabilitation and conservation efforts and for clearance and redevelopment in accordance with the project proposals. The plan is described in this manner:

"The major emphasis will be on preserving and maintaining the existing housing stock through rehabilitation and conservation techniques. Selected areas, however, are scheduled for clearance and redevelopment for a variety of uses including residential, public, commercial, and industrial."

The provisions of the NC R-48 plan were scheduled to be in effect until December 31, 1986 but reflect numerous amendments.  The key objectives described in the official plan are the following:

• To eliminate the blighting conditions which prevented the economic utilization of the land.
• To create sizeable areas of land for residential use to relocate the occupants of substandard housing within their incomes.
• To provide for sound, economic redevelopment of commercial, industrial and institutional land in the Area in accordance with the Plan and the needs of the City of Asheville.
• To provide for the stabilization of land uses and property values within and adjoining the Project Area.
• To provide improved traffic facilities without disturbing standard residential property.
• To provide adequate facilities and utility services in order to create a self sustained neighborhood at par with any other standard neighborhood of the community. Such public facilities include space for parks, public housing, expansion of school grounds, a Y.M.C.A.
• To identify areas capable of being  rehabilitated by refurbishing structures.
• To beautify the neighborhood by clearing dilapidated structures out of the flood plain and converting that area into a public park.
• To improve the park in the flood plain by cleaning out the creek.
• To provide a visual barrier for residential property located along major streets through the use of green buffer strips.
• To encourage cycling paths and pedestrian trails thru the green buffer strips to provide for the better enjoyment of nature.

NC R-13 Civic Redevelopment Project was considered to be a "Modernization Program. As described by the Asheville Housing Authority, " ...the area encompassing this project The Civic Redevelopment Project north and west of City-County Plaza was responsible for the present Health Department building among others. The East Riverside Urban Renewal Project bought dilapidated properties on 424 acres in the vicinity of Aston Park and then sold the land to builders of affordable housing. Marjorie Scavella of the Asheville Housing Authority says eminent domain was used when necessary. She remembers some furor at the time but says the current feeling in the neighborhoods about the project is positive." 

This brief historical note is not comprehensive for the Housing Authority collection and it is recommended that users continue to visit the site for updates and for additional material descriptions in FULL TEXT.

The Housing Authority of the City of Asheville collection is currently organized into:
two general administrative series:

1.)  Redevelopment Commission
2.)  Housing Authority

The organization also includes numerous series relating to specific redevelopment and other Housing Authority projects and two media series (Reference Materials not published by the Housing Authority and Photographic Media not associated with specific project files)

*Note that the collection is currently being processed and the final arrangement will most likely be somewhat different than the current arrangement.

Note

 Box 1

1

Boxes 2-11

Housing Authority of the City of Asheville general files, 1967-1990s.  11.0 linear ft.

2-5

6-10

11

Slides II - General and not identified as associated with a specific project (scanned)

Slides II - General and not associated with a specific project (scanned)

Photographs III - Specific to Project. See Block and Parcel Location

[See also:  East Riverside Photographs]