Asheville staff recommend reserving Army Reserve site for future transit maintenance facility; project estimated at $60M

City staff told council they recommend retaining city-owned land at 224 Louisiana Avenue as a candidate site for a new transit maintenance facility to meet long-term fleet needs.

Walter Eerd, interim director of Capital Management, presented prior planning work showing that the transit maintenance site at 360 West Haywood (3.4 acres) is at capacity. "We literally cannot grow because we cannot fit more buses on the site," Eerd said, noting prior studies (2018 master plan; 2021 operational study) that estimated an 80-bus fleet could require roughly 6.8 to 13.9 acres. Staff highlighted 224 Louisiana Ave — about 9 acres and currently operated by the U.S. Army Reserve, which is scheduled to vacate in 2027 — as the lowest-impact city-owned option among parcels reviewed.

Staff presented an escalated 2021 estimate of roughly $60 million in total project cost (about $5 million for design; ~$55 million for facility and equipment) and said the Federal Transit Administration's Bus and Bus Facilities grant program could help fund an 80% share of eligible costs, leaving an approximate $12 million local match. An assistant director said the grant is competitive and appears periodically; staff expect another round in 2026 and noted federal environmental and compliance steps would precede capital work.

Councilors asked about operational tradeoffs, floodplain constraints (FTA funds preclude sites in flood zones), traffic and corridor planning along Patton Avenue, and whether selling other city property could fund part of the project. Staff said retaining the Army Reserve parcel avoids acquisition cost and schedule delay but acknowledged tradeoffs with other uses, including housing and greenway connectivity. Eerd recommended retaining the parcel while staff refine answers to traffic, environmental, and neighborhood impacts and prepare for a potential 2026 grant application.

Staff presented a tentative schedule: preliminary scoping and grant application preparation in spring, capital implementation beginning in 2028 if funded, and a relocation/occupation timeframe in the mid-2030s. Council asked staff to return with additional analysis of traffic, environmental constraints and possible phasing options; staff agreed to continue interdepartmental review and to present grant-application authorization if no major red flags emerge.