Asheville staff highlight three TDA grant bids; council asks for clearer CIP-based prioritization

Jamie Matthews, assistant to the city manager, told Asheville City Council at its April 9 agenda briefing that the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) offers two primary grant streams—TPDF for major tourism capital projects and Lyft (a more flexible stream that can fund maintenance, design and infrastructure)—and that staff are aligning proposed city projects with those allowable uses.

“Our goal is to align our capital needs and our CIP with the allowable uses for the TDA grant funding,” Matthews said. She said the current Lyft cycle opened in April and applications are due May 1, with award decisions by the TDA board expected in September.

Matthews listed the three projects staff plan to pursue in this cycle: the Craven Street Bike Bridge (an additional parallel crossing intended to improve safety for people walking and biking), the Eagle Market Streetscape project (as part of the Boosting the Block initiative, including sidewalks and streetscaping, and some public art), and expanded sidewalks and streetscapes in Biltmore Village. She said the Craven Street bridge is a North Carolina DOT-led construction project and that the city’s application would cover the city’s matching portion.

Council members asked detailed questions about sequencing, readiness and the process used to winnow potential projects.

Council Member Maggie Olman asked for timing details for the Craven Street bridge; Matthews said, “I know construction is currently slated for 2027. I think around summer of 2027, but I would have to get more.”

Council Member Sage Turner and others pushed staff to explain whether council had previously reviewed a larger slate of candidate projects and whether staff had simply “taken like 20 items and boiled it down” without fuller council input. Turner said she recalled receiving broader options in past cycles and asked whether the process had changed.

Ben Woody, assistant city manager, said the city generally must propose projects that are already funded and programmed in the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) because TDA grants are intended to leverage existing projects that are ready to be advanced. “You’ve got to have projects that are already funded and programmed and ready to go because you’re building off your CIP,” Woody said, noting that prioritization already exists in the CIP and that staff will provide more clarity on the list of projects that were considered but not advanced for this cycle.

Matthews and Woody said staff will return with additional documentation on the prioritization lens and on which projects are not yet shovel-ready so council can better evaluate choices and communications with the public.

What it means: If the city secures TDA matching funds, the award would reduce the city’s net construction cost for the listed projects but also requires coordination with other funders (state DOT, North Carolina Commerce grants and local bond funds) and confirmation that the projects meet the TDA’s eligibility criteria. Matthews noted that the Eagle Market Streetscape proposal would be matched in part with state and local sidewalk funding and that Biltmore Village work seeks to expand an existing North Carolina Commerce grant footprint.

Next steps: Staff said applications will be finalized before the May 1 Lyft deadline and that they will provide council a clearer prioritization memo and the list of projects that were evaluated but not advanced.