ASHEVILLE – After receiving approval for a mixed-use project in the River Arts District, the developer is looking to change up the plan, proposing to build only apartments in the area, while scrapping the adaptive reuse of a historic building and planned commercial space.
A mixed-use development at 179 Riverside Drive was approved in 2021, but Tampa-based developer BRN Development submitted a conditional zoning amendment on Feb. 6, ditching the mixed-use plan to instead build 240 apartments in the seven-story building — an increase of 104 units from the original submission.
The project site is across the river from New Belgium Brewery and adjacent to Cotton Mill Studios.
During a neighborhood meeting on the development, Peter Alberice with the architecture firm MHA Works stated the proposed amendment was the result of a old mill building’s recent collapse and suggestions from local advocacy groups to include more residential space and less commercial space.
The final size and number of units have not been determined, according to neighborhood meeting notes.