From Staff Reports

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority awarded six projects about $3.9 million in grants on Oct. 29.

The funding was approved unanimously by the TDA board. Eighty percent of the grants went to the City of Asheville for greenways, soccer fields and the Western North Carolina Nature Center.

Meanwhile, a project that includes Beaucatcher Greenway, the west bank of the French Broad River Greenway and a crosswalk and river access at Amboy Road Park, received about $1.7 million in grant funding. 

“This is exciting,” Stephanie Monson Dahl, director of Asheville’s Riverfront Redevelopment Office, told local news media. “This is funding the community’s plans and is funding for making this a better place.

“These projects won’t only be helpful to visitors to Asheville,” Monson Dahl added. “They also improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in Asheville.”

The funding for Riverfront development nearly matches last year’s total, when those projects were awarded $1.8 million in tourism grants.

Meanwhile, $1.1 million was awarded for resurfacing of the soccer fields at the city-owned John H. Lewis complex. The Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association submitted the grant application on behalf of the fields.

That award also enables City of Asheville officials to use another $900,000 from the City Improvements Program for work on the fields.

The WNC Nature Center, which received a $313,000 grant to upgrade its gateway, will be able to develop a permanent butterfly exhibit, among other improvements. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center submitted the application for those funds.

The Asheville Museum of Science, formerly the Colburn Earth Science Museum, was granted $400,000 for its planned move to a larger space in downtown’s Wells Fargo building.

The Collider climate-science center, which applied for $350,000, received only $150,000 in grant funding. That funding will cover technology enhancements for midweek conference and business meetings. The Collider also received $150,000 last year.

Riverglass Public Glass Studio & School was granted $200,000 in grant funding for a River Arts District project, which will include classes, demonstrations, exhibitions and glass artist studio space.

Authority board members turned down a grant request from the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, which sought to pay for a conference facility.

Sixteen candidates submitted applications by the June deadline in an application process that began in January. Seven advanced to the next stage.

The applications’ review criteria included evaluating whether the projects met the legislative mandate of creating overnight visits.

The reviewers visited the site of each project to evaluate economic impact, feasibility and financial strength. Applicants gave presentations during a two-day review.

As of October, the fund totaled about $3.2 million.

TDA board members will vote in February to approve awarding $700,000 for the French Broad River Greenway, according to Stephanie Pace Brown, executive director of the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Construction on that greenway is expected to start in May.

Tourism grant money is generated from a portion of the room tax revenues paid by overnight visitors in Buncombe lodging accommodations.

Since its inception in 2001, the grant program has awarded more than $21 million in grants for 27 projects.