From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Citing wage concerns, diminished property taxes and the potential loss of the city’s last remaining industrial development site to retail, the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County recently voted to oppose the locating of a proposed Costco in the Enka Commerce Park, the website AVL Watchdog reported on Dec. 10.

.“By every measure — wages, tax base, and land use — the rezoning of Enka Commerce Park for Costco is simply not in Asheville’s best long-term interest,” Clark Duncan, the EDC’s executive director, wrote in an email to all seven Asheville City Council members in late October.

Costco has been searching for a Buncombe location for decades, and locals often drive to Spartanburg or Greenville, South Carolina, to shop at the retailer’s nearest store. 

Earlier this year, the company submitted an application to the city for a store with 839 parking spaces on 25 acres within Enka Commerce Park, a request that will require the city to approve a conditional zoning amendment..

“While we all enjoy the convenience and appeal of a nationally respected retailer like Costco, it will not grow local wages, accelerate recovery, or strengthen our fiscal foundation at this specific location,” Duncan wrote, referring to recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.

Duncan noted that several long-range plans for Asheville, including “Living Asheville,” “Buncombe 2025” and the “Asheville 5×5 Strategic Plan” all recommend “aligning workforce, infrastructure, and land use investments to grow household wages and strengthen the tax base needed to sustain essential public services.”