From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE — UNC Asheville Millennial Campus properties, a designation that includes 45 acres of wooded land on its south campus, will be developed, Chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in a March 7 letter to faculty and staff, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on March 17.

“Possibilities include affordable workforce and student housing, research industry collaborations and facilities for education, sports, childcare and entertainment and recreation,” the ACT noted. 

However, no decisions have been finalized, van Noort said in an opinion column published March 9 in the ACT. 

The Millennial Campus designation was approved in 2021 for more than 200 acres of UNCA property.

The Millennial Campus designaton “gives universities regulatory flexibility to finance projects and collaborate with industry and the private sector,” the ACT noted.

‘Since excavators were seen cutting new paths through the beloved wooded property in January, making way for boring equipment, neighborhood fear around its future has mounted. It is often referred to as ‘the woods,’ recognized by neighbors as among the largest remaining urban forests in the city.

“While several statements regarding ‘exploratory assessments’ were released in the weeks that followed, two March statements — an opinion piece from van Noort that ran in the Citizen Times, and the letter to faculty — offered the clearest view of the university’s plans.

“Chris Cotteta, president of the Five Points Neighborhood Association, which borders the property, told the ACT the chancellor’s letter only confirmed what they already assumed was true,” the newspaper reported.