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From Staff Reports
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville Botanical Garden, a free-entry public garden and community-supported nonprofit organization, will remain rooted at UNC Asheville for decades to come under a new 50-year ground lease, UNCA announced in a Sept. 21 press release.
The Garden’s previous lease, signed in 2022, was set to expire in 2032. The amended agreement stretches that timeline to 2072, giving the 14-acre native plant preserve near the University’s W.T. Weaver Boulevard entrance greater long-term security.
The new agreement was approved by the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees on August 19 and the UNC Board of Governors on Sept. 17.
“This agreement marks an exciting new chapter in the Garden’s relationship with UNC Asheville,” said Matthew B. Sprouse, partner at Sitework Studios and president of the Asheville Botanical Garden Board. “It gives us the predictability we need to make decisions that will benefit the Garden and the community for generations to come.”
That longer timeframe will help the independent nonprofit build long-term donor support and compete for grants, providing financial resources that are essential for maintenance of the Garden’s trails, bridges, buildings and other infrastructure, as well as its botanical treasures.
“We have more than 850 native plant species here, including rare or endangered plants such as Virginia meadowsweet, Ruth’s golden aster and Virginia round-leaf birch,” said Kaita Collier, executive director of Asheville Botanical Garden. “This diversity reflects more than six decades of people caring for the region’s native flora.
”The seeds for the Garden were planted in 1960, when a small group of plant enthusiasts began rescuing native wildflowers threatened by the region’s postwar development boom. They envisioned a public preserve devoted to Southern Appalachian flora and began transforming an overgrown tract owned by Asheville-Biltmore College, UNC Asheville’s predecessor.
The release added, "The partnership became official in 1965, and the Garden and the University have worked closely together ever since. Donor support helps bring that partnership to life through research and hands-on learning opportunities for UNC Asheville students."
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