Developer has new plan for site of Enka clock tower -- and they could have competition

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A developer has a new plan for the site of the former American Enka Company and the beloved, historic Enka clock tower.

Once rumored to be the future home of an Amazon distribution site, the land is now the focus of a new, larger proposal from Samet Corporation, which built the Amazon distribution facility in Mills River.

It was never confirmed what Samet Corporation's initial plans for the land were, but they had gotten city approval to build an unnamed distribution center there, which many thought would be an Amazon facility. Whatever that plan was, Samet Corporation appears to have scrapped it, in exchange for a new vision.

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY PLANS FOR ICONIC ENKA CLOCK TOWER TO BE PRESERVED

"They currently are zoned and have the entitlements to do that previously approved project, but for whatever reason, the client they had in mind or the proposal just never materialized," said Will Palmquist, a principal planner for City of Asheville.

The developer's new plan is called "Enka Commerce Park."

"It's a little more than twice as big as the previous proposal, based on the square footage," Palmquist said.

According to city documents, the proposal would involve constructing three one-story light industrial or distribution buildings totaling 585,360 gross square feet. The buildings would be built in phases. Other site improvements would include off-street parking, a new roadway connection, and stormwater retention ponds.

The historic brick clock tower on the site would be preserved, according to plans.

It's unclear who the tenants of the new buildings would be.

As far as parking and traffic accommodations go, access to the site would be provided by a new cul-de-sac roadway extension off Enka Heritage Parkway. The new roadway would be maintained by NCDOT. A total of 463 employee parking spaces are proposed. A Traffic Analysis Impact was performed and concluded that all "analyzed signalized intersections and approaches are expected to operate at an acceptable level of service. Therefore no improvements are necessary."

The proposed Enka Heritage Greenway is planned to cross over the property, along the western boundary of the project area, and will include a 10-foot-wide paved greenway, a 15-foot-wide maintenance easement, and a 25-foot-wide construction easement.

The zoning amendment needed for this new proposal was set to go before the City of Asheville's Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 21, but it will be continued to Nov. 2 at the developer's request.

"I don't know the impetus for it or why, but it was continued once. It was originally scheduled for, I believe, the August 3rd planning and zoning meeting, and then they asked for it to be continued one month, and then asked again for it to be continued for a couple of months," Palmquist said.

News 13 has reached out to Samet Corporation multiple times for comment. This story will be updated once a response is received.

If you'd like to submit any public comment about the project to the Planning & Zoning Commission ahead of the November 2 meeting, email AVLPZC@PublicInput.com.

"It's a very large, very large site, about 45 and a half acres, pretty strategically located with other, similar light industrial distribution uses nearby," Palmquist said.

Possible competition for the land?

It appears Samet Corporation may not be the only one with eyes on this prime piece of property.

"There's not a lot of sites of this size with that kind of infrastructure that are totally vacant that are left, especially in the city limits, so I could see that as kind of driving just the opportunity for something to be located there. It's a big driver of these different proposals, so that could kind of play into it," Palmquist said.

PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS EXPANSION BIDS FOR HOSPITAL CARE IN BUNCOMBE COUNTY

AdventHealth is competing with other hospital systems to fill the need for more hospital beds in the area, which News 13 has reported extensively on. The hospital systems are waiting to hear from state officials on whose proposal will be chosen.

AdventHealth's plan, coincidentally, would involve constructing a new, 67-bed community hospital in the Enka Center, located off Smokey Park Highway and Sand Hill Road. According to their website, "many people will recognize this property as the former American Enka Co. site and home of the historic Enka Clock Tower."

News 13 has reached out to the hospital for comment. This story will be updated once a response is received.