Biltmore Farms Brings ‘New Urbanism’ to Asheville Project
Published Mar 23, 2009
John F.A.V. Cecil is president of Biltmore Farms, developer of the $200 million Biltmore Park project in Asheville.
The Blue Ridge Mountains encircling Asheville lure a steady stream of tourists year round, but these days they’re also a draw for businesses and entrepreneurs.
Biltmore Park blends the traditional with the energy and vibrancy of the new, right in step with the lifestyle of the Blue Ridge region.
Asheville-based developer Biltmore Farms saw the large-scale, mixed-use development as a chance to be a true urban pioneer, bringing together traditional business-office services with solid residential and retail components.
“We want our developments to be done in such a way that they’ll help Asheville attract and retain human capital, good companies, so that we can grow higher-paying jobs,” says Paul Szurek, Biltmore Farms CFO.
Developed as a partnership by Biltmore Farms LLC and Crosland LLC, Biltmore Park is a $200 million project with upwards of 205,000 square feet of office space, a 16-screen theater, more than 235,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 165-room Hilton hotel, and 274 condominium and townhome units within its 42-acre boundaries near Interstate 26.
The company is also behind two new, major housing developments, Biltmore Lake (built around a 62-acre lake) and The Ramble.
“We do not look at any development as a pure real-estate development,” says Szurek. “Everything we do is based on a community development template. We want to make sure that the community around our real estate is prospering, because that ensures that our development will prosper.”
Biltmore Farms examines multiple aspects of a community, including education, health care, arts and culture, the environment and economic development, before it embarks on a project, Szurek says.
“For education, we want schools there; higher education, if possible,” he says. “In Biltmore Park, land was deeded to the school system, and we also supported nearby private education and now are bringing in the University of Phoenix as a key tenant.”
Biltmore Park, as well as The Ramble and other developments, were designed with high-end stormwater and erosion-control systems, as well as other features that enable them to be good stewards of sensitive land areas.
But perhaps the most important aspect of any project is its economic development potential.
“We want to bring the knowledge-based, financial and creative corporate-headquarters jobs here. When you’re going out to recruit these businesses that want to get away from an Atlanta or a Charlotte, you know they don’t want to live in an area that doesn’t have the technical or social amenities they’re used to,” Szurek says.
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Ian Curcio
Current Weather Conditions In Fletcher, NC (28732)
Cloudy, and 69 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
