What we do

The Community and Economic Development department fosters an equitable community and economy. We work to preserve and increase the availability of affordable housing, improve access to services, create paths toward economic mobility, promote resiliency, and support sustainable growth. We collaborate with community partners, other government agencies, businesses, and residents to enhance the quality of life and availability of opportunities for all in Asheville.

The department includes four divisions, Affordable Housing, Community Development, Homeless Strategy, and Economic Development; and three programs, Business Inclusion Office, City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA), and City Real Estate Office.

The department’s success is measured through the lens of the City’s comprehensive plan and vision, focusing on creating a resilient and thriving local economy, fostering an equitable and diverse community, preserving and developing quality affordable housing, and engaging in responsible regionalism.


Contact: Promise Boseman, Business Services Administrator.



 
Attention: HOME ARP Public comment period closed Monday, March 20, 2023 for more information please vist our Public Notices webpage here

 

Related Services

Business Inclusion (ABI)

The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city.

Find cold weather emergency shelter

When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold.

Related Projects

HOME-ARP Program Funding

Happening Now The City of Asheville has prepared the Allocation Plan for the HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) Program. The final Allocation Plan is posted at this link.  The HOME-ARP Allocation Plan sets out how the City of Asheville and the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium propose to use an estimated $4,699,862 in [...]

Disparity Study 2022

The City of Asheville’s Community and Economic Development Department has commissioned Miller3 Consulting, Inc. to conduct a five year comprehensive Disparity Study of its contractual awards in goods, professional and general services, and construction.

Understanding Unsheltered Homelessness

Early in 2022, the City of Asheville, Buncombe County, and Dogwood Health Trust formed a collaborative to respond to the increased need, and Dogwood Health Trust offered to fund a consultancy to bring national expertise to the local community to better understand and address the crisis of unsheltered homelessness.  The City is serving as the contracting point of contact for this collaborative, and published a Request for Proposals in February 2022 on behalf of the group.

Community and Economic Development News

City of Asheville announces new Division Manager for Community Development, Dennis Newburn

The City of Asheville welcomes Dennis Newburn to its Community and Economic Development department. Newburn will serve as Community Development Division Manager and manage the HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs. He brings extensive experience in the areas of program administration, project management, contract compliance, program monitoring, and community planning.   Newburn comes to Asheville [...]

City Council approves submission of Annual Action Plan to support affordable housing, economic development and more

On February 28, 2023, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the 2023-2024 formula allocations for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership programs. With Council’s approval on May 9, the City’s FY 23-24 Annual Action Plan can now be submitted to HUD.  CDBG and HOME are federal [...]