After decades of speculation — and yearning from Costco devotees — the city of Asheville has received plans for a store to be built in the Enka Commerce Park, Asheville Watchdog has learned.

“I can confirm that we have a pre-application meeting to the Technical Review Committee scheduled for tomorrow for a proposed Costco on Enka Heritage Parkway,” Will Palmquist, principal planner with the city of Asheville, said via email Tuesday.

Fletcher Partners is the development company that owns and has developed much of the commerce park. Partner Martin Lewis did not respond to a request for comment, but rumors have swirled about a possible Costco at the site for years.

The Watchdog reached out to Costco but did receive a response before publication.

Fletcher Partners bought the 200-acre site in 2008, when the Great Recession hit. The city of Asheville approved site plans, but development was slow to come.

In mid-February, Lewis; officials with Samet Corp., which just completed a large warehouse on the property and has two more buildings planned; and elected city and county officials attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the warehouse and a bridge leading into the property. The bridge was started nearly a decade ago but just opened last month.

Josh Drye, development manager with the Samet Corp., said at that ceremony that the company plans to start the second spec building when the first is 50 to 75 percent leased. That first building is ready for leasing.

Reached Tuesday, Drye declined to comment on a potential Costco. “That’s not my project,” he said.

Drye referred The Watchdog to Samet’s president of real estate, but he didn’t respond by deadline. 

Plans on file with the city show the Costco situated on a 25-acre site within Enka Commerce Park, with 839 parking spaces. The plans also show the nearby historic Enka clock tower, which Samet has committed to preserving.

Coming before the Technical Review Committee is an early step in a project’s development. The eight-member body consists of six staff, a representative of the Urban Forestry Commission, and a member representing the Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewer District.

“As proposed, the project would require a conditional zoning since it is over 100,000 square feet,” Palmquist said. “After the project is reviewed by the TRC, it would be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission, and their recommendation would be forwarded to City Council for the final decision.”

The TRC was established in 1997 for consideration of site plans, subdivision plats, master plans for Planned Unit Development, plans for conditional use permit or other land development matters consistent with the provisions of the Unified Development Ordinance, according to the city’s website. “The members shall ensure that the proposed project complies with the development requirements and applicable City standards,” the site states. 

Costco has more than 600 stores, or warehouses, in the U.S. The nearest Costco is in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and for years Asheville shoppers have made the 70-mile trek down I-26 to buy groceries in bulk.

This story will be updated.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org.  To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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Despite other Republican members of Congress recently holding town hall gatherings that devolved into raucous shouting matches, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., has scheduled an event in Asheville for March 13.

“I’ve had many constituents ask me lately if I could hold another live town hall. The answer is most emphatically, yes,” Edwards said in a news release Monday. “Being accessible, listening, and answering questions for the people of WNC are among my favorite activities, even if we might not always agree.”

Edwards will hold the in-person town hall from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech. 

Edwards, who breezed to re-election last November in the staunchly conservative 11th Congressional district, held eight in-person town halls in his first term and had another planned but had to cancel it due to Tropical Storm Helene.

Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper said town hall events are important interactions between elected officials and their constituents. Cooper also said it’s noteworthy that Edwards, who lives in Hendersonville, will hold an event in Asheville, one of the few liberal areas in the district.

“He’s going right into the belly of the beast,” Cooper said. “It’s meaningful. It signals that he is not trying to avoid a situation that might run counter to his partisan interests.”

In June 2023 Edwards hosted an anti-crime summit at A-B Tech after a series of reports in the Asheville Watchdog and other media regarding increased concerns about public safety among downtown business owners, residents, and visitors. 

Last week, Edwards issued a statement about town halls but would not confirm any pending events. Edwards said then he hoped to maintain a pace of about one town hall per quarter this term, depending on his legislative calendar.

“Additionally, I continue to hold regular tele-town halls, which allow many more folks to participate directly by simply dialing in,” Edwards said.

In recent weeks, several Republican Congressional members have encountered hostile crowds at their town hall meetings in the wake of the Trump administration’s widespread firings of federal workers and shuttering of programs.

Cooper noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson, also a Republican, suggested last week that Democrats were packing the town halls to make them look contentious. 

“It appears that there was some guidance from Speaker Johnson’s office that legislators —  Republican members of Congress — should not hold town halls, because some of them have resulted in bad press for the members,” Cooper said. “So yeah, I am pleased that Edwards would host a town hall.”

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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