Regine Criser

This document outlines recommendations for the development of UNC Asheville's Millennial Campus properties to address institutional challenges such as declining enrollment and constrained public funding. The strategic framework is built upon five core principles: generating recurring revenue, enhancing campus livability including housing, fostering a welcoming environment for both university and local communities, ensuring mission-aligned land uses, and prioritizing landscape-sensitive design. The overarching goal is to strengthen the university's position by attracting investment, boosting enrollment, and creating a more vibrant campus that serves students and the community for future generations.

The committee established a foundational framework for future development, prioritizing financial sustainability, campus livability, and mission alignment. The strategy emphasizes reliance on private investment for large-scale projects, with the university contributing land. Key guiding principles include fostering partnerships, enhancing student recruitment and retention, maintaining design quality, and integrating community connections. Additionally, the committee evaluated development potential for specific properties, including the South Campus, the Rhoades property, and the Broadway property, while advocating for a flexible, phased development approach.

The Committee discussed the university's institutional context, including declining enrollment trends and the need to address the demographic challenges facing higher education. Key goals were established to expand campus housing, create vibrant community-gathering spaces, and generate new revenue through development-linked cash flows or increased enrollment. The Committee directed consultants to map university holdings and explore three specific development typologies: a community front porch, public-private partnership investment, and an affordable housing-anchored neighborhood. Additionally, the Committee outlined a strategy for community engagement, including structured stakeholder interviews, individual feedback sessions, and a public-facing website, to inform future developer solicitations.

The Committee evaluated the development viability of various university properties, identifying the Broadway, South Campus, and Rhoades properties as the most suitable candidates. Discussions focused on physical site constraints such as topography and environmental factors, real estate market conditions, and the University's programmatic requirements for housing and academic space. The Committee also reviewed a proposal for a multi-use soccer stadium at the South Campus, expressing concerns regarding its impact on broader development objectives, and outlined a preference for a phased development strategy incorporating a mix of housing, retail, and office uses.

The committee focused on establishing guiding principles and priority land uses for university properties, emphasizing a principles-led approach to preserve development flexibility. Key discussions centered on ensuring private use maintains a programmatic relationship with academic and community goals while requiring projects to be revenue-positive. Priority was placed on housing, amenities such as retail, childcare, and recreational partnerships, and central community gathering spaces. The committee evaluated various land use strategies and specific site potential, identifying the South Campus as the most viable location for mixed-use development compared to the Broadway/Zillicoa and Rhoades properties.