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Asheville Information

Honorary Co-Chairs
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt
Town of Chapel Hill

Mayor Mark Chilton
Town of Carrboro

Mayor Tom Stevens
Town of Hillsborough

Commissioner Valerie Foushee
Orange County

Chancellor Holden Thorp
UNC Chapel Hill

Conference Planning Committee
Delores Bailey
Empowerment, Inc.

Dwight Bassett
Town of Chapel Hill

Anthony Carey
The Siena Hotel

Mariana Fiorentino
Terra Nova Global Properties

James Harris
Town of Carrboro

Mark McCurry
Town of Chapel Hill

Aaron Nelson
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce

Jim Norton
Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership

Laurie Paolicelli
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau

Roger Stancil
Town of Chapel Hill

ASHEVILLE INFORMATION

USEFUL LINKS

City of Asheville:  http://www.ashevillenc.gov/
Asheville Visitors Bureau: www.exploreasheville.com
Asheville Downtown Association: http://www.ashevilledowntown.org/
Downtown Asheville: http://www.downtownasheville.com/
Asheville Travel Guide: http://www.romanticasheville.com/
Asheville Chamber of Commerce: http://www.ashevillechamber.org/
Buncombe County:  http://www.buncombecounty.org/
University of North Carolina at Asheville: http://www.unca.edu/ 

   

QUICK FACTS               

• The city of Asheville is home to 74,543 residents across roughly 41 square miles. More than 30 percent of Asheville residents have at least a bachelor’s degree. The city’s unemployment rate is at 7.3 percent and combined property tax rate is $1.10 per $100 valuation. By comparison, the towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill are home to 72,654 residents across 24 square miles. Sixty-nine percent of Chapel Hill/Carrboro residents have at least a bachelor’s degree. Our unemployment rate is 4.8 percent and our combined property tax rate is $1.54 in Chapel Hill and $1.64 in Carrboro.
  
  
• The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a public university with just over 3,600 students. It is the only designated liberal arts university in the UNC system, offering small classes and a wide variety of degree’s in the arts. It has also been named as one of “America’s Best Value Colleges” by the Princeton Review. It competes in NCAA Division I athletics, as the Asheville Bulldogs. More can be found here.
  
  
• In 2006, Buncombe County updated its Land Use Plan to reflect changes in economic growth and development in the area. In an effort to develop public-private partnerships, the plan adopted Project Development Financing as one strategy for its long-term vision. Already, developers have taken advantage of the financing, recently completing Biltmore Park. The project is a mixed use community similar to Meadowmont and Southern Village. More information can be found here.
  
  
• Asheville and the surrounding area provide ample accommodations for visitors with over 6,000 guest rooms. These guests help the community through a county occupancy tax of four percent. The tax generated $6.2 million for the county in 2009, a portion of which is dedicated specifically for projects that will attract visitors and benefit year-round residents. Past projects have included a downtown park and art museum. More can be found here.
  
  
• Mission Hospital is an 800 bed hospital serving Asheville and much of Western North Carolina. It has over 650 doctors and over 6,000 nursing staff. It is the only designated Level II Trauma Center in Western North Carolina and has physicians in over fifty specialties. It also has a medevac helicopter to better serve the surrounding community. More can be found here.
  
  
• The Biltmore Estate is a 19th century mansion built for George Vanderbilt and is situated on over 8,000 acres of gardens and mountain scenery. Since the passing of Vanderbilt, it has become a major tourist attraction. It is well known for its beautiful gardens and award winning vineyards; most of the food used on the estate is grown on site. More can be found here.
  
  
• The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce is a partnership of over 2,000 businesses, organizations, and coalitions. The Chamber houses the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau to increase the economic impact of visitors to the area. Working in unison has enabled these two services to cut costs and pool leadership in the community. More can be found here.