Project Overview

Project Overview

Background

  • This is a Helene recovery project.
  • The scope includes the restoration of historic infrastructure, including brick sidewalks, granite curbing and street trees on 4 streets: Biltmore Plaza, Boston Way, Swan Street and Kitchin Place.
  • $2.49M from the NC Dept. of Commerce SmBiz Infrastructure Grant was awarded to the City in the Fall of 2025.
    • Additional funds are being sought to expand project scope to include additional restoration areas in the district.

Project area map of Biltmore Village

Project area map

The Vision for Biltmore Village

Biltmore Village was developed by George W. Vanderbilt after he arrived in the 1880s. Renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt (right) and preeminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (left) were hired to lay out the plan for Biltmore Village, an English-style model village at the entrance to Vanderbilt’s estate.

Photo of Frederick Law Olmsted Photo of Richard Morris Hunt
 

  • 1980s - Historic District designation. Design Standards were developed that require repairs and new construction to adhere to rules and use materials that strengthen Biltmore Village’s historic character and restore Olmsted’s original plan.
  • 1992 - Development Plan adopted. An urban planning and design framework created to guide the revitalization and architectural integrity of Asheville’s historic Biltmore Village including restoration of the original sidewalks, curbing and tree plan

A landscape drawing of Biltmore Village from 1909

Image courtesy of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site Archives

Map of the Hunt/Olmsted as-built plan for Biltmore Village, 1917

Hunt/Olmsted As-Built Plan, 1917

Map of the 1992 Development Plan for Biltmore Village

Development Plan, 1992