Asheville Council Clears Enka Costco Rezoning

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved conditional rezoning and related technical changes for a planned Costco warehouse on the city’s west side, moving the Enka-area project into permitting.

City staff put the site at nearly 40 acres on three Enka Heritage Parkway and Sand Hill Road parcels. After outparcels are carved away, about 25 acres would hold the retail campus. Plans call for a warehouse of about 168,258 square feet with grocery, optical and auto services, plus hundreds of parking spaces and a multimodal path linking Jacob Holm Way toward Sand Hill Road.

Developer representatives told council the store could open with 225 to 250 jobs and grow past 400 at full build-out, projecting about $250 million in yearly sales and no local taxpayer incentives. They also promised public seating beside the historic Enka Clock Tower.

The sharpest debate was a tree-canopy tweak. City rules generally call for 15 percent canopy cover on the site; council agreed to a 13 percent city-side figure after the applicant argued wooded land just outside city limits will stay protected by deed covenants and that the combined canopy would top 16 percent, with more than 700 new trees planted on the property.

Neighbors raised traffic worries along Sand Hill Road and nearby schools during the hearing, while some Enka residents said they want another grocery option. Mayor Esther Manheimer and other members pointed to earlier talks with the seller, city staff and the state transportation department after a February application was pulled.

With the rezoning locked, the project heads to technical review and permitting, which staff expect to finish by spring 2027. Developers sketched a summer 2027 groundbreaking and a spring 2028 opening if that schedule holds.