On Tuesday, July 28th, MHO celebrated the official dedication of Star Point Apartments at 16 Restaurant Court in Asheville, NC! Community members, partners, and stakeholders gathered to mark the opening of this new affordable housing community.
Addressing the many partners behind Star Point’s success, MHO COO Tara Irby offered these words of gratitude:
“By being our partners on Star Point Apartments, you have already answered our calls for urgency in support of affordable housing. You rallied behind a vision to help provide safe, stable housing along a transit corridor and in close proximity to thousands of service industry and hospitality jobs, our essential workforce who currently must make long commutes to work because of the lack of nearby affordable housing options. You helped shape a new, innovative community partnership.”
Star Point Apartments is named for Star Lanes, the first racially integrated public business in Asheville. It is in honor of Mr. Matthew Bacoate, Jr., former MHO Board Member and long-time civil and housing rights advocate. In 1959, as night manager of the whites-only Star Lanes Bowling Center on Kenilworth Rd, Bacoate arranged for Black customers to bowl on Sunday evenings when the alley was normally closed, and one night, welcomed in a group of white patrons as well, making Star Lanes the first integrated public-facing business in Asheville, five years before the Civil Rights Act was signed. Star Point’s name reminds us of our ongoing commitment to dignity, inclusion, and justice in our work to expand access to housing that is safe, stable, and affordable across western North Carolina.
Attendees heard additional remarks from Geoffrey Barton, MHO President & CEO; the Honorable Esther Manheimer, Mayor of the City of Asheville; Brian Flanagan, RBC Community Investments; David Kautter, First Citizens Bank; Lynn Pinter, NCHFA; and Tara Irby, MHO COO.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate the ribbon cutting and to all who helped make Star Point Apartments possible!
About Star Point Apartments
Star Point is a 60-unit affordable housing community located off Tunnel Road at 16 Restaurant Court in Asheville, North Carolina. Star Point will provide deeply affordable housing for renters earning up to 60% of the area’s median income, offering a mix of efficiency, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. One key feature of Star Point includes a set-aside of twelve units designed for young adults aging out of foster care. Located on East Asheville’s primary commercial corridor, Star Point is ideally situated for an affordable multifamily community. Residents will enjoy walkable access to retail, employment, dining, and services, including two grocery stores and the Asheville Mall, as well as convenient transit connections, with eastbound and westbound bus stops within one-tenth of a mile.
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