134 and 138 Biltmore Avenue
134 and 138 Biltmore Avenue are two 4-unit apartment buildings on the perimeter of downtown Asheville. By 1994, these two buildings were boarded up and had been long abandoned. Police made regular visits to the houses to respond to calls regarding drug and prostitution activity and the chalk outline of a body was clearly visible at the start of renovations. Working with architect Jim Samsel and property manager Tom Leslie, eight spacious, well-designed apartments were created. When Public Interest did this project, banks were not lending for downtown projects and the project was not large enough to attract conventional tax credit investors. PIP put together a group of local residents to invest in the project and the future of downtown. Their risk paid off and Asheville benefited from the restoration of two old buildings and the addition of eight residential units.