Our Vision & Plan for the Future

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville is committed to cultivating a multigenerational faith community, ministering to the spiritual and personal needs of our members and nurturing the faith formation of our youth to give them a future rooted in love.

To support this vision, the Long Range Planning Team is developing a campus plan to meet our current and future needs for adequate, accessible space to gather. As our congregation continues to grow, this plan addresses the space needs for youth and adult faith formation, worship, fellowship, and social justice activities. We want everyone who enters through our doors to feel welcomed in community, faith, and love.

How We Are Building for Our Beloved Community

Recent Improvements

Thanks to generous donations of time and resources by several generous members and friends, UU Asheville has recently completed three smaller projects to improve the safety and worship experience of our congregation.

Safety Handrails

Safety handrails have been installed in the sanctuary and along the steps leading from the upper to lower parking lots.

Increased Seating Capacity

Interlocking chairs have been added to create two additional rows of seating in the sanctuary to address the increase in attendance on Sunday mornings.

Elevated Podium

To improve sightlines of worship leaders, particularly for those seated in the interlocking chairs on the floor of the sanctuary, a riser to elevate the podium has been installed. The riser is removable and a portable ramp is available for accessibility.

Addressing the Need for More Space

UU Asheville is actively pursuing design plans for additional space adjacent to our current main campus building at 1 Edwin Place. This space would meet the needs of our growing faith formation classes, while also providing additional flexible space for other activities such as choir rehearsals, meetings, and social gatherings. Additionally, it would provide much-needed storage space for our many groups—from music books to justice ministry supplies.

A Bigger, Better Sandburg Hall

In our large group social space at 1 Edwin Place—Sandburg Hall—renovations are being considered to support the growing numbers of people joining us for coffee hour on Sundays and gathering for other events during the week. Our plan is to increase the space in Sandburg Hall by removing the walls and offices on the north end and relocating the offices currently located there elsewhere on campus. This would provide approximately 800 square feet of additional space in Sandburg Hall. To extend gathering space on the south end of Sandburg Hall, we are considering installing a roof covering, such as a retractable awning, over the outside deck to improve its usability.

Our plan also calls for upgrading the existing kitchen in Sandburg Hall with modern appliances, as well as new and larger cabinets to enable greater food-service capabilities at social gatherings.

To improve accessibility for our members and friends, we plan to install a lift to connect Sandburg Hall to the lower level of the building.

Improving the Use and Appearance of Our Campus Grounds

Alongside addressing and improving indoor space needs, the Long-Range Planning Team is developing an integrated landscape plan for our campus to address our space needs for accessible contemplation, play, and social gatherings, as well as to maximize parking opportunities.

Memorial Garden

Since 1983, the Memorial Garden has become an important choice for our congregation, used almost 150 times and averaging four interments per year. To respectfully accommodate additional interments, our plan calls for replacing the existing fence with a natural wall created by plants. Functionally and aesthetically, these changes would provide the space needed for additional interments and create a more pleasing experience for those visiting this sacred space.

Children’s Playground

UU Asheville will continue to have a playground, even if the construction of additional space may require relocating it from its current location.

Houses at 21 and 21 Edwin Place

UU Asheville owns the houses at 21 and 23 Edwin Place. The evaluation of the congregation’s space needs and facility usage determined that neither property is well suited to meet current or future needs.

In addition, the property at 23 Edwin Place has experienced persistent flooding, while the house at 21 Edwin Place has been uninhabitable for several years because of significant safety concerns and code violations that would be very costly to address.

Because of repeated flooding, the property at 23 Edwin Place, located at the corner of Edwin Place and Celia Place, qualified for a FEMA buyout. FEMA has approved UU Asheville’s application. Following a meeting with FEMA in September to review the details of the program, the proposed buyout of 23 Edwin Place will be presented to the congregation for a vote this fall.

If the congregation approves the buyout, FEMA would purchase the 23 Edwin property and demolish the building. The land would then become city-owned permanently protected greenspace. Offices and meeting spaces currently housed at 23 Edwin Place would be relocated to temporary accommodations while new space designed to better meet the congregation’s needs is constructed. Proceeds from the FEMA buyout would help fund that construction.

The Long-Range Planning Team is evaluating options for the house at 21 Edwin Place (next to the playground) and expects to share its recommendations with the congregation soon.

Welcome, Come In, We Have Space for You