Construction site fire called suspicious; state agencies join investigation

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    ASHEVILLE, NC (WLOS) — A massive fire early Friday morning in downtown Asheville has been deemed suspicious, and multiple agencies are investigating.

Fire officials said they got the call for the two-alarm fire about 1:30 a.m. Fortunately, no one was injured, but there was extensive damage to the affordable housing development under construction on Hilliard Avenue. Some of the tennis courts and windscreens at Aston Park Tennis Center were also damaged by the fire.

The Hilliard fire also damaged fiber optic cables, causing outages for some Spectrum customers in Asheville. Crews are waiting for the power company to set new poles and allow them access to the area to make the necessary repairs.

The Hilliard project was an affordable housing development under construction and slated to open later this year.

Kassinger Development Group was working with the city on the project that would have added 34 affordable apartments to downtown Asheville.

But Friday morning’s fire destroyed the development.

“They will have to clear the lot and start fresh because there’s really nothing salvageable to reuse except for maybe the concrete pad,” Assistant Fire Chief Mike Coggins said.

The city sold the property to Kassinger Development Group and extended a $1.4 million Housing Trust Fund loan in exchange for an agreement to develop and maintain 34 affordable units for 50 years.

Asheville Fire Department, Asheville Police Department, State Bureau of Investigation and Office of State Fire Marshal are investigating the fire.

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