As Asheville recovers from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, the city’s leadership is focusing on a vision that looks beyond the storm's wreckage. The AVL 5x5 Plan for 2030 outlines an ambitious strategy for economic renewal, growth, and prosperity. This plan—the fourth of its kind for the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County—combines recovery efforts with long-term sustainability goals, targeting advancements in the workforce, industry, and community development.

“Economic development is really about workforce selection,” said Clark Duncan, executive director of the Economic Development Coalition (EDC). “What are the strengths of this regional workforce? And are we investing in our people, in our academic institutions, in our training partners in ways that will support local businesses so they can continue to grow?” 

Duncan emphasized Asheville’s strength in advanced manufacturing—a field both grounded in tradition and essential to the region’s economic future. “Advanced manufacturing is deeply rooted,” he said,” but it's also in our key area or our target for growth because it pays, on average, well above the Buncombe County average wage.” He noted that while manufacturing may once have conjured images of outdated, low-wage work, today it’s defined by innovation and well-paying jobs that require high skill levels.

“Advanced manufacturing, specifically, really speaks to manufacturing that is enabled by technology and advanced processes,” he said. “That creative aspect, that artisan aspect, is a real nod to who we are, but it also indicates that even those businesses have the opportunity to scale.” He pointed to local success stories like French Broad Chocolates and Highland Brewing as examples of artisan-rooted enterprises that evolved into sophisticated, tech-enabled manufacturers.

The Futures Factory—one of the signature proposals in the 5x5 Plan—is intended to build on this legacy, functioning as both a workforce training facility and a hub for innovation and research. Duncan explained that this initiative will prepare local residents for jobs in high-tech environments by leveraging the resources and expertise of educational institutions across the state. 

“Manufacturing in the US is becoming more technologically driven,” Duncan said. “So it’s incumbent upon us to prepare Buncombe County residents to meet those needs.” 

At the event in May announcing this plan, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer echoed the plan’s commitment to long-term impact in her comments. "I’m very reassured about our recovery from this hurricane incrementally," she said. "As I move through each day, and it’s events like this, and how many people turn out and show up, that give me hope for the next day that we’re going to keep doing the work to come back stronger than ever after this hurricane."

Manheimer noted that the city is pursuing federal support for recovery, including $225 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding expected this summer. "We will have more money than we’ve ever had historically to be able to partner with folks to build multi-family affordable housing or single-family homes for homeownership, and also to help pay for the repair of people’s homes," she said.

Data and research have been central to the plan’s formation, with Asheville benchmarking against 12 peer and aspirational communities. “Compared to the 12 other places we looked at, this region does have the oldest average age,” said Amy Holloway, strategic advisor for the plan. “It does have the lowest average wage. There is a greater disparity between what we pay people and the cost of our housing than any other benchmark that we looked at.” But Holloway also pointed to key strengths: “We have one of the highest growth rates of young professionals coming into our community. We have one of the highest rates of wage growth...and we have one of the fastest growing software and technology sectors.”

Duncan said these realities—both challenging and promising—demand a bold approach to recovery and growth. “There was a real fear that we would lose the progress that we've made as a region in recent years,” said Duncan. “It wasn't going to be enough in five years to be back to where we were on September 27. But how can we recover in an accelerated fashion that helps us leverage and come out ahead?”

That mindset is reflected across the five pillars of the 5x5 Plan:

1. Build capacity for local target industries through facilities like the Futures Factory;
   
   

2. Attract diversified industry growth for more high-wage jobs;
   
   

3. Evolve the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the Optimist Ventures Accelerator;
   
   

4. Catalyze economic mobility through workforce initiatives like Accelerate Buncombe;
   
   

5. Drive prosperity through data and research, ensuring strategy is grounded in evidence.
   
   

“We have to do something different,” Duncan said. “This is a time of crisis, which means we need to think differently. We can't keep doing what we've always done.”

The plan also considers the broader community’s role in recovery. “Economic development acknowledges the power of business to impact and lift communities,” said Duncan. “We're not out there building businesses for the sake of greater bottom lines, but we're building greater, stronger businesses so we can create greater opportunities for residents.”

Duncan hopes that by centering household income in these efforts, Asheville can spark a ripple effect of recovery. “Cash in the register is one of the greatest needs,” he said. “Building household income circulates more income in Buncombe County. Maybe we're buying that car. Maybe we're investing differently in child care or insurance.”

Recovery, no matter how it happens, will be a communal effort. “We all have a role to play—whatever our industry, whatever our business, whatever our role in the community,” said Duncan. “We need that kind of optimism as much as we're still carrying pain and hurt with us.”

See the AVL 5x5 2030 plan at AshevilleChamber.org/economic-development-strategy.