Buncombe County buys former JCPenney for new emergency center

Buncombe County commissioners approved a $5 million purchase of the former JCPenney at Asheville Mall, 7 S. Tunnel Road, clearing the way for the county’s first standalone Emergency Operations Center on one of East Asheville’s busiest corridors. The site covers 6.24 acres.

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on June 2 authorizing the county manager to complete the purchase. The move ties a retail vacancy to a county function, especially after Tropical Storm Helene exposed the strain that severe weather can place on emergency response across Buncombe County.

JCPenney said the Asheville Mall store would close by May 25, 2025, creating a narrow window for the county to step in before the property moved fully into the private market. By buying the building and land instead of letting the space sit idle, the county can repurpose a major piece of mall property for public use without waiting on a broader private redevelopment plan to materialize.

A county-owned emergency center would concentrate disaster coordination, planning and response functions in a fixed location on the Tunnel Road corridor, where access by car and proximity to other major roads could matter during storms or other emergencies. At the same time, placing a public facility inside Asheville Mall could change traffic patterns, bring steady government activity to a site long defined by retail turnover, and shape what kinds of businesses or redevelopment partners remain interested in the rest of the mall property.

County officials have previously considered other properties for county use, including the former Asheville Primary School site.