Elected officials join Asheville Area Habitat build to spotlight affordable housing needs

State and local elected officials traded desks for hard hats Jan. 30 at a New Heights Drive construction site in Asheville, helping frame walls, install roof trusses and lay flooring as part of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s first-ever elected officials build day. Organizers said the exercise was designed to give decision-makers a hands-on perspective on what it takes to deliver safe, affordable homes in western North Carolina.

Senator Julie Mayfield, Representative Brian Turner and Buncombe County Commissioner Terry Wells were among the named participants who joined Habitat volunteers on the jobsite. Andy Barnett, executive director of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, summarized the event’s intent: “the goal is show decision‑makers firsthand what it takes to build safe, affordable homes in western North Carolina.” Senator Mayfield said the day offered a rare chance to step away from politics: “for her, the build was a chance to put politics aside, but the work doesn’t stop here.”

Organizers and local reporters framed the event as both a practical demonstration and an advocacy opportunity. Asheville Area Habitat pointed to longstanding local need, noting that 12,000 Buncombe County households, 7,000 renters and 5,000 homeowners, per ACS 2016, were paying more than half of their income on housing. The affiliate used the event to reiterate policy priorities, including support for increased funding to North Carolina’s Housing Trust Fund, which Habitat described as a flexible pool of money for rental opportunities, emergency response funds, repairs and other needs.

The build day also served as relationship building after Habitat’s regular advocacy efforts in Raleigh. Asheville Area Habitat said roughly 30 affiliate representatives previously participated in a Legislative Day where future homeowner Staci Williams and staff met with lawmakers and policy groups to discuss housing policy. The affiliate’s wider construction programs were also highlighted in materials noting that Women Build House #13 began construction April 17, with Ashley Blankenship named as the future homeowner and local civic groups sponsoring and staffing workdays.

Reporting from local media said leaders from local, state and federal levels were present, though only state and county officials were explicitly named in available accounts. WLOS, which covered the event, described it as the affiliate’s first elected officials build day and noted an extreme cold watch for that weekend, underscoring that volunteers and officials worked in challenging conditions.

The practical takeaways are straightforward for Buncombe County voters. Habitat leaders argue that building alone cannot close the gap and are pressing participating officials to back funding and policy tools such as the Housing Trust Fund. The immediate follow-up to watch is whether the officials who helped raise walls will carry that urgency into specific budget votes or legislative proposals that increase affordable housing investments for the region.