Buncombe County Approves Vannoy Contract for Hall Fletcher Renovations Starting Summer

Buncombe County included a pre-construction services contract with Vannoy Construction for the FY24 Hall Fletcher - Campus Wide Renovations Project in the March 5, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting packet and recommended executing a $65,278 contract. Presenter and contact on the General Services Request for Board Action is Ronnie Lunsford, and the RBA’s Recommended Motion & Requested Action reads: “Recommend executing the CMAR Pre-Construction contract with Vannoy Construction.”

General Services says the School Capital Fund Commission previously approved the Hall Fletcher Campus - Campus Wide Renovation project, and the county opted to seek Construction Manager at Risk services for the work. The RBA states: “General Services released an RFQ seeking CMAR services for this project. There were two statements of qualifications received and they were scored by members of Buncombe County General Services and Asheville City Schools. Vannoy Construction scored the highest of the two statements received.” Staff then met with and negotiated the $65,278 pre-construction services agreement with Vannoy Construction.

The RBA lists the project scope as four specific components: “Exterior Window and Storefront Door Replacement,” “HVAC/Mechanical Replacements Including Hydronic Piping, Air Handlers, Pumps, and Controls.,” “Kitchen Area Renovations Including Equipment, Workflow, and Finish Replacements,” and “Elevator Modernization.” The pre-construction phase is described in the RBA as “the first step forward in this process.”

The county’s RBA frames CMAR and pre-construction services as tools to manage project complexity and market volatility. The RBA text reads: “General Services recommends Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) services to complete this project since it is complex and will require multiple [...] staff met with and negotiated a pre-construction services contract with Vannoy Construction for $65,278.” Pre-construction services enumerated in the RBA include “Cost estimating,” “Value engineering,” “Project scheduling,” “Developing scopes of work,” “Preparing bid packages,” and “Other services necessary for project completion.” The RBA also states that “Vannoy Construction will work closely with the design team to develop the complete scopes of work, provide cost estimates throughout design, develop bid packages, and ensure that the project is completed within budget and satisfactorily for Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools.”

Funding language in the packet ties the $65,278 fee to an earlier Board expectation: “This is in line with Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Request for Board Action Meeting Date: 8/6/2024 expectations and no new funds are needed.” The County Manager’s comments and Recommendation in the RBA are recorded as: “Approve as presented [...]”

Administrative materials in Buncombe County’s CivicClerk agenda show multiple early-2026 items alongside the Hall Fletcher packet inclusion, including “Approval of the January 6, 2026 Combined Meeting Minutes” and an agenda item titled “Approval of the Construction Manager at Risk Contract with Vannoy Construction for FY24 Courthouse Renovation Project.” The CivicClerk listing explicitly references a “Vannoy Courthouse Plumbing CMAR Construction Contract (PDF)” among attached files.

The materials provided do not include a recorded board vote, a construction start date, a total construction-phase contract value, or comments from Asheville City Schools or Vannoy Construction; the relationship between the RBA’s 8/6/2024 expectation and the March 5, 2026 packet inclusion is not explained in the documents. County staff recommended executing the CMAR pre-construction contract, which would advance cost estimating, value engineering, project scheduling and bid package development as outlined in the RBA and initiate the next steps toward renovating Hall Fletcher’s windows, HVAC systems, kitchen and elevator.