Asheville council weighs lease to move APD West to Tanger Outlets

The Asheville City Council is considering a resolution on Jan. 13 to approve a 10-year lease with Tanger Asheville LLC for Suite 822 at Tanger Outlets to house the Asheville Police Department West resource center. Council agenda materials describe the move as a response to safety and operational shortcomings at the current West facility, which was built in 1953.

City documents list several issues with the existing building, including large single-pane windows, limited parking and employee-wellness concerns. Those factors are cited as driving the push for a new space that would increase officer safety, expand services available to West Asheville residents and provide a more flexible workspace for West operations. The proposed relocation to the outlet center is presented as a step toward modernizing a long-outdated footprint in the neighborhood.

Financial details in the council packet show Tanger Outlets is donating about $1 million toward uplift costs for Suite 822. The proposed 10-year lease would cost the city more than $800,000 in the first year; city staff propose covering that amount through the police department’s operating budget. Documents flag the temporary-lease status and potential long-term costs as notable drawbacks. The city would not own the property under the proposed arrangement, which leaves unanswered questions about a permanent solution for the West precinct.

For Buncombe County residents, the decision intersects with everyday concerns about public safety, municipal spending and access to police services in West Asheville. A relocated resource center at a mall property could change where people go for community policing services and how visible officers are in retail corridors. Using operating funds for lease costs also has budgetary trade-offs that could affect patrol staffing, program funding or other departmental priorities if the expense persists over time.

Council members face a classic municipal choice between a faster, donor-subsidized move into a leased commercial space and the uncertainties of a long-term facility strategy that would likely demand capital investment. The documents frame the Tanger option as an immediate improvement to conditions for officers and community-facing services, while noting the temporary nature of the lease as a constraint on long-range planning.

Our two cents? Ask how the lease affects everyday service delivery and what a durable, owned solution would cost down the road. Residents should watch council discussions, press for clarity on parking and hours at the new location, and weigh the short-term safety gains against longer-term budget implications for West Asheville.