Almost two years after impact of Hurricane Helene In western North Carolina, Buncombe County took a concrete step to strengthen its emergency response capacity: create your own Emergency Operations Center  (EOC).

To that end, the Board of Commissioners approved on June 2 to move forward with the purchase of the former JCPenney store in the Asheville Mall, located at 7 South Tunnel Road.

“Helene taught us a lot and the need for a new EOC is a clear lesson we learned,” Commissioner Drew Ball said during the meeting.

The authorization allows the county administrator to negotiate and sign the documents necessary to complete the purchase of the property. The building will be used for public safety, disaster preparedness, and response functions.

Why Buncombe chose the old JCPenney

The former JCPenney location closed in May 2025. The property is just over six acres and was selected for its central location, size, and ability to bring together several county operations in one place.

According to project presented Before the Board of Commissioners, the creation of the EOC responds to needs identified in the Comprehensive Facilities Study of 2021, in Helene's Recovery Plan and in the County Preparedness Plan.

The site is located in a key commercial corridor in Asheville, with quick access to Interstates I-240, I-40, and I-26. That location was crucial for establishing the permanent headquarters for emergency operations, training, planning, and disaster response there.

What will the emergency operations center have?

The new space would serve as the year-round headquarters for the county's Department of Emergency Services. It could also house the Emergency Operations Center, Emergency Management offices, public safety communications, and potential 911-related functions.

In a written response to Enlace Latino NC Lillian Govus, from Buncombe County, explained that a Joint Information Center would also operate there, from which official communications are distributed during emergencies.

“All emergency communications are distributed from there, including community briefings or press conferences that feature live interpretation into Spanish and/or ASL,” Govus said.

The county clarified that the building will not be open to the public and will not function as a shelter or community center. For that reason, Govus noted that there is no specific language access plan for the location.

Emergency information for the Latino community

Although the new center will not be a direct care space, Govus said the county is looking to reduce access barriers in its community-focused initiatives.

“Our hope is to reduce some of that mistrust, so that when we publish information about emergencies, the community can associate a face with the name and know that they can depend on us.” , Dijo.

In this regard, he mentioned as a recent example the community outreach work in Swannanoa and noted that the county has a webpage Facebook in Spanish or with a whatsapp channel to share official information.

You may be interested:  Buncombe approves its biggest budget ever and raises taxes

When will the new center open?

Although the purchase has been approved, the building will not be ready immediately. According to the presented timeline, the acquisition is scheduled to close on June 8. Afterward, the design, engineering, and adaptation phases of the existing premises will begin.

The county projects that the new center will begin operating in 2028. 

The purchase of the property will cost $5 million. In addition, construction and renovation work is estimated to cost an additional $30 million, although this figure could change as the design is not yet finalized.

For Buncombe, the project is part of the decisions made after Helene and the need to have an independent space to organize the county's response to future disasters.

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Buncombe will open an emergency operations center

by Patricia Serrano, Enlace Latino NC
June 8, 2026

Enlace Latino NCJune 8, 2026 Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina, Buncombe County took a concrete step to strengthen its emergency response capacity: creating its own Emergency Operations Center (EOC). To that end, the Board of Commissioners approved on June 2 to move forward with the purchase of the former JCPenney store in the Asheville Mall, located at 7 South Tunnel Road. “Helene taught us a lot and the need for a new EOC is a clear lesson we learned,” Commissioner Drew Ball said during the meeting. The authorization allows the county administrator to negotiate and sign the documents necessary to complete the purchase of the property. The building will be used for public safety, disaster preparedness and response functions. Why Buncombe chose the old JCPenney The former JCPenney store closed in May 2025. The property is just over six acres and was selected for its central location, size, and ability to bring together several county operations in one place. According to the project presented to the Board of Commissioners, the creation of the EOC responds to needs identified in the 2021 Comprehensive Facilities Study, the Helene Recovery Plan, and the County Preparedness Plan . The site is located in a key commercial corridor in Asheville, with quick access to Interstates I-240, I-40, and I-26. That location was crucial for establishing the permanent headquarters for emergency operations, training, planning, and disaster response. Image translated into Spanish using Artificial Intelligence based on the official image of Buncombe County. What will the emergency operations center have? The new space would serve as a year-round headquarters for the county's Department of Emergency Services. It could also house the Emergency Operations Center, Emergency Management offices, public safety communications, and potential functions related to the 911 system. In a written response to Enlace Latino NCLillian Govus, from Buncombe County, explained that a Joint Information Center would also operate there, from which official communications are distributed during emergencies. “All emergency communications are distributed from there, including community briefings or press conferences that feature live interpretation into Spanish and/or ASL,” Govus said. The county clarified that the building will not be open to the public and will not function as a shelter or community care center. For that reason, Govus noted that there is no specific language access plan for that location. Emergency information for the Latino community Although the new center will not be a direct care space, Govus said the county is looking to reduce access barriers in its community-focused initiatives. “Our hope is to reduce some of that mistrust, so that when we publish information about emergencies, the community can associate a face with the name and know that they can depend on us,” he said. In this regard, he mentioned as a recent example the community outreach work in Swannanoa and noted that the county has a Facebook page in Spanish and a WhatsApp channel to share official information. You may be interested in: Buncombe approves its biggest budget ever and raises taxes When will the new center open? Although the purchase has already been approved, the building will not be ready immediately. According to the presented timeline, the closing of the acquisition is scheduled for June 8. Then the design, engineering and adaptation stages of the old premises will begin. The county projects that the new center will begin operating in 2028. The purchase of the property will cost 5 million dollars. Furthermore, it is estimated that the construction and adaptation work could cost an additional $30 million, although that figure could vary, as the design has not yet been completed. For Buncombe, the project is part of the decisions made after Helene and the need to have an independent space to organize the county's response to future disasters. This <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org/buncombe-abrira-un-centro-de-operaciones-de-emergencia/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org">Enlace Latino NC

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