July 20, 2026
By Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
Thursday afternoon members of the Transylvania County Rural Development Authority approved a strategic partnership with the Land of Sky Regional Council as part of ongoing plans to redevelop the former site of the Ecusta paper mill for another use.
The TCRDA is an apolitical, nonpartisan public body not affiliated with Transylvania County government formed in 2025 by special state legislation to work as a land-development entity alongside the Transylvania Economic Alliance on special development projects that involve complex land and infrastructure challenges.
During Thursday’s public meeting held on the Brevard College campus, Transylvania Economic Alliance Executive Director Burton Hodges proposed that the Land of Sky Regional Council, with which the RDA already had a professional working relationship as part of that organization’s activities in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties, share in some of the administrative tasks needed to help operate the Authority and move the Ecusta project forward.
“They can provide more support in the public sector and strong state, regional, and local partnerships like this can help add to a wide variety of things that we can only take on through the RDA’s implementation of development projects,” Hodges explained.
While the TCRDA does not currently receive county funding, it is a public board authorized to secure funding and utilize development financing tools that are not available to nonprofits or private entities.
The Land of Sky Regional Council is a voluntary association of local governments authorized by state law to provide management, planning and technical services to local governments. Its stated goal is to bring together local elected officials and give them opportunities to form relationships with one another, but this new partnership with the RDA would not give the Land of Sky Council any input into the Ecusta property’s redevelopment.
The Ecusta paper mill was built in 1939 and began operation the following year on the Davidson River site near Brevard. It became a major employer in Transylvania County and later changed ownership several times before closing in 2002 and the property was cleared of most of its buildings where a variety of commercial paper products were produced.
In 2015, brownfield agreements were finalized with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality allowing for at least 165 acres of flat land on the property to be redeveloped.
Lingering environmental concerns from some hazardous materials created during that process have hampered previous efforts to redevelop the property for other uses, but the TCRDA and the Land of Sky Regional Council hope this new partnership could change things, particularly when it comes to applying for grant funding and other economic support necessary to redevelop the Ecusta property.
“From our standpoint, we’re very excited to form this initiative,” said Land of Sky Regional Economic Development Project Manager Brian White. “Not only does this represent a big opportunity for this community, but also for the region because we think we can provide that support to make the goals of the Rural Development Authority possible.”
RDA Chair Brian Traylor emphasized that industrial development, and even residential development where appropriate with the environmental conditions, is being considered on the property along with educational, retail and commercial options being explored as possible uses.
Before the partnership was unanimously approved by the members present Thursday, Hodges stressed that any redevelopment of the Ecusta property will not involve discussions of bringing a controversial data center to this site, as some skeptical of the project had speculated online.
“We’re aware of significant local opposition to projects like data centers,” Hodges said. “With their potential for significant environmental impact and an unusually high water energy use, right now as we envision industrial development on the site, data centers are not being targeted for economic development here.”