ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Later this month, Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry will hold the groundbreaking ceremony for its revitalized Veterans Restoration Quarters, a 250-bed housing facility nearly destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024.

The event will mark the start of construction on the facility, located at 1329 Tunnel Road in Asheville, N.C.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 13, at the VRQ.

Bringing back the VRQ

According to the ABCCM, the event will “bring together veterans, volunteers, ABCCM leadership, elected officials, donors, contractors and the community partners who have supported the recovery effort since the storm.”

The show of community support reflects the strength of the community the VRQ has built since 2008. The campus is the fifth-largest transitional housing facility for veterans in the country, providing beds, workforce training and more for service members in need.

When Helene struck Western North Carolina nearly two years ago, more than eight feet of water severely damaged the VRQ. While the WNC community came together “immediately” to support its veterans after the storm, ABCCM said, the return of the 250-bed campus is a major milestone for veteran aid in the Asheville area.

“This groundbreaking represents more than new construction it represents renewed hope for the men and women who served our country and now need our support,” said Reverend Scott Rogers, executive director of ABCCM.

New features

In addition to restoring the 250 beds lost to the storm, the new VRQ will feature 65 emergency shelter beds “designed to stabilize, restore and launch veterans toward long-term independence,” ABCCM said.

The facility will also include a workforce training and education center and a Veterans Resource Center, connecting service members with community partners, healthcare providers and other support organizations.

Across the street from the new VRQ, ABCCM also operates Veterans Village, a former Quality Inn morphed into 134 permanent housing apartments after the organization purchased the property in the summer of 2025. The Veterans Village also provides on-site services for veterans.

“With deep roots in service to the veterans community, ABCCM has spent the past decade building a coordinated, outcomes-driven system of care that restores lives, moving veterans from homelessness to stability and from crisis to renewed purpose,” said Brandon Wilson, ABCCM chief operating officer and a United States Marine Corps veteran.

For more about the Veterans Restoration Quarters, visit www.abccm.org/ministry-services/veterans-restoration-quarters.