UP|Asheville

Civic Center Discussion

thecowgoesmoo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:13:03 +0000

macrocosim144, on 24 December 2008 - 08:43 AM, said:

I cant believe its taken six years to build Pack Square Park! That's crazy ... couldn't we have used inmates from the jails or something to speed it up!! lol what do they have like two guys and a goat putting it together? lol

2 guys and a goat would have gotten it done faster. Hell, I could have finished the thing by now and I a lazy butt. Like anything else here it's mired in bureaucracy. I'd also love to know where they spent all of that money on, the steps and columns couldn't have cost that much.

I just googled...that park cost 20 million.

Civic Center Discussion

rooster8 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:26:08 +0000

Seems like a good site for a performing arts center. Is the adjacent church supportive of this project?

In regards to the Civic Center, I believe they are working on the roof now.

Civic Center Discussion

orulz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:53:28 +0000

The C-T reports that an architect has been chosen for the performing arts center project.

They think it might open somewhere between 2013 and 2015. This is still supposedly going to be a mixed-use project.

Glen Rock Apartments

orulz — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:39:04 +0000

I've been following the construction of this one and what's being built doesn't match with what's shown on the latest master plan from the Development Mapper. They have eliminated the integrated parking. Looking at MHO's website confirms this. Instead, there will be 20 spaces on-site, 54 spaces across the street (where the Southern railroad station used to be) and 44 spaces on-street on Ralph and Depot.

So now I wonder where those 20 spaces will go? Maybe in the spot where "phase 2B" was originally planned?

Preserving local shops in downtown Asheville

rooster8 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:51:20 +0000

Shot these photos the other day. I wonder if they are beginning to regret the decision to take off the stucco.

Zona Lofts, Zona Village, Chrysler Building

thecowgoesmoo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:08:50 +0000

orulz, on 03 November 2009 - 12:37 PM, said:

However, perhaps the banks saw through this and never came through with a construction loan?

Good points indeed. A friend did some more searching, it looks like they took out a 3.2 mil loan and still owe the 3.2.....I can't believe that the 162 Coxe project cost 3.2, if so they got taken.

One thing that irked me about this project was that the design presented to council looked good....what was getting built was something totally different. Asheville needs to stop that, if you present building A then build it, not something stripped down and gutted.

Zona Lofts, Zona Village, Chrysler Building

orulz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:37:47 +0000

I have a theory about this development. This is only speculation.

They rapidly sold out more than half of the units. Normally, that means construction can begin right away, but in Zona's case, the units that sold well were the cheap, small, low-floor ones, that therefore represented much less less than half of the total cost of construction. The low-floor units were so much cheaper than the upper floor units that it struck me that the developer was trying to subsidize the low prices for the lower-floor units with the higher prices of the upper-floor units and penthouses.

As for what this would accomplish:
(1) Sway public opinion: providing condos at a price point people can afford, therefore encounter less opposition.
(2) Can meet the lender's criteria of 50% sales very quickly.

However, perhaps the banks saw through this and never came through with a construction loan?

Zona Lofts, Zona Village, Chrysler Building

thecowgoesmoo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:14:45 +0000

Lots of activity between the banks and this one...I wonder if they've lost financing? Look at the Deeds site and the banks seem to be taking over.

West Asheville developments

thecowgoesmoo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:09:50 +0000

orulz, on 02 November 2009 - 12:47 PM, said:

Do you mean construction has stalled on the "Village on Haywood" or do you mean the one on Sulphur Springs is dead after the demolition?

For Village on Haywood I would be surprised that they wouldn't at least finish the first building given that it's just 3 stories and it's stick built.

As for Sulphur Springs, that just showed up on Bidclerk. Estimated start date for construction is Spring 2010. It's probably still going through the permitting process. They probably had to move fast on demolishing the house because it was condemned.

Village. SS I didn't even notice although I should have as I was behind someone who wouldn't pass a bicyclist. Ah, tourist season.

West Asheville developments

orulz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:47:13 +0000

thecowgoesmoo, on 01 November 2009 - 08:39 PM, said:

I've been down that way twice in the past week and it looks dead. Construction still on? Looked empty, even during the day.

West Asheville developments

thecowgoesmoo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:39:58 +0000

I've been down that way twice in the past week and it looks dead. Construction still on? Looked empty, even during the day.

Biltmore Village developments

hauntedheadnc — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:46:16 +0000

There's no elevations, of course, but the new design seems classier at first glance.

Biltmore Village developments

orulz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:07:21 +0000

orulz, on 26 April 2008 - 11:43 AM, said:

Continuing the pattern of new dense development in and around Biltmore Village, there's a new project called "Silverman Mixed Use" proposed for a narrow lot on Swannanoa River Road near Biltmore Village. Plans include dedicating the ground level to parking, putting a 14,395 sq ft grocery store, and several other retail spaces on the second level, and topping it off with 4 levels of residential.

The fact that this is a flood zone leads to the disappointing design decision of dedicating the ground level to parking. However, it does seem that there will be a walkway that extends the entire length of the building's second level, which could serve kind of like a sidewalk.

Check the elevations and site plan on the Development Mapper.

This location is pretty well cut off from Biltmore Village proper, but it seems like it would be technically possible to build a street linkage from Reed street in BV over the tracks to Decatur Street, and then across the Swannanoa River from Thompson Street to Swannanoa River Road. The 2004 Wilma Dykeman Riverway plan calls for several new connections across the Swannanoa. While this isn't one of them, why couldn't it be? Such a connection would also be very important, since the proposed train station is along Decatur Street.

Silverman has been redesigned & resubmitted. It's been split into 2 buildings and the site plan is marginally different but the general concept seems the same. Parking on the first floor, 20,000 square feet of retail on the second, and 197 residential units above. It's now called The Manor at Biltmore Village. See it here on the (you guessed it) Development Mapper.

197 units on 5 acres means about 40 units per acre - that's pretty damn dense. And actually, even the 5 acre figure is a bit deceptive - .8 acres of the property being planned for development is actually on the other side of Swannanoa River Road (aka, right on top of the Swannanoa River, therefore completely unbuildable, and only being included to transfer additional density to the buildable lot.)

I would hope that the city will require the developer to build a greenway along the Swannanoa River in front of this project, or at least give money to Riverlink as a fee-in-lieu arrangement or something.

Mission Hospital projects

orulz — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:47:16 +0000

Next up on the development mapper, Mission Hospital has submitted a plan for their outpatient cancer center and a parking deck, on the NE corner of the Victoria extension and McDowell. The topography is challenging - it's a pretty steep hill. Looks like we'll end up with a formidable blank wall facing McDowell the likes of which would make the Staples Corporation proud (though it will looks better from the new street.)

Zona Lofts, Zona Village, Chrysler Building

thecowgoesmoo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:50:16 +0000

Lots of activity here over the past few days.

Some of the warehouse space in that area is now up for lease again. The gray building on the SE corner of Buxton/Collier Alley how has a "for lease" sign on it and some of the space on the north side of Buxton (just west of Dirty Jack's) is now up for lease. The lady who owns the building that was once a printer/wine shop (just east of 162 Coxe) is up for lease also.

The River Condos

thecowgoesmoo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:44:37 +0000

Lootles, on 23 October 2009 - 08:40 PM, said:

Not surprisingly, there's a Site for Sale sign on the lot where these condos were supposed to be built.

ETA: 70% sold.... that's funny. : D

I saw that a few weeks ago, this w/e I stopped and yup, that project is dead in the water. Another one bites the dust.

Asheville Downtown Market

Lootles — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:43:58 +0000

thecowgoesmoo, on 16 October 2009 - 02:19 PM, said:

Someone told me about this today. Seems nice but parking is minimal to non existent. From what I saw parking was on the street only. It's needed in town though, AS is a pretty cool store. Lots of similar recovery grocers in the Shelby area, this is a (somewhat) new concept for Asheville.

The small chain, Grocery Outlet, originated and has been in the Asheville area for years. Amazing Savings has been around for a while, too. This will be their third location in the Asheville area.

The River Condos

Lootles — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:40:44 +0000

Not surprisingly, there's a Site for Sale sign on the lot where these condos were supposed to be built.

ETA: 70% sold.... that's funny. : D

Asheville Downtown Market

thecowgoesmoo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Asheville Downtown Market

orulz — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:36:13 +0000

This does seem like a great idea. BTW renting a stall at Smiley's down in Fletcher costs just about the same. That place gets pretty crowded; if the size of the parking lot at Smiley's is any indication, parking might seriously be an issue, but that's a great issue to have. Good thing Asheville has zero minimum parking requirements in the CBD.

I agree it would be nicer if it opened out to the sidewalk. Something like Charleston's old market. The one in Asheville is just a 1 story building so I can't imagine it would be too hard to cut some holes in the side of the building facing S French Broad. Or maybe it will be so popular that it will only stay in that building for a couple years before moving on to a bigger/better location.

Asheville Downtown Market

hauntedheadnc — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:08:06 +0000

With the loss of the Grove Corner Market, the Amazing Savings certainly ought to fill a niche, and it's within walking distance of a fairly extensive residential area spanning from the south side of Patton all the way down into the River District. As for affordable artist stalls... we are certainly in need of those.

This sounds like one of those projects that the city desperately needs but which no one realized it needed until the idea fairy alighted on someone else's head. The more I think about it, the more perfect it seems for the city. I wish them every success! I only wish the building they've chosen was more pedestrian friendly. It's accessible by sidewalk, but it's not very accommodating to the street.

Asheville Downtown Market

orulz — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Have any of you heard about this project? Sounds fascinating. Located in a light industrial building on South French Broad between Patton and Hilliard, it will house an Amazing Savings grocery store as well as an indoor market where up to 160 vendors can rent space for a pretty low price ($15-$40 per day.) It will be open Friday-Sunday. Sounds like a downtown flea market, pretty much.

Amazing Savings is an Asheville-based store with about 7 branches around WNC and upstate SC. I've never been but it sounds interesting.

Broadway developments

orulz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:08:42 +0000

The Mountain Xpress is reporting that the buildings on the block to the south of the Pioneer Building have sold. These are the buildings Macrocosim144 was talking about a few posts ago. Wonder what the new owners have in store (hopefully, not demolition.)

The sidewalk in front of those buildings is ridiculously narrow. Like 4 feet. This block is the only place on Broadway where buildings are built right up to the lot lines like that, so something needs to be done to fix it.

First off Broadway has very little traffic. It should be 2 lanes, end of story. Ideally there would be parallel parking on both sides of the street. Also, the sidewalks should be at least 8 feet wide. However, Broadway has a very narrow right-of-way (about 50' minimum) so it's challenging.

Two ways to do this.
1. Within the existing right-of-way: allot 8' for each sidewalk, 8' for parking and buffer, plus 9' for each traffic lane. Call this 8-8-9-9-8-8. These dimensions are pretty tight, similar to Haywood Street, and would probably need a speed limit of 20mph.

2. With extra right of way: Widen it to the west (ABC side) to a minimum 56'. In some places that would mean taking a 6' strip of property; in others, no new ROW would be needed. This results in a 9-9-10-10-9-9 configuration. The speed limit would be 25.

In case 2, stoplights at Elizabeth and Starnes are a must for the sake of traffic calming. In case 1, traffic would be slow enough because of the narrow street traffic would be naturally calm, though stoplights might still be nice.

Zona Lofts, Zona Village, Chrysler Building

thecowgoesmoo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:11:56 +0000

Never a dull moment on this one.

The dumpster for 162 was removed for non payment. The old printshop building next door (east of 162) that was supposedly to be bought by AR is how in the hands of the original owner, they've cleaned it up and are trying to rent it out. The gravel lot behind ZL (between it and the supplies place) is no longer available for AR use due to non payment (a clue since the staging stuff - trailer, drops, etc left a long time ago). Another building there that they supposedly had purchased is also back in the hands of the original owner. Original real estate agent on this one apparently has been dropped, was dropped months ago.

I think ZonaLofts is going to be renamed to ZonaPit, as that's what it is right now, a huge hole in the ground.

Carolina First Center

orulz — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:04:58 +0000

The same Citizen Times article says they plan to build more courtrooms adjacent to the existing courthouse eventually. Not sure where that would fit, though. I seem to recall discussion of closing Davidson Street and building there. I Hope they don't. Superblocks suck. The county owns a couple of parking lots along College Street in front of the jail. The new courtrooms should go there. Or in any of the other vacant lots nearby.