60 North Market Street, downtown Asheville

[orulz]

OK so I biked by the 60 North Market site today, and they had a sign up with a new (watercolor) rendering and an advertement for their website, which happens to be 60northmarket.com. I'm certain I checked that URL at least as recently as 2 weeks ago with no result, so this certainly must be a recent development.

The sign proclaimed "prices from the mid 200s to 1 million+" - yikes. I guess maybe we can hold out hope for something not hyper-upscale for the Ravenscroft project and that modular tower on Coxe next to the Chrysler building. But certainly not here.

On my bike ride I was reminded again of what a nice place downtown Asheville is. Even at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, there were plenty of coffee shops & bakeries open, with folks sitting outside sipping on coffee enjoying the brief spell of cool weather in July.

[artworks1437]

Does anyone know what is going on with this project?

[hauntedheadnc]

This project has a sales office set up on Wall Street. That's the only update I know of.

[artworks1437]

Any updates on this project?

[rooster8]

WLOS had a blurb on their site last week about the removal of trees at this site. NIMBYs weren't happy because of the impact to the Wolfe house.

[hauntedheadnc]

WLOS had a blurb on their site last week about the removal of trees at this site. NIMBYs weren't happy because of the impact to the Wolfe house.

[rooster8]

The Citizen-Times has an update on this project: Condo building underway

[orulz]

Good to hear this is underway. I was beginning to wonder when this would get started.

Hopefully this will only be the start of new developments on Woodfin.

[rooster8]

I walked by this site today. Quite a bit of excavation work has taken place. They have a sign at the front of the site with this rendering on it. It is amazing how close it is to the Wolfe memorial. (It is actually right next door to the visitors center for the memorial). It should do wonders for Market Street, which seemed a little staid.

I can't remember who made the suggestion, but I also agree that it would make sense to extend Spruce Street to Woodfin Street. After walking through today, I don't think losing the plaza would be that bad.

[hauntedheadnc]

Construction is rolling right along. This is what I saw around 8 this morning.

[gaucha]

Construction is rolling right along. This is what I saw around 8 this morning.

[hauntedheadnc]

This is the view from Market Street as of Monday.

[gaucha]

Thanks for the update & photo. I have been passing through Asheville for 15 years now & I can't believe the momentum of change. I hear there are terrific college programs out there. My kids will enventually be florida transplants. Can't wait..

[28202]

Here is a link to the web cam, the time lapse is especially cool.

http://oxblue.com/pro/open/?webPath=coxschepp/60nmarket

[orulz]

Ooh. I did not realize this building had a construction cam. Thanks!

[rooster8]

It's too bad the developers couldn't get the city to open up Spruce Street as part of this project.

[orulz]

^ Did they try? Hopefully it will be reopened if the Renaissance parking lot is ever redeveloped.

[rooster8]

I don't know if the question was ever asked on their part (I doubt it).

That whole Renaissance property is such a missed opportunity. In my imagination the part that fronts on College would be replaced with a deck with offices/retail wrapped on the front (similar to the L Building in Raleigh).

I can dream.

[erm1981]

I agree totally. I think most Carolinians tend to forget about Asheville. It is a very engaging city. Is it me or does Asheville kinda feels out of place in terms of NC city wise. I think the distance has shaped the city in a totally different direction...and I like it. Grow Asheville but grow smart and never sacrifice you character.

[rooster8]

I drove by really late last night and I must say I was impressed as to its presence. It's a nice complement to the Altamount Apartments.

My only regret is that there isn't a lot of retail in that block (it seemed like mostly lawyers). I guess they have to go somewhere.

[hauntedheadnc]

I drove by really late last night and I must say I was impressed as to its presence. It's a nice complement to the Altamount Apartments.

My only regret is that there isn't a lot of retail in that block (it seemed like mostly lawyers). I guess they have to go somewhere.

[Whistler]

I recently walked around this building, and was puzzled by its relationship to Market and Woodfin Streets. Its "public" faces look inwards towards the middle of the block, towards the Renaissance parking lot and the closed Spruce Street, and over the Thomas Wolfe House and Visitors Center. These public faces have a great deal of design interest -- sculpted balconies, green glass, etc.

The Market and Woodfin sides--the street sides of the building that face outwards from the block -- have a secondary design status, being flat, EIFS-covered, and punctuated by inoperable single-pane casement windows and what appear to be metal bathroom or laundry vents. Except for the ground floor storefronts on the Market side, both the Woodfin and Market sides have the ambiance of an alley side or a service entrance.

So, I suppose this development has been configured to fit the site, turning residents' views away from I-240 on the Woodfin Street side. But in doing so, the Market and Woodfin sides are stuck with some really sub-par design.

[rooster8]

I can't tell if it is finished. I didn't see any workers, but it was lunch time.

You can sort of make out the lackluster "frontage" on Market Street. There is an entrance, but not a very impressive one.

[archiham04]

the entrance doesn't bother me that much. It is a condo building, not a civic building. I doubt the city would have let them get too creative at the street. That would not fly with their current matchy-matchy understanding of context.

[orulz]

This building has a small retail space on both Market and Woodfin, right? I imagine whoever occupies the space will put in an awning. While awnings aren't magic, they do tend to help a building relate better with the street.

It isn't exceptional, but I do find it to be the best of the recent buildings downtown. It's not as boring as 12 S Lexington or Indigo, and it's not flat out ugly like 21 Battery Park either. It's attractive, if conservative.