Fletcher, NC

[jr7777]

Fletcher is a small town of about 4,185 (2000 census) located between Asheville and Hendersonville. According to Hendersonville Magazine, Fletcher is the fastest-growing town in Western North Carolina. Its population has doubled within 10 years.

Fletcher facts (from Hendersonville Magazine)

• Incorporated in 1989

• Provides its own police protection, sanitation service, parks and recreation and street maintenance

• contracts fire protection through Fletcher Fire & Rescue and Mills River Fire & Rescue with a paid staff on dute 24 hrs. a day.

Recently, residents and businesses have created a vision for the town's future - a walkable, traditional downtown which will be known as "The Heart of Fletcher." A master plan of The Heart of Fletcher can be seen here, and a video promoting the district to businesses and contracters can be seen here.

Construction for The Heart of Fletcher has not yet begun, and there's no word yet as to when it will be started. Most likely they haven't found a contracter to build the heart.

[hauntedheadnc]

The Heart of Fletcher is too little too late. It would be like putting a few house trailers in the Biltmore Square Mall parking lot and calling the whole thing mixed-use.

[monsoon]

The Heart of Fletcher is too little too late. It would be like putting a few house trailers in the Biltmore Square Mall parking lot and calling the whole thing mixed-use.

It's one thing to offer an opinion, but good god, everything you post here is so negative. It might help to try to look at the positive once and a while. Even if Fletcher is late in re-development, its great they are at least attempting to fix it with this plan and comparing it to a trailer park in downtown Asheville is just a waste of everyone's time here.

[orulz]

Speaking of Fletcher, what happened to the old Fletcher Motors bulding that used to be "downtown?" Did they tear that down when they widened US25? I hope not. It was a pretty neat, 1920's era building. I bet they did, though. Sigh.

[hauntedheadnc]

It's one thing to offer an opinion, but good god, everything you post here is so negative. It might help to try to look at the positive once and a while. Even if Fletcher is late in re-development, its great they are at least attempting to fix it with this plan and comparing it to a trailer park in downtown Asheville is just a waste of everyone's time here.

A negative situation calls for a negative commentary. I live here. You don't, and therefore I wouldn't expect you to know that most of what passes for "smart growth" or what have you, is lip service at best.

Speaking of Fletcher, what happened to the old Fletcher Motors bulding that used to be "downtown?" Did they tear that down when they widened US25? I hope not. It was a pretty neat, 1920's era building. I bet they did, though. Sigh.

Are you referring to the BMW dealership? It's still there, next to that one three or four story commercial building.

[orulz]

Yeah, there used to be a BMW and a Chevy dealer on that site, although I think the BMW dealer moved out to Airport Road near Apple Tree. The Chevy dealer might still be located in the same, older building though. I haven't driven by there in years, but I remember it being across the road from a BBQ joint (which is probably closed by now.) In my memory, the auto dealer was the only building for miles along Hendersonville Road with anything resembling character.

[hauntedheadnc]

To my knowledge it's still there. And to be honest, not far away is a positive development -- a church that built an enormous new sanctuary adjoining their old one, and the only way to tell which one's older is that the new one has clear glass instead of stained glass windows. The Heart of Fletcher will be there too but the whole area is still very, very, very suburban.

[jr7777]

Yeah, there used to be a BMW and a Chevy dealer on that site, although I think the BMW dealer moved out to Airport Road near Apple Tree. The Chevy dealer might still be located in the same, older building though. I haven't driven by there in years, but I remember it being across the road from a BBQ joint (which is probably closed by now.) In my memory, the auto dealer was the only building for miles along Hendersonville Road with anything resembling character.

Chevy South is still there, I just bought a car from there. Here's a tip: Never buy a used car from that place. You'll reget it...

To my knowledge it's still there. And to be honest, not far away is a positive development -- a church that built an enormous new sanctuary adjoining their old one, and the only way to tell which one's older is that the new one has clear glass instead of stained glass windows. The Heart of Fletcher will be there too but the whole area is still very, very, very suburban.

Isn't that church the highest structure in Fletcher? How tall is it?

[hauntedheadnc]

Beats me but it wouldn't surprise me if it was the tallest.

[jr7777]

Just a quick update: I read in the Pisgah Mountain News that Fletcher will be extending Fanning Bridge Road to connect to Old Cane Creek Rd. It currently dead ends at the Fletcher Fire Dept. and is not efficient for emergency vehicles. Here is that area on a map.

This article also mentions that contruction on The Heart of Fletcher should start within a year or two. The full article can be read by clicking here.

[uptownliving]

I drove through Fletcher for the first time in a long time this summer. Ironically we drove through Fletcher on US 25 to avoid the incredible backups on I-26. I do have to say that it just seems to be one strip mall after another in Fletcher and Arden. Things changed a bit on 25A which is a little 2 lane road to get to downtown Asheville. Even though that 2 lane road is heavily travelled it still has some charm to it. Also there is a great ice cream shop along in there...

Anywho it is good to see the Fletcher has decided to change its ways and develop in a more urban maner. It is never too late to change for the better.

[orulz]

Sweeten Creek Rd (25a) won't be a bucolic 2-lane road for much longer. It's already been four-laned between Rock Hill and I-40; NCDOT has plans to four-lane it from I-40 to mainline 25 in Biltmore Village as well.

I've long thought that the US-25 corridor would be a great candidate for a commuter rail line. Norfolk Southern's freight line between Asheville and Hendersonville has oodles of spare capacity now that the Saluda Grade is out of commission. Unfortunately, the freight line doesn't go within walking distance of many major employment centers or the airport. However, there is a lot of commute traffic between Henderson and Buncombe county, a lot of residential, commercial, and active industrial development in this corridor, and a LOT more on the way. Transit could be a means to redirect this development from highway sprawl into urban nodes.