Asheville resident and attorney J Patrick Whalen is quoted extensively in a new post from The Atlantic discussing the revitalization of downtown Asheville. The publication shared a letter Whalen wrote in response to a series of articles on how cities develop thriving downtowns. The first article in the series, “Nice Downtowns: How Did They Get That Way?” written by James Fallow, took a look at cities including Seattle and Fresno.
The second post on the subject included a response from a reader in Tampa who cited the long struggle to improve the Florida city’s downtown, while noting that, by comparison, “Asheville, North Carolina’s, fabulous downtown (60 blocks for a town of 150,000, and just try to get a parking space after 6 p.m.!) seems to have evolved without any planning at all.”
Yesterday, The Atlantic published Whalen’s response to this point, which includes a detailed list of the city’s successes and failures, as well as recollections of the active citizens who shaped Asheville’s downtown into what it is today.
As a former chairman of the Asheville Downtown Commission, much of Whalen’s account is first-hand. It’s an interesting read for Asheville history buffs, as he covers topics including the establishment of Bele Chere, the approval of sidewalk dining, the struggle to convince residents to live downtown and the work of other community organizers including John Lantzius, Roger McGuire and Julian Price. Whalen’s letter also suggests that things could have easily taken a different route. Here’s an excerpt:
When the interstate came through downtown and the Asheville Mall was built in the 60’s and early 70’s, downtown was effectively dead. … What followed was basically a 30 year period during which businesses closed and downtown was left boarded up with empty sidewalks. Combined with the long-term economic challenges the mountain area had faced, a profound pessimism settled over the community so that every new idea floated to bring the city back was met with an oft-repeated refrain: “That will never work here – don’t even try.”… Some of that pessimism was reinforced when large-scale solutions attempted by city leaders failed. A proposal was floated [to] demolish a large part of the historic downtown and replace it with an enclosed mall. That idea was voted down but in the process local citizens became much more invested in saving and bringing back downtown.
You can read the rest of Whalen’s letter here. As the piece makes the rounds on social media, other Ashevilleans are pointing out that accounts of downtown’s restoration often leave out important issues that are unresolved today, including a struggle to find affordable housing, especially downtown.
So what do you think, Asheville? Is the current state of downtown the result of engaged citizenry or did it simply drift into being? And as we take a look at downtown’s past, what should we be looking at for downtown’s future?
No, property was taken away under eminent domain and transferred over. People were forced out of their buildings, especially around Pack Square, and the land was “sold” to outsiders. On top of the tax credits which are still flowing today. 6 billion plus of property owned by the biggest landholders in the country is tax exempt. Why can an entity such as Mission own over 650 million in property, and that’s tax value but actual market value is at least double that, and expect others to pay? I get nothing for the property taxes I pay. And others are starting to wake up to it.
County, not country.
“Is the current state of downtown the result of engaged citizenry or did it simply drift into being?”
Your logical fallacy for today is . . . False Choice.
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white
As long as the suckers are willing to subsidize downtown and the RAD while their own services go into the real of nonexistent, nothing changes. Again, why am I paying MORE AND MORE to wash off the downtown sidewalks in front of and graffiti off of the buildings of 1 PERCENTER MILLIONAIRES while the sidewalk in from of my house goes unrepaired for over 4 years now after a water line break? It’s growing weeds out of it while all this is happening. What are residents getting for their taxes? On top of all the property that’s exempt. NOTHING.
I don’t disagree with you, Tim. However, I’m merely alluding to the argument presented by the Tampa resident in The Atlantic post, which states that Asheville’s downtown “seems to have evolved without any planning at all,” and is paraphrased by the post’s author as “a claim that Asheville just naturally evolved its way into its current look.” It wasn’t my intention to limit any discussion to this point, only to emphasize the starting point of the conversation as it unfolded over at The Atlantic.
It didn’t evolve. It was stolen at first then subsidized. Bele Chere wasn’t paid for by downtown. It was paid for by people that gained nothing from it. Better to ask since downtown has “evolved”, why are residential property taxes continuing to rise so an art museum can build in a DOWNTOWN building that isn’t even theirs.
Pretty much what’s happening in certain parts of the RAD with property being condemned and then reclaimed is a replay of Pack Square some 30 plus years ago.
A third alternative: Asheville’s development has also been one of actively resisting zoning and other public policy. Take one recent example: food trucks. Food trucks were banned from downtown for 20-plus years by greedy restauranteurs on city council committees and their compliant accomplices in city hall.
Food Truck Regulation
http://timpeck.blogspot.com/2011/06/food-truck-regulation.html
Food Trucks = Competition
http://timpeck.blogspot.com/2011/06/food-trucks-competition.html
Radio: Food Trucks
http://timpeck.blogspot.com/2011/06/radio-food-trucks.html
LTE: Food Trucks
http://timpeck.blogspot.com/2011/09/lte-food-trucks.html
Funny how their own arguments of paying taxes and therefore should have priority over food trucks doesn’t carry over for residents. My thousands in property taxes don’t get me squat it seems. What, garbage pick up? I could take the trash to the dump myself and pocket 98% of what I pay.
Looks the usual haters are on here, decrying everything about downtown and only seeing it through their narrow lense. Asheville has comes a long long ways since I first came here in the ’90s. I can only imagine what it was like before then, even when I arrived it still felt run down and definitely not lively like today. The seeds were there though and the blueprint hasn’t changed much. The music, food and beer scenes alone have exploded and is the envy of many small cities. I don’t think that was necessarily planned, it is just part of a bigger trend but when the food and music is on par with a major city that’s a big draw. Also, what other tourist downtown isn’t over run with chains? Charleston and South Beach for example, are both cities that have be invaded by retail chains and tacky shops. From my POV Asheville benefited from the vision and actions of many: small business owners, developers, city planners, various organization and individuals who made the move to live here. I would say Asheville is successful because of committed visionaries, cultural trends, location and economics. Some of these same factors may be to its detriment. When only rich retirees, trust funders, and a small management and professional class can afford living here, the luster may fade. Also, Asheville just may become a caricature of itself. I personally wish it would embrace more contemporary music, art and culture. The fact that MoogFest was rejected by the community shows a great lack of vision. You won’t attract the next visionaries without a commitment to new ideas.
I don’t think being contemporary made Asheville successful… It was the people that could see beyond the temporary… :)
Also I don’t consider Asheville or it’s downtown to be “successful” as the city and local philatrophists haven’t cared to provide TRUE work-force housing
for the younger generations and the people who serve the tourist economy… Get it Brownie!? :)
Why would they provide workforce housing when UNCA has dorms?
If you had any sense, you’d realize that giving tax exemptions to certain entities with land values at the tune of 6 billion, ALL THE WHILE THEY CONTINUE TO BUY LAND THUS DRIVING UP VALUES, is why it’s not AFFORDABLE. No haters here.
Hell if Mission has land that’s worth 650 mil on the tax books and pays not 1 cent on it, no wonder they can purchase it all over the place. Just the tax savings alone is enough to buy it OUTRIGHT.
I’m not sure what you mean by “Moogfest was rejected by the community”. Moog apparently wasn’t able to put on their corporate-branded festival without massive public subsidy. When the City and County did chip in a “token” $180,000, Moog acted like it was our fault that they still lost over a million dollars. Now they’re threatening to take their ball & go to Durham if we don’t cough up a bigger subsidy, and basically tell the world: “Moog Says Don’t Go To Asheville”.
If there was a lack of vision, it wasn’t the community, it was the folks at Moog who failed to “embrace” Asheville.
They should pack it up and leave. To hell with the leeches that want tax money to make bank. Speaking of festivals, how much money did those bars in downtown make over the weekend and how much did they contribute to the cost of running it? Here’s a clue, lots and none.
I’m alluding to Bele Chere. Some bars were banking 75K over that weekend. And Bele Chere got cancelled because the greedy business owners killed it themselves. Instead of actively coming up with a plan to finance it OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS, they remained silent.
I haven’t seen them move their headquarters yet. But maybe they should.