Meet the Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee

Posted on by Brian Postelle

Here’s the group known as the Master Plan Advisory Committee that, beginning last fall, worked closely with consultants Goody Clancy to shape Asheville’s draft Downtown Master Plan.

The list of 30 represents a cross section of Asheville communities, including development, business, arts and nonprofit interests. At a Jan. 15 meeting, several advisory committee members stood before a crowd of 200 to explain their feelings on the draft plan. Here are some samples:

Pat Whalen: “I don’t agree with many parts of the plan. But I agree with lots of the plan. Overall its a good plan.”

Jim Coman: “This plan has the best chance of coming to fruition of any plan I’ve seen in Asheville.”

Ruth Summers: “I encourage you to read it and spend time on it. A lot of personalities were heard.”

Larry Holt: “[We should] move forward with this plan and work out the bugs.”

Jen Bowen: “This plan only says that it’s a plan. What our job is as a community is to come together and make something happen.”

— Brian Postelle, staff writer

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Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee Roster

Peter Alberice
Camille-Alberice Architects

Jen Bowen
Faces of Asheville

David Brown
Brownstone Realty

Kitty Love
Arts2People

Dwight Butner
Vincenzo’s Ristorante

Tom Cassidy
Self-Help Credit Union

Jim Coman
Buncombe County

Joyce Dorr
Performing Arts Center

Joe Eckert
Laughing Seed

Jonathan Glover
Asheville Housing Authority Bd of Dir.

Pastor John Grant
Mt. Zion Community Development Inc.

Rebecca Hecht
Adorn Boutique

Larry Holt
Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors

Kim MacQueen
Goldhill Associates

Kelly Miller
Asheville Conventions and Visitors Bureau
(Reportedly has left the committee since being appointed to Asheville City Council.)

Joe Minicozzi
Public Interest Projects, Inc.

Stephanie Pankiewicz
LandDesign

Chris Peterson
Peterson Amusement Co.

Scott Riviere

John Rogers
Rogers/Chenvert Architects

Elizabeth Russell/Stephanie Twitty
Eagle/Market Streets Dev. Corp.

Jim Samsel
Samsel Architects, PA

Cindy Smith
Homeward Bound

Albert Sneed
Van Winkle Law Firm

BJ Snow
Snow Ink

LaVoy Spooner
AT&T

Ruth Summers
Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation

Chuck Tessier
Tessier Associates

Pat Whalen
Public Interest Projects

Cindy Weeks
Mountain Housing Opportunities

Staff: 
Sasha Vrtunski, AICP
Downtown Master Plan Project Manager

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