In 2021, Jessie Landl received an alarming phone call. The executive director of the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County was notified that the house at 32 Grail St. was slated for demolition. The age of the home and its location in one of Asheville’s historically Black neighborhoods propelled her organization into action.
“The house was built in 1910, and Grail Street is one of the most intact streets in the East End/Valley Street neighborhood — a neighborhood that was really impacted by urban renewal,” Landl says. “So, you have the street where all the houses on the block are still historic, and this would’ve been the first domino to fall on that street.”
A few months later, additional dominos fell. Landl learned the Cappadocia Church and its adjacent lot at 55 Max St. — a property line that backs up to 32 Grail St. — had been bought by the same developer, as well as the lot at 61 Max St.
Fearful that a larger development was in the works, the Preservation Society began working with the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood. Members of the community, Landl says, “did not want to see the church or the house lost.”
After speaking with the developer multiple times, “we reached an agreement where we purchased the two historic structures, and they got the vacant lot [at 61 Max Street] to do infill,” Landl says.
Two years into the restoration project, Landl says the first of the two major projects is nearing its end. But plenty of work remains to protect both the home and the church from gentrification.
Community trust
Landl notes that, historically, Black neighborhoods have not benefited from preservation efforts and that when such projects are started, gentrification remains a constant threat.
“The closest thing we’ve been able to come to as a solution is to do preservation work that the neighborhood desires,” she says. “Before we purchased either of these properties, we worked with the neighborhood association, and they voted to have us purchase these properties to save them.”
She continues, “But also, how do we save them without gentrifying the neighborhood? And this goal of making these properties affordable is the best solution we’ve come up with so far on that front.”
As a small nonprofit, the Preservation Society enacts significant fundraising efforts throughout the year and seeks grant support. In turn, the group had sufficient funds to purchase and rehabilitate the 32 Grail St. home.
“We don’t expect to make money on a project like this — in fact, we expect to and will lose money on it, which is fine,” Landl says. “But the goal is to not lose so much that we don’t have enough to buy and save the next house.”
Throughout the 32 Grail St. project, the Preservation Society has been working alongside the Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust. Once the renovations are complete and preservation protections are placed on the house, the goal is to sell the property to the land trust so the group can then sell it through its homeownership program and make it permanently affordable.
“The problem is the dollar amount,” Landl says. “[The total that] the land trust can buy it from us is significantly less than what we have invested into the property.”
The Preservation Society is looking to bring in additional funding partners to close the gap, which Landl says could be as high as $250,000. Throughout the process, she notes, her organization has been transparent with the he East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association: Affordability is the nonprofit’s goal, but it’s one that’s not guaranteed without proper funding.
Progress check
Significant foundation issues were the main challenges that awaited the Preservation Society at 32 Grail St. The house also needed a new roof and all new electrical, plumbing and HVAC components. But it has, in Landl’s words, “good bones” and offered several welcome surprises.
“It was covered in aluminum siding that was worn, and the original wood siding was underneath and was in relatively good shape,” she says. “The same went for the hardwood floors. There’s carpeting in the house, and when we pulled that up, we found that the hardwood floors were in surprisingly good condition for being from 1910.”
Though the Preservation Society typically strives to save plaster elements, the original walls had been drywalled over and, once removed, it was determined that over 80% of the plaster needed to be replaced. As a result, workers took out the plaster and replaced it with new drywall.
Tropical Storm Helene temporarily slowed repairs, but the 32 Grail St. house was not damaged by the extreme weather event. Currently, the finishing touches are being applied, and Landl anticipates a completion date later this month. Open houses and private tours have been conducted, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We toured the house with someone who grew up in the neighborhood and had played in that house,” Landl says. “It was really fun to experience that. And they’re really appreciative that we were able to save it and that it didn’t get demolished.”
Once 32 Grail St. is finished, the Preservation Society will turn its attention to Cappadocia Church. The site has been rezoned for residential use, and the modest-sized structure will be turned into three one-bedroom apartments. And Dogwood Health Trust has funded the first phase of construction.
“That will be structural stabilization that the building needs and exterior rehabilitation,” Landl says. “We’re going to be addressing any of the structural issues and also replacing the roof, repointing the brick, repairing the windows — that sort of thing.”
To learn more, visit avl.mx/ep2.
