On Monday, Asheville’s Technical Review Committee voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to the massive downtown Haywood Park development. See plans for the development — and how far it extends — here.
The development, located between Page Avenue and Haywood Street, is planned to include a condo building (with 100 units), a 23-story hotel (with 200 rooms), 42,000 square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of retail space and 506 parking spaces.
Developer Tony Fraga would retain the current Haywood Park Hotel (at the corner of Battery Park Avenue and Haywood Street) and the neighboring Starnes Building, which houses True Blue Art Supplies and the Chocolate Fetish on its ground level. However, the Haywood Building, which currently houses the Flower Gallery, Ariel Gallery and the Bier Garden, among other businesses, would be demolished, as would the building at the corner of Page and Battery Park avenues. The parking garage behind the Haywood Building would also be demolished.
The project still has to go before the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for approval.
— David Forbes, staff writer
Oh well there goes that. I was planning on retiring next Spring and moving to downtown Asheville but this project will drive up rents to the degree of being unaffordable for all except the wealthy. Believe me, I see it all around me in Atlantic City.
It’s been unaffordable downtown for several years now, c f barna. This is just the icing – the out of scale, ridiculously hideous, local business killing icing – on the cake.
I can hardly stand it, waiting for this magnificent project to start and then finish. If you can’t take the heat, get the heck out of the kitchen. Bead shops have to differentiate themselves to remain viable. Find the niche. It can be done. It has been done. If you don’t know that then you shouldn’t be in business.
can’t say i like the buildings at all, much, much better can be done. the scale and proportions are hideous, and what about the street? address the pedestrian! nothing there. no canopy, nothing engaging about it. but you know buildings like this will happen eventually, and there is a lot of truth in DonM’s comments. local bizs must find a viable niche/market. and it is possible, even with buildings like this being built.
i just wish a better product was going up.
I’d much rather Asheville build up than out (into the mountains and surrounding communities). Right now there’s a vacant restaurant on the lot. Not losing much.
The buildings are just to tall. This isnt Miami or ATL and we need to controll our building hight. Hendersonville did it, why cant we? The tallest building in that area is 15 stories, to me that seems like a good cap.
I like the use of the old Grove design for the tower, it would be great if both towers can look like that.
We all need to remember why people visit Asheville.
Overbuilding does nothing for the community or the busness’.