Tonight: the story of Asheville’s downtown revitalization

It’s hard to believe these days, but just 20 short years ago downtown Asheville was a boarded-up ghost town. It was due to the efforts of a few visionaries — including the late philanthropist Julian Price — that we are the city that we are today. And tonight, you can learn the remarkable story of how it all happened.

The Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors (DARN) and The Asheville Citizen-Times will present “The Asheville Miracle: The Revitalization of Downtown” at 7pm at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Presenters will include:

Pat Whalen, president of Public Interest Projects, Inc., an award-winning development company founded by Price. PIP’s projects have included many established retail and restaurant outlets downtown (Laughing Seed, Zambra, Mobilia and The Orange Peel are just a few) as well as residential projects in downtown.

Leslie Anderson served as Asheville’s Director of Downtown Development for nine years during which time she enabled over $63 million in private investment in the business district, initiated and coordinated $16 million in streetscape, landscape and public works projects, created the Asheville Downtown Association and initiated and administered two major Asheville events including Bele Chere.

Karen Tessier, former Executive Director of Asheville-Buncombe Discovery, she has been intricately involved in the public/private planning, investment and revitalization of downtown Asheville. Tessier has participated in numerous National Main Street, State Downtown Development, economic development, and urban design/public visioning conferences and has served as a consultant to cities and organizations in the Southeast.

Also as part of the evening, local writer and photographer Laura Hope Gill and Michael Oppenheimer will preview their book “Look Up Asheville,” a collection of stunning architectural photography and anecdotal stories about the historic buildings of Asheville.


A picture of the building that now houses the Grove Arcade, looking south down Page Avenue. The corner in the foreground now houses Santé Wine Bar.


A picture of the building that now houses Malaprop’s on Haywood Street.


A picture from 1986 of the future home of what is now Pack Place.

Photos courtesy of Karen Tessier.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Tonight: the story of Asheville’s downtown revitalization

  1. Marq McIntosh

    Sure seems like there are a lot of hens in the hen house! Its going to be interesting to see how our money pans out, thank GOD we don’t rely on a few hens to survive.

  2. Ken

    Let’s hope that the Grove Arcade does not end up looking like the above photo again…seeing that they cannot pay their bills.

  3. Marq McIntosh

    Or look like the “NO” Blooming flower beds down town, that our Highly educated, “NOT” politicians blew our money on. First you must know your facts about planing for our future. I plan on living here, not moving up the ladder and then down the road.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.