The Green Scene

Susan Roderick was driving down Clingman Avenue one recent Sunday afternoon when she spied a young man toiling on a steep wooded slope across from The Grey Eagle. In recent years, many young homeowners in the neighborhood have undertaken cleanup projects, says Roderick, whose office is nearby, and she wondered if he’d like to plant some of the extra bulbs she had in her car.

Too tired: This pile of discarded tires was recently retrieved from “Clingman Forest,” a wooded hillside that may one day be part of an Asheville greenway. Photo courtesy Asheville GreenWorks

Stopping to offer the bulbs, she found that Brennan was trying to remove hundreds of discarded tires littering the hillside. But they’d been there so long, most were weighed down with mud, leaves and water, and he couldn’t move all of them alone.

Happily, however, Roderick is the director of Asheville GreenWorks (formerly Quality Forward), so she knows about cleanup projects. “I remembered this pile from walking [the route] of a proposed greenway several years ago,” says Roderick. The leaf-covered old roadbed runs up the hill behind Carolina StoneWorks—part of a route listed as “Clingman Forest” in the city of Asheville’s 2003 update of its Greenway Master Plan. Another local nonprofit, Mountain Housing Opportunities, had been working on that particular project, and Roderick wasn’t sure what the status was.

But her group maintains a small fund for impromptu jobs, and Roderick called a frequent GreenWorks volunteer who she knew needed work and hired him and his crew to move the tires. She also persuaded Buncombe County landfill officials to waive the usual fee for disposing of old tires.

“There’s at least 500 of them,” says Roderick. “You have to see [this pile] ‘in the flesh’ to appreciate how big it is.” With no tire business currently in the vicinity, it isn’t clear where the tires came from or how long they’ve been there. Years ago, she points out, the landfill didn’t accept tires, so it was common for dealers to let them pile up—or dispose of them illegally in the French Broad River, local gullies and other out-of-the-way places.

But these days, old tires can be recycled as running tracks or playground surfaces, says Roderick, adding, “We’re very excited to get these tires moved.”

A smart car and a condo too

You can leave your gas-guzzling SUV someplace else if you buy one of the new condos proposed for 73 N. Market Street. You won’t need it: Each 2,300-square-foot, green-built residence will come with a smart fortwo vehicle. No other automobile—not even the minuscule MINI Cooper—will fit in the building’s underground garage, says Jeremy Goldstein of North Market Street Investments, the developer.

Billed as a “conscientious Asheville condominium,” 73 N. Market will feature the world’s first high-rise with an underground parking structure built exclusively for the tiny urban cars, Goldstein claims. “It speaks to our current cultural paradigm,” says the New Jersey native. He and his wife moved to Asheville about 10 years ago, seeking “a small environment” with city amenities but fewer of the headaches they experienced in the Northeast. Two children later, he’s here to stay and a convert to Asheville’s enviro-friendly culture. With units priced at about $2 million, the current project, says Goldstein, targets “the most discerning buyers,” particularly those committed to a sustainable lifestyle.

The 13-story structure will feature a living green roof, solar panels, rainwater collection, low-E glass, automated lighting/shading systems and local building materials, says Elihu Siegman, president of the Asheville-based Siegman Associates, and he and architect Michael Silverman will be seeking LEED certification (the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system) for it.

Throw in the ultra-low-emissions smart car and you have a distinctly urban-Asheville flair. “When I drove the smart fortwo, I felt like I was driving in the future,” says Siegman. The pintsize vehicles are 95 percent recyclable, he notes, explaining that condo owners will be able to drive directly into an elevator that will take them down to the parking garage.

One entire floor of the luxury building will be dedicated to a fitness facility and guest quarters. Architecturally speaking, it will pay homage to another slim-profile downtown structure, the 1920s-era Jackson Building, but with a modern exterior that will feature an artistic weaving of metal, glass and brick, says Siegman, adding, “Every building tells a tale of its time.”

For more information about Asheville GreenWorks, go to www.ashevillegreenworks.org, or call 254-1776. To learn more about the condo project, go to http://73northmarket.com, or call 281-4024.

Send your environmental news to mvwilliams@mountainx.com, or leave a message at 251-1333, ext. 152.

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.

About Margaret Williams
Editor Margaret Williams first wrote for Xpress in 1994. An Alabama native, she has lived in Western North Carolina since 1987 and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts & Sciences from UNC-Asheville in 2016. Follow me @mvwilliams

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 “The Green Scene

  1. greenie

    “With units priced at about $2 million, the current project, says Goldstein, targets ‘the most discerning buyers,’ particularly those committed to a sustainable lifestyle.” What?! $2 million?! For the image of sustainability?

    The notion that an individual willing to plunk down such a colossal amount for a condo is committed to ‘a sustainable lifestyle’ is hard to swallow. Maybe I’m biased. But I always thought living a sustainable lifestyle meant riding your bike, not “driving in the future” in a fortwo. I thought it meant wearing hand-me-downs from friends and family or used clothing from Goodwill because you don’t want to fuel globalized companies that ship their merchandise across the globe. Or sharing space, food, a vegetable patch and community, because you’d rather share resources than live in an isolated bubble all unto yourself.

    Please do not let the ultra-rich appropriate the concept of sustainability. If commitment to the environment is something that’s not accessible to everyone, then we’re all screwed, because we all must participate in conserving resources if we are to progress in any meaningful way. The condo and the fortwo may be *a small part* of ‘the solution’ to this environmental clusterf*ck we’re in, but there’s no way that $2 million condos can ultimately save us. The scope is far too narrow. Goldstein should be reprimanded for implying that pricing his units at such an ungodly amount is the only way to ensure true ‘commitment’ to sustainability. Please.

  2. mtndow

    If we build it they will come. A-Town is still seen as a shelter by the very well-to-do pale greens.
    The one million dollar condos are for our service industry workers, OK, servants. By the way, Clingman Lofts is just “tacky” looking.

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.