Should the River Arts District be rebuilt?

BY ZOE RHINE

I was a special collections librarian at Pack Memorial Library for over 27 years, and every time we had a flood, and especially after the flood of 2004, I would read information about why it is not a good idea to rebuild on a floodplain. We would put up an exhibit of photographs and newspaper headlines from the 1916 flood — the flood of all floods — where 80 people died. One notable anecdote of that disaster is of Edith Vanderbilt bringing coffee to the river for men who were trying to save people.

About every 20 years, there is a major flooding event in our area. And everyone knows that buildings and pavement alter an area’s natural drainage and increase the risk of flooding. But every time after a flood, mud gets sucked up and wiped away, buildings repaired, and businesses return. People would point, dumbfounded, to where walls were marked across the district by where the water’s height had stood.

When we first look at the effects of Tropical Storm Helene, which was worse than the 1916 flood, we need to recall that artists weren’t always working on the river. It was only 11 years ago, in 2013, that 80-some artists voted to incorporate as the River Arts District Artists Inc., a nonprofit organization that now has over 300 members. Before the River Arts District, artists were mostly in downtown Asheville, especially on Wall Street — until a 1985 renovation of the street made studio space there too expensive, also causing the Asheville Music Hall to close.

The birth of the RAD

Printmaker Porge Buck was the first artist to work in the River Arts District (aka the RAD) when she and her husband, painter Lewis Buck, bought the Williams Seed and Feed building at 170 Lyman St. in 1987. They were followed by Pattiy Torno in 1989, and then others came, filling the light-filled industrial buildings, where spaces were large and rents were cheap. After Tropical Storm Helene, Torno felt that this flood had taken a toll on the artists, and she wondered if any would return. It is estimated that 500 artists were working or selling their art in the River Arts District before Helene and that about 80% of the district was damaged in the storm.

The City of Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority well know the value the artists bring to Asheville. Arts AVL reports that “the RAD generates $1 billion in sales annually, supports 8,500 jobs and is a key part of Buncombe County’s tourism industry and the regional economy.” Will Asheville provide the artists a safe and functional home for creating art and for exhibiting art for the future? As well as perhaps the café owners, antiques dealers (think of the antiques that have been swallowed whole by the Swannanoa River over the decades) and breweries that go along with them so well for locals and tourists alike?

At least two Ashevilleans recently posted a photo on social media of graffiti on a bridge footing in the River Arts District. “We should go uphill,” it said, “with our asphalt and chemicals and cars,” and concluded by saying, “Don’t put your city’s creatives in the firing squad. Clear it.” At last look, both posts had 30-some comments with many good ideas. This is a big issue that people care about. One person imagined a greenway from Black Mountain to Marshall.

A new home for artists

I believe city and county officials, artists, historians, creative builders and thinkers should all join to come up with the best of possibilities. Let us use this time to think of a creative and environmentally sound solution. Let’s look at other cities that have overhauled regulations around development in floodplains, such as nearby Brevard, which adopted stringent flood standards. An added plus is lower flood insurance costs.

It seems to me that the City of Asheville and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (with the owners’ agreement) could buy current buildings on the river and then raze them. Is it possible to save the materials to create a new district on higher ground? Maybe something like the city municipal garages and buildings on South Charlotte Street? Expensive, yes. But think of the glory in the possible outcome.

While I’m not an urban planner, it seems that there may be multiple options worth exploring in the city. Someone suggested the Asheville Mall, with its central location and plenty of parking, would be a good home for artists. Does the city own any more property that was taken during urban renewal? Is the site of the former Stephens-Lee High School available, affectionately called “The Castle on the Hill” because of its commanding view of the city? What about the former Moog Music headquarters on Broadway with its 29,660 square feet? Or the former Balcrank factory on Reems Creek Road that sits on 18 acres and has 68,000 square feet?

Yes, we love our waterfront. And it’s too bad it is not a lake. But let’s try to think of visiting it with newly planted vegetation, a wetland becoming home to new species, a green space that leaves the land as an open, natural place. And let’s find a home for Asheville’s artists that’s affordable, accessible and safe.

Zoe Rhine retired as manager of the Buncombe County Special Collections at Pack Memorial Library after 27 years and currently writes creative nonfiction short stories.