“Big spending for another full-scale park on the Haywood Street site would drain the city budget far more than the balanced use of the site favored by Marc and the majority of Council and would mean less money available for other priorities, such as sidewalks, greenways and non-downtown neighborhood improvements.”
The McKibbon Hotel Group will not develop city-owned property across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence. According to an announcement from the company, a lawsuit by other downtown hoteliers dragged on long enough that the project was no longer viable.
Amid packed chambers and a contentious public debate, Asheville City Council voted 4-2 earlier tonight, Sept. 11, to approve the $2.5 million sale of property on Haywood Street to the McKibbon Hotel Group. The company plans to build a 140-room hotel on the site, near the Basilica of St. Lawrence.
Follow live Twitter coverage as Asheville City Council moves toward a decision on the fate of Haywood Street property across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence.
At its meeting tonight, Sept. 11, Asheville City Council will decide an issue which has fueled months of debate: whether or not to sell city property across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence to the McKibbon Hotel Group. The public hearing on the matter is the only major item on Council’s agenda.
At an Aug. 7 informational meeting at the U.S. Cellular Center, the McKibbon Hotel Group laid out its plans for a hotel and plaza on city-owned property across from the St. Lawrence Basilica in downtown Asheville. The city is considering McKibbon’s proposal, but hasn’t endorsed or committed to any project yet.
The area that sits in the foreground of the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the U.S. Cellular Center (the renamed Civic Center) offers a rare opportunity (see “City Will Bring Forward Offers on Haywood St. Properties in March,” Feb. 21, 2012 Xpress). Representing a unique civic/religious convergence in downtown Asheville, this urban canvas, which includes […]
Photo by Derek Olson http://www.derekolsonphotography.com/
In addition to photographer Derek Olson, UNCA’s RENCI project is modeling, in 3D, the basilica and neighboring space in order to help Asheville decide how best to use a parcel of land directly in front of the historic building.
