Some predict high demand for residential and retail space, as illustrated by several development projects planned or under construction. There are also fears that rising real estate prices may eventually push out some of the artists who have helped make the RAD a magnet.
Local Cloth, an Asheville-based nonprofit composed of fiber hobbyists and full-time professionals alike, is leaving its space on the South Slope and heading to the River Arts District.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act is supposed to give disabled people access to community venues and events. This is not being honored in regard to greenways.”
Together, the city of Asheville and Buncombe County approved over $11 million in funding to install roughly 7 megawatts of solar power at public facilities and area schools. The projects are anticipated to save the governments and local schools roughly $650,000 in electricity costs in the first year and more than $27 million over the installations’ 30-year operational life.
“We seem to be mesmerized by the adage that an ‘expert’ is a person with a briefcase who comes from more than 50 miles away.”
Sixth time’s a charm? Asheville City Council approved new affordability conditions for the RAD Lofts mixed-used development slated for the city’s River Arts District, the latest in a string of conditional zoning amendments approved by Council since 2013.
“When I see pets, they’re the purist form of unconditional love and joy,” says Angela Alexander. “When I look at them, I feel those things.”
Funded by a $78,000 grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Fund and a $28,000 grant from the Pigeon River Fund, the yearlong assessment of the watershed’s health will include water quality monitoring, identification of pollution sources and suggestions for infrastructure changes. The goal is to provide long-term, meaningful protection for waterways such as Town Branch, also known as Nasty Branch.
“This kind of denial of how tourism has negatively impacted people who live here will only infuriate them more.”
When Pattiy Torno (who moved to Asheville in the mid-’80s, attracted by creative culture and health consciousness) purchased the former Standard Oil distribution center, “this was out in the middle of nowhere,” she says.
On May 10, the exhibit In Times Like These will open at Pink Dog Creative. Immigration, greed, race, religion and the presidency of Donald Trump are among the topics explored on the page and captured on the canvas.
“The city allowed the builder to go through all the expensive steps required to get total approval from all regulatory agencies, and then several Council members announced their intent to vote against it because, in their great wisdom, they have made the arbitrary decision that Asheville already has too many hotels.”
East Fork Pottery moves its factory to Biltmore Village, Henrietta’s Poultry Shoppe is now open in the RAD, Metro Wines offers a Thanksgiving wine tasting, Isis gets a new executive chef, Baba Nahm goes Turkish and more Asheville food news.
“To me, the biggest question of all is: What is our leverage to make sure this private corporation fulfills its contract?”
The collection of artists slated to appear at the Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13 and 14 festival in the River Arts District is fringey, women-led, often queer-identifying, and less white-centric than the typical Western North Carolina music festival.
Artists and gallery owners are recognizing the benefits of incorporating craft beverage sales into their business models.
On Saturday, Sept. 1, plēb urban winery celebrates its grand opening in the River Arts District. Also: Postero hosts a fundraiser for Pisgah Legal Service; Craft Centric Taproom & Bottle Shop teams up with Three Eggs Cakery; the North Carolina Apple Festival returns; and more.
Kitchen Ready graduates are set to showcase their culinary skills in the program’s capstone project. Also: A Taste of the Vineyard raises funds for Big Brother Big Sister of Henderson County; Dobra Tea hosts tasting class; Villagers offers workshops in canning and fermented alcoholic beverages; The Asheville Club opens and White Duck Taco relocates in the RAD.
Patrick O’Cain of Gan Shan Station and Jacob Sessoms of Table pair up to eliminate hunger. Also: Well Played Board Game Café celebrates its year one anniversary; District Wine Bar is now open in the RAD; and Nile Mile’s Montford location expands.
“I did get to pass on my thoughts about this and lobby again for homeless vets getting some of the spaces, especially in the RAD, which could be a large amount of housing.”
“I know tourism is important to the local economy, but considering the low wages generated by tourism, I think City Council should do more to improve the lives of Asheville citizens.”
