8
Toward Downtown Development
Calling it an “Update on
Downtown” the Asheville Forum
held a meeting on March 29 at
Pack Memorial Library. Around
35 people gathered to hear ar
chitect John Reid describe the
proposed renovation of the old
J.C. Penney building and to hear
Asheville Art Museum director
Ed Ritz outline the museum’s
proposal to move from the Civic
Center to the old library building
on Pack Square.
Hendersonville developer
Robert Miller is developing
plans to renovate the Penney’s
building (corner of Haywood and
Walnut Street) into con
dominiums. Reid said the plans
now call for 30 units to be
located on the upper floors with
shops and service oriented
businesses to be housed at
street ievel. By offering a variety
of floor plans ranging from
studio apartments to larger two
bedroom penthouses, the
developer hopes to attract a
broad segment of the urban
residential market.
The Asheville Art Museum is
now housed on the bottom floor
by Barbara Sayer
of the Civic Center; a location
which Ritz described as difficult
for newcomers to find, difficult
for some handicapped persons
to maneuver and lacking in the
kind of exposure and ac
cessibility important to a public
museum. Ritz said a move to the
old library building wouid give
the museum this accessibility
and would, in turn, add to the
rehabilitation of a significant
locale in the downtown core.
Pack Square, by the adaptive re
use of a historically important
building. The plan which the
museum presented to city coun
cil and the county commission
would involve the renovation of
the building by a South Carolina
firm. The museum would lease
the building with an option to
buy it in five years.
Ritz said he was asking for an
annual budget of $92,500, some
$25-30,000 more than the
museum now receives. City and
county officials have since re
jected the proposed financiai
package, but have endorsed the
idea of the museum’s relocation
and have pledged to seek finan
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The Asheville Forum was
formed in response to several
public meetings held last year
after the November referendum
on the proposed downtown mall;
formed “to help formulate and
advocate new goals and ac
tivities for downtown develop
ment”. Steering the March 29
meeting, Doug Swaim stressed
the importance of creating a
broad base of support for
downtown projects and rejec
ting the polarity that developed
around the mall issue. One fre
quently mentioned direction for
downtown development, Swaim
said, is the creation of more and
higher quality urban residential
space. In an effort to explore
this idea and to broaden its ap
peal, the Forum will sponsor a
talk by Phillip Morris, executive
editor of SOUTHERN LIVING
magazine. Scheduled for May
18th, the topic for Morris’
presentation is “Liveable
Downtowns - A Southern
Perspective.” The exact time
and place is to be announced.
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