Answer Woman: What is the fenced-in area along the greenway in the River Arts District?
ASHEVILLE - Today's burning question is about a mysterious fence boxing in a parcel of land along the greenway in the River Arts District. Got a question for Answer Man or Answer Woman? Email Executive Editor Karen Chávez at KChavez@citizentimes.com and your question could appear in an upcoming column.
Question: What is this fenced-in area along the greenway in the River Arts District? We just noticed it this past weekend. It’s across Riverside Drive from Cotton Mill Studios.
Answer: The chain-link fence meanders along an about 400-foot length of greenway in the River Arts District. To the west, across the river, New Belgium Brewing Company looms. To the east, a hop-skip across Riverside Drive, another fence surrounds the former site of a historic cotton fabric factory that burned to the ground a quarter century ago.
Within the greenway-side fence, the grass is periodically disrupted by a cement pad, gravel and patches of asphalt.
For such a seemingly innocuous parcel of land, the 1.3-acre parcel at 144 Riverside Drive has a long history, much of it in connection to the Asheville Cotton Mill, once located at 159 Riverside Drive, and the broader narrative of riverfront revitalization along the French Broad River.
According to initial plans submitted to the city, approved by Asheville City Council in August 2021, the parcel itself was slated for life as a 41-space parking lot for a development across the street.
But in a pivot from developers, it was determined the smaller parcel of land would not be the site of new construction.
Will Palmquist, the city's principal planner, confirmed Dec. 1 that according to final approved site plans, and the 2021 ordinance establishing the conditional zoning, 144 Riverside Drive will be used to satisfy the city's tree canopy preservation requirements and as temporary parking during construction of the adjacent, mixed-use development, but not as permanent parking for the actual project.
The developer, Brennan Smith, based in Tampa, Florida, responded to an email from the Citizen Times Dec. 1 to say he was out of the country, and unable to speak before deadline.
The riverside parcel is part of larger plans involving the former Cotton Mill site (159 Riverside Drive), slated for a five- to six-story commercial and residential building with 134 housing units, plus artist studios, retail and restaurant space.
Sparse updates on the project website, found at 159riversidedr.com, say the 144 Riverside property is designated as open space, "so no structures of any significance are allowed."
Permitting is anticipated to be completed in 2024, said the website, with construction to begin "soon thereafter." Aerial site plans show the riverside property as green, open and dotted with trees, the greenway running through it.
A long history
For decades, both properties were owned by environmental nonprofit RiverLink. They were sold to the developer in 2021, according to Buncombe County property records.
An announcement on RiverLink's website about selling the historic River Arts District property says the two sites "are an important part of RiverLink's story."
Built in the late 1800’s, the cotton mill, formerly the C.E. Graham Manufacturing Company, supplied cotton products to Levi Strauss and made uniforms for soldiers fighting in both World Wars, the post says.
In the mid-1990s, the Preservation Society of Buncombe County purchased the property with the goal of turning the space into artist studios, but a fire in 1995 nearly destroyed the building, after which RiverLink took ownership, according to the post.
"For the past 25 years RiverLink has been waiting for the right opportunity to sell to an environmentally-minded developer who will honor the integrity of the riverfront as outlined in the Wilma Dykeman Riverway Plan, and promote opportunities for the Asheville community to engage with the river," it said.
According to city permits going back years, the riverside property was used for numerous events and festivals, including the RiverMusic festival, the nonprofit's summer event series.
It was also the site of another development proposal: A "seafood shack," pitched by longtime Asheville restaurateur and Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian owner Eric Scheffer. The proposal was a first iteration of Jettie Rae's, a highly-reviewed oyster house on Charlotte Street which, after Scheffer withdrew the riverside plan, was opened in 2021.
Scheffer admits it's a bit of a sore spot. "Sadly," he said. "My relationship (with the property) started out great."
He approached RiverLink about buying the property around 2016, imagining a casual, counter-service seafood joint for the property, with plenty of greenspace — picture an open-air pavilion, po' boys and fish and chips.
Despite support from the RiverLink Board of Directors, critics expressed concerns about the project, and Scheffer said after "a lot of battles," he pulled out in 2019. "It was just too much to keep on fighting."
Plans were withdrawn for the restaurant, and a few years later, Jettie Rae's Oyster House was born.
“It’s a shame. It’s a shame because of what we really could have brought there to the river," Scheffer said. "The value would have been to the neighborhood, both West Asheville and South Slope.”
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Woman: New development along the River Arts District greenway?
