Downtown Asheville's Thomas Wolfe Auditorium HVAC system failure: What to know

Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times
Updated ·10 min read
The new "auditorium" set up in the ExploreAsheville.com Arena. With 2,500 seat capacity, the arena space is being used to compensate for HVAC failures in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
The new "auditorium" set up in the ExploreAsheville.com Arena. With 2,500 seat capacity, the arena space is being used to compensate for HVAC failures in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
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ASHEVILLE - Following a complete HVAC system failure, downtown Asheville's aging Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is out of commission for the next six to nine months. Calls for renovation of the theater are nothing new, but this recent breakdown has reignited fervor around the venue's condition, and sparked a closer look at the surrounding area, from the Rankin substation to the so-called Pit of Despair.

But what really happened at the theater? And, the perennial question, how much is this going to cost the city?

'A progressive failure of equipment'

Chris Corl, the city's director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities, said equipment failure didn't happen all at once.

"It was a progressive failure of equipment, in a sense," Corl told the Citizen Times July 25.

Complaints about the theater's condition are a common refrain. Opened in January 1940, the 2,400-seat auditorium was renovated in 1974 to its current format. Thomas Wolfe comprises the Harrah's Cherokee Center complex along with the ExploreAsheville.com Arena.

Some of the first calls for renovation came in 1982, and since then, Corl said in a previous conversation with the Citizen Times, "nothing has happened."

Chris Corl, the city's director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities, is pictured here on April 1, 2019, waiting outside the back entrance to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
Chris Corl, the city's director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities, is pictured here on April 1, 2019, waiting outside the back entrance to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

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In January 2020, "the month before COVID shut down the world," Corl unveiled a $100 million renovation for the auditorium. But at the onset of the pandemic, plans fell to the wayside.

In May, at the Asheville Symphony's annual Amadeus Festival, Corl said they had reports of water dripping from the ceiling onto audience members. After digging into the issue, staff found they had a broken coil in the air handler unit over the main seating area.

Working through the problem after the show, they realized they had lost cooling capabilities for that unit, which provided air conditioning for about two-thirds of the house seats.

Corl said as the city worked through getting parts to repair the problem, they continued to host events, with a "good number" scheduled through the end of May and June, while using the two other air handlers to compensate for the failures of the first.

A view from the stage in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
A view from the stage in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

In the meantime, the symphony, which has called the auditorium home for decades, said it would relocate shows from the auditorium for its 2023-2024 season. This came in a June 26 Facebook announcement, when some of the HVAC system was still operable.

"When orchestra members’ instruments become overheated or overcooled, the quality of sound is affected, and instruments may sustain damage," the post read. "This, coupled with the fact that we could not adequately control the experience for our patrons, led us to make the decision to move the season."

Shows were moved to venues across Asheville including the First Baptist Church of Asheville, the Harrah’s Cherokee Center-Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena, Salvage Station and Brevard Music Center’s Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium.

Heading into the end of June, facing additional failures in portions of the system, Corl said they became concerned they couldn't keep the room cool enough for an upcoming July 3 concert: "The Smile," an English rock band comprising the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner.

His team worked with the band and promoter — it was so last minute, they couldn't reschedule — and reached out to ticket buyers to warn them of the issues, with plans to hand out paddle fans, provide free water and staff extra medical and event staff, plus offering refunds.

The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which originally opened in January 1940 and was renovated in 1974, is in need of renovations and upgraded seats, according to management.
The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which originally opened in January 1940 and was renovated in 1974, is in need of renovations and upgraded seats, according to management.

But they ended up having a sold-out show. On July 3, temperatures topped 89 degrees. Inside the auditorium, it was over 86 degrees, Corl said, with 79% humidity in the room as additional units churned double-time to compensate for the missing link.

Long story, short, Corl said, "They failed."

"So now, after that show, we have no units in the space that can functionally heat or cool the room at the moment."

When that happened, the city decided they could no longer move forward with the events booked until everything was fixed, "or at least partway fixed," he said.

What about booked shows?

All future events booked in the auditorium through the spring will be handled one of three ways: Move them to the building's arena, reschedule them or cancel altogether.

The arena option is made possible by a "new theater creation," Corl said, with venue staff reconfiguring the space for 2,500 seats, with comparable capacity, audio and "arguably better" sightlines than the auditorium. Plus, there's more space for the production side.

Corl said the venue is not taking any new business through April as they figure out the repair schedule.

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How many events were impacted?

To figure out just what the impact of the HVAC system failure might be, Corl said they compared this year's lineup to the year before. Ultimately, 107 usage days will be impacted by the Thomas Wolfe closure. "Usage days" refers here to time the venue would be actively used, not necessarily events themselves.

For example, if a dance event has load-in on Friday, and shows on Saturday and Sunday, that's three usage days. If it was also using the banquet hall those three days, that's six usage days: two rooms for three days.

But 107 usage days is the worst case scenario. It assumes that every event would go away completely, which likely won't be the case. Corl estimates that through rescheduling or hosting in the arena, they will be able to save 50%-60% of the events booked in the auditorium.

Financial hit?

Looking at gross revenue, if all events were canceled, Corl estimated a $1.9 million hit to operations. But if half can be saved, it will land closer to a $1 million loss.

“We’re solving our calendar problems, if you will, month by month, and we’re solved through December," Corl said.

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Timeline of repairs? Cost?

Quotes from contractors indicated a six- to nine-month repair time is realistic. Corl said they are planning for a May or June reopening.

As far as costs, the estimate is about $1.5 million. Funding would come from the center's fund balance, and wouldn't require a draw on general fund city dollars.

What to know for Harrah's Cherokee Center event ticketholders

In response to questions from the general public, Corl wants to remind people the issues are specific to Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

"If you have tickets to a craft fair or a concert in the arena or you’re coming to a meeting, there are no troubles with any of our systems, everything is just fine," he said. "If you have tickets for an event in the Thomas Wolfe, you’ll be reached out to directly via email with new information on how your tickets are being transferred to the arena set up, also on our social media and website, and updates will come, event-by-event, to individual ticket holders."

What comes next for needed repairs?

Over the last several years, Corl said, when things are broke, "we fix it."

"We’ve maintained the building, but simply due to lack of funding and other general priorities, we haven’t adequately reinvested,” he said. They knew things could go wrong, but it's typically been a quick fix or didn't impact abilities to host events. This failure took it to the next level.

As for what this might mean for the auditorium long term, despite the need, Corl said the financial ask is still a big one.

"We're not going to magically be able to come up with funding," he said, but he thinks it may spark some desire to talk solutions through more thoroughly. “If that happens, we’re here, ready, and we’ve worked through that process a few times in the past to come up with general ideas of numbers, and we can do that again.”

In many ways, he's encouraged by other massive city undertakings, like the $37.5 million plan to renovate McCormick Field, a project also on Corl's plate, which he said proves governmental entities, nonprofits and others can work together to create unique funding models.

Rankin Avenue substation rebuild

Potentially impacting future renovations to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is the much-contested Rankin Avenue substation project, a proposed rebuild of Duke Energy's substation on Rankin Avenue in downtown.

The current substation, which sits at the rear of the Harrah's Cherokee Center at 72 Rankin Ave., behind the auditorium, is more than 60 years old. Last year, Duke faced blowback over plans to build the new substation on a parcel across the street on a 0.6-acre, city-owned parking lot, backed by a steep wooded bank, lush with decades-old trees and vegetation.

But things went quiet after two canceled community meetings in August 2022.

More: Duke, Asheville cancel Rankin substation meeting; community demands greater transparency

A look at Duke's project site indicate the power company "restarted work" to identify an ideal location to rebuild the substation. Details are vague, and Duke has not responded to repeated requests for comment, but a new map of the proposed project location indicates the rebuild could be located on the parcel adjacent to the substation at Rankin Avenue and Hiawassee Street.

Corl said if the substation moves, it would "change the parameters" of the "guardrails" faced by a Thomas Wolfe Auditorium renovation, which has previously been boxed in by the substation, limiting the potential expansion of the venue and the scale of programming.

A new project location proposed for the Rankin Avenue substation as seen on Duke Energy's website July 28, 2023.
A new project location proposed for the Rankin Avenue substation as seen on Duke Energy's website July 28, 2023.

The Pit of Despair

As questions about Thomas Wolfe Auditorium swirl, coupled with uncertainty around the Rankin substation rebuild, eyes have turned to an infamously troubled piece of downtown land, located at 68 Haywood St., and (un)affectionally called the "Pit of Despair," by some.

In October 2020, Asheville City Council approved a plan for a park at the site, though funding was uncertain for the then-$13.2 million project. The 7-0 vote seemed promising at the time, the Citizen Times has reported, but still, nothing has happened.

"It's 'Pit of Hope,' now," council member Sage Turner said at a July 20 Asheville City Council briefing.

A property called 68 Haywood St., the empty lot across the street from the Harrah's Cherokee Center and better known as the "Pit of Despair," is used as a staging area for construction along Haywood Street on Oct. 6, 2020.
A property called 68 Haywood St., the empty lot across the street from the Harrah's Cherokee Center and better known as the "Pit of Despair," is used as a staging area for construction along Haywood Street on Oct. 6, 2020.

More: Photos: Downtown Asheville's "Pit of Despair"

At that same meeting, Mayor Esther Manheimer said it was time to "restart conversation about that property," as there are several new council members since plans were last discussed, and new top city leadership.

“If we’re looking at making significant investments in that area of town, we probably need to get refreshed about this project as well," Manheimer said, referencing conversations at that same meeting around Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which she called a "critical issue" and one that she also wanted council to revisit.

City Manager Debra Campbell said both the 68 Haywood St. property and potential auditorium renovations are on the city's work program for the fiscal year. She anticipated the items would likely go to Planning and Economic Development Committee for discussion before coming to full council.

A property called 68 Haywood St., the empty lot across the street from the Harrah's Cherokee Center and better known as the "Pit of Despair," was being used as a staging area for construction along Haywood Street on Oct. 6, 2020.
A property called 68 Haywood St., the empty lot across the street from the Harrah's Cherokee Center and better known as the "Pit of Despair," was being used as a staging area for construction along Haywood Street on Oct. 6, 2020.

Learn more at these upcoming public meetings

Rankin Avenue substation neighborhood meeting

Civic Center Commission

  • When: Noon Aug. 8.

  • Where: Banquet Hall at the Harrah’s Cherokee Cherokee Center

Planning and Economic Development Committee

Arts AVL Town Hall: Thomas Wolfe

  • When: 3 p.m. Aug. 21.

  • Where: Harrah's Cherokee Center

  • What: A discussion of the current state and future of Thomas Wolfe Auditorium with a panel of speakers including Mayor Manheimer; Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the BCTDA; Asheville Symphony representatives and more.

  • Registration is required. To register, go to https://artsavl.org/townhall.

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: Asheville Thomas Wolfe Auditorium HVAC system failure: What to know