Facelift planned for growing 7th Avenue District; street closures coming

Initial work on a streetscape project in the Seventh Avenue District could begin as early as this month, bringing decorative lighting, trees, benches and bumpouts as well as street closures.

In December, Hendersonville City Council agreed to pay Harper General Contractors no more than $3,545,936 for the project, which also includes brick pavers, curbs, gutters, a retractable bollard, an island, bike rack, paver crosswalk, and utility work such as stormwater control and water lines.

A vision for the project began taking shape seven years ago, but implementation has been slowed due to COVID. Now city staff are working with Harper General Contractors to finalize mobilization work, such as installing fencing, which is anticipated to begin at the end of January.

One of the goals of the project is to slow traffic and increase pedestrian walkability, City Engineer Brendan Shanahan said, and the design includes bumpouts, also known as curb extensions, and narrowing the driving lanes on Seventh Avenue.

Streetlights and a variety of trees will be added at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Locust Street.

Innovative stormwater control measures not found on other city streets will also be added, including bioswales and soil cells, Shanahan said. Water lines have been proposed for replacement, as well as replacement of a water main from 1922.

The city will share information about street closures as details are finalized, said Hendersonville Communications Manager Allison Justus, and work would be expedited to limit disruptions to businesses.

The design was created in 2020 and 2021 by Watermark Landscape Architecture and city staff, Shanahan said, but no bids were submitted during calls for proposals in August or October 2021.

Proposals received in 2023 were opened Nov. 28 and Dec. 7 for work including demolition, concrete, steel railings, electrical work, asphalt paving, brick pavers, landscaping, water and sewer, stormwater and traffic signals.

The bids were compiled and presented to the council Dec. 14, when the work was awarded to Harper General Contractors.

Funding for the project has come from several sources, including a bond in 2021, the city’s general fund, the Seventh Avenue MSD Fund, Water and Sewer Reserve Fund, the Powell Bill, the Stormwater Reserve Fund and the Stormwater 319 Grant Fund, City Engineer Brendan Shanahan said.

The design and more information about the project can be found at www.hendersonvillenc.gov/projects/7th-avenue-streetscape-0 and residents can sign up for street closure alerts.

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Project timeline

Underground work along Seventh Avenue is scheduled from the end of January through late April. Vehicle access will not be available from the avenue until May, with a detour route to be released in the coming weeks.

Sidewalk, landscaping and paving work will be completed from May through October, with some periodic road closures possible.

‘Long-awaited project’ in a growing district

Staff began looking at the district’s design when the Seventh Avenue MSD was brought into city management, Community Development Director Lew Holloway said.

In 2017, the Seventh Avenue Streetscape Project was included in the annual work plan. In 2018, improvements were made to Maple Street and a streetscape design kickoff was held.

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Design plans were presented to the council in February of 2020, but those plans were impacted by COVID, slowing the implementation of the project, Holloway said. Other challenges included supply chain issues, a contractor-driven market, inflation, the desire to minimize impact to businesses, and an NCDOT project.

Progress was still made to revitalize the district during the pandemic, however. In June of 2020, the Hendersonville Farmers Market opened on Maple Street, and in February 2021, the 7th Avenue and Main Street committees merged to become the Downtown Advisory Board.

A branding process involving more than 50 stakeholders from residents to business owners was also completed and will be incorporated into the project.

“We are back and excited to be moving forward,” Holloway told council members Dec. 7.

Traffic in the Seventh Avenue District is already increasing, rising from 83,000 visitors in 2017 to nearly 146,00 in 2022-23, Downtown Manager Jamie Carpenter said. Visitors to the farmers market, which was designed to draw visitors to the area, have also increased.

“I feel like it’s been really successful,” she said about the market. “It’s just growing year after year, so that’s just really exciting.”

Two brick-and-mortar businesses incubated by the market - Homemade Pasta and Mini Batch Bakery - have opened in the district. Since 2020, at least 11 retail and restaurant businesses have opened in the district.

Eight facade grants of more than $18,700 have been awarded by Friends of Downton to make improvements to properties, with the projects together totaling about $173,000, Carpenter said. More than $1.5 million in private investment, including acquisitions and improvements, has been put into the district as well since 2020.

“People are seeing and are ready to build based off of the plans that we’ve been giving them, as far as they see the vision that we have for that area as far as landscaping, streetscape, and just helping slow the traffic down in that area,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: More than $3.5 million going to revitalize Seventh Avenue District