09.29.2023

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Today’s Forecast

42º | Cloudy | 0% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 7:40 a.m. | Sunset 5:30 p.m.

City

Project Aspire has been approved for downtown

The First Baptist Church of Asheville will remain in place on the property. | Photo by AVLtoday

After postponing a decision at a previous meeting, the Asheville City Council approved Project Aspire with a 5-2 vote on Tuesday, Sept. 26. The ~10 acres of downtown property is owned by the YMCA of Western North Carolina and First Baptist Church of Asheville, who partnered to develop the proposal with help from Greenville, SC-based developer, the Furman Co.

Let’s unpack what’s on the horizon for this part of downtown’s eastern gateway.

Proposal and conditions

Because this was a conditional zoning request, the plan presented to the City Council is a conceptual one, and exact numbers for units and square footage haven’t yet been established. Before all that is finalized, the project will have to go through further review from city committees and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

master plan project aspire — The plan includes five buildings and green spaces.
|
Public document via the City of Asheville

The approved conceptual plan includes five new buildings. The first building has four levels for the YMCA (replacing the current YMCA building), six residential levels, and one level for retail. Building two is a 20-story hotel, and building three would have five levels of office space and a retail level. Buildings four and five would be residential spaces — at 19 and seven stories, respectively. Per the City’s Ordinance 5039 approving the project, buildings two and four can’t exceed 265 ft, although the hotel will likely become the tallest building in Asheville.

Project Aspire was approved with around 30 conditions from the City (which, if you want to tackle the technical language, can be found in the permit’s document folder), including:

A minimum of 20% of the residential units must be designated affordable for at or below 80% of the median income.
50% of these units must be reserved for the Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Vouchers.

More conditions + community comment

Asked

What do you want to see for downtown Asheville?

A. Restaurants
B. Retail
C. Green spaces
D. Housing
E. Hotels
F. Other

Share your thoughts

Events

Friday, Sept. 29

Teen Cuisine | Friday, Sept. 29 | 6-7:30 p.m. | Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Dr., Asheville | $10 | Help your teen broaden their culinary horizons with this class on cooking Stuffed Shells — advanced registration required.
Pippin | Friday, Sept. 29-Sunday, Oct. 8 | Times vary | Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St., Asheville | $18-$36.50 | Step into a magical and mysterious world of self-discovery during this Broadway classic.

Saturday, Sept. 30

After-Con Party | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 6:30-9 p.m. | Bear’s Smokehouse Barbecue, 135 Coxe Ave., Asheville | Free | After your Saturday at the con, you can enjoy music, themed cocktails, and games — costumes are encouraged.
PFLAG Asheville Pride After Party | Saturday, Sept. 30 | 7-11 p.m. | DSSOLVR, 63 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville | Free | Once you wrap up your Pride Festival celebration, stop by for music, food, a drag show, and round up on every pour benefitting PFLAG Asheville.

Sunday, Oct. 1

Motown, Funk, and Soul Flow | Sunday, Oct. 1 | 1:30-2:45 p.m. | Asheville Yoga Center, 211 S. Liberty St., Asheville | Get into your restorative flow with the help of artists like Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield, and Aretha Franklin.
Fire & Flow Jam | Sunday, Oct. 1 | 7-11 p.m. | Vintage Kava, 141 Reems Creek Rd., Weaverville | Free | Bring your fire, LED, and practice props for this music-filled, campfire-lit jam.

Monday, Oct. 2

Birding by Ear | Monday, Oct. 2-Monday, Oct. 23 | 10:30-11:45 a.m. | Harvest House Community Center, 205 Kenilworth Rd., Asheville | $30 | Join this four-week course designed to introduce you to the world of birding.

Friday, Oct. 13

Chattanooga Motorcar Festival | Friday, Oct. 13-Sunday, Oct. 15 | Times vary | West Village Chattanooga, 801 Pine St., Chattanooga | $44-$120 | Experience automotive excellence and high-octane excitement at the fourth annual Chattanooga’s annual Motorcar Festival with The B-52s, drifting with Adam LZ, Concours, Mecum Auctions + more.*
Frankenbash at White Labs Brewing Co | Friday, Oct. 13 | 6-9 p.m. | White Labs Brewing Company, 172 S Charlotte St., Asheville | Free | Enjoy a spine-tingling evening of dancing, tarot card reading, a costume contest + the resurrection of one of White Labs’ all-time favorites drinks: Frankenstout.**

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

Arts

Experience an imagined post-major event Appalachia

Exterior of The Center for Craft in downtown Asheville, NC.

Pro tip: Bring your hand crafted items to trade in the market. | Photo by Molly Milry

Descend into the basement of the Center for Craft to enter Krafthouse: a world imaged by artists where craft is the only way to survive and thrive. Abiding by the rules of the forest, Ashevillians will trade without currency and see, hear, touch + wear what artists have crafted.

Tickets are $15 and include a self-guided tour of the ~30-minute immersive installation experience that runs through Friday, Oct. 13 on Thursdays + Fridays from 5-8 p.m. and Saturdays from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m.

Immerse yourself in Krafthouse

News Notes

Biz

Moog Music has released a statement after layoffs in the Asheville factory last week. According to the company, acquired by inMusic in June, the headquarters will remain here and continue manufacturing. The statement said that it was taking a “hybrid approach” with some overseas partners. (WLOS)

Arts

The City of Asheville has narrowed down its choice for the redesign of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Staff has been directed by City Council to explore either the ~$150 million plan that includes significant renovations or the ~$120 million raked floor improvements. Recommendations are expected to be presented in early 2024.

Opening

Beradu, a specialty restaurant, market + bar, is set to open in Black Mountain in mid-October. The kitchen will aim to use invasive species and wild game in its dishes, and the market will sell fresh seafood and pasta, grab-and-go lunches, and vinyl records among many other offerings. (Asheville Citizen-Times)

Seasonal

Get the Halloween season started with the Grove Arcade’s Great Pumpkin Pop-Up on Saturday, Oct. 7, 12-4 p.m. Dress the whole family in costume for this free event that will feature a pumpkin-decorating class, a puppet show from Street Creatures, music, pumpkin treats, and of course, lots of candy.

Ranked

No. 9. That’s where Jettie Rae’s Oyster House falls on TripAdvisor’s list of the 2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants for Everyday Eats. The seafood spot made the grade thanks to ratings and reviews over the past year.

Outdoors

Buncombe County Parks & Recreation is hosting the second Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled Adult Fishing Tournament on Friday, Oct. 13 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Competitors will have the chance to reel in prizes while they enjoy the beauty of Charles D. Owen Park. The tournament is free, but registration is required.

Award

What does a dedicated faculty, well-located campus, and positive student reviews get you? According to Niche’s list of 2023 Best Colleges in America, it gets UNC Asheville a No. 7 spot for Best Professors and No. 3 spot for Liberal Arts Universities in NC. See the report + UNCA’s other top-ranking spots.*

Cause

Did you know September is Hunger Action Month? Even though the month is almost over, the YMCA of WNC continuously works to create food security in the WNC region. Their Mobile Markets offer free, nutritional food to all in the community. See the October Mobile Market schedule.*

Home

Borrow from your home — not the bank. Your home value could go down anytime; borrow now while it’s high. Calculate your payment.*

Environment

Put down native roots

Put down roots with Asheville GreenWorks’ tree adoption

There are more than a dozen native species to choose from. | Photo by AVLtoday

The greener pastures of Buncombe County’s urban ecosystem might just be your own backyard. Asheville GreenWorks is hosting its 2023 Fall Tree Adoption on Sunday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sand Hill Tree Nursery. Locals can pick up a native tree to plant at their residence to support native pollinators and be a part of protecting our area from heat, air pollution, erosion + wind. Registration is required, and opens up on Monday, Oct. 2.

At registration, you’ll enter your Buncombe County address and pick a time slot. Someone can pick the tree up for you, but it’s important that you plant it at the given residential address — this allows GreenWorks to see who’s planting trees and where the native species are ending up.

Before you go, explore the trees on offer and see the projected height, needs, and benefits of each species to make your arboreal selection.

Shoutout

Happy birthday, AVLtoday member Eva Herbert. We hope your special day is filled with your favorite things in Asheville! — AVLtoday team

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Molly

From the editor

You might as well prepare yourself for my suggesting Halloween-themed events for the next month — it’s hard to contain my seasonal excitement. And when Asheville School of Film decided to throw pajamas, scary stories, and classic horror movies into the mix, I couldn’t help but put it on my calendar. Get ready for the 1st Annual Haunted Pajama Party on Saturday, Oct. 28.

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