There and Back Again Reclaiming Asheville’s Grove Arcade as a Public Market

There and Back AgainReclaiming Asheville’s Grove Arcade as a Public

Market

Bob Oast, City and Regional Planning The Ohio State University

With thanks to Ruth Summers of the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation, and Stacy Merten, Historic Resources, City of Asheville

Asheville’s Grove Arcade

• The City:– Located in Western North Carolina, approx. 90

miles northwest of Charlotte, 150 miles north of Atlanta

– Population: City—approx. 75,000– Major industries (by workforce participation):

Medicine, Education, Tourism, Services, Light Manufacturing

– Located at intersection of I-40 and I-26


• The History:– Asheville was a boom town in early 1900’s• Good climate• Nice scenery

– Influx of visitors from north and “low country” south; some with money• Hotels, inns, and tourist accommodations• Sanitariums


• The Architecture:– Downtown Asheville is home to several

architecturally important buildings (Art Deco, Gothic Revival, International)• Frederick Law Olmstead• Richard Sharp Smith• Raphael Guastavino• Douglas Ellington• IM Pei


• Jackson Building Lawrence

• City Building


• First Baptist Church • St. Lawrence Basilica


• Grove Park Inn • Biltmore House


E W Grove:

– First came to Asheville in 1898; came to stay later

– Major developer:• Battery Park Hotel (1923-25)• Grove Park Inn (1913)• Grove Park neighborhood (started 1920s)


• Architect: Charles W. Parker (worked with Richard Sharp Smith)

• Constructed of steel, covered by decorative (and fireproof) terra cotta and marble, neo-Gothic style (same as Woolworth and Chicago Tribune).


Removal of Battery Park Hill Framework in place


• The building:– Begun in 1926– Grove died 1927– Completed 1929– Takes up an entire City block– 269,000 square feet on 2 ½ levels, 3 level central

tower (15 floors planned); still the largest building in downtown Asheville


• Originally designed as indoor shopping arcade

“I will locate stores of every kind of merchandising business in Asheville…so that a lady can park her car anywhere in this place and can let [it] remain just as long as she pleases, and do all of her trading in that one vicinity, so that she will not have to run around in the narrow streets of the old part of the business section to do her trading.” —E.W. Grove


• Exterior has many ornate features, including caricatures of the workers who built it.

• Interior has intricate woodwork, balconies with iron railings, spiral stairs, “flyovers,” and is illuminated by skylights


• The History (cont’d):

Great Depression hit Asheville hard• Real estate values collapsed• Building stopped

• Public debt was crippling–No financing –No bonds


• The Decline:

1942—Arcade taken over by the federal government for use in the war effort

1946-1985—used as federal offices (NWS, Social Security, Selective Service)


federal occupation Miss America


• The comeback:

– 1974 --placed on National Register – 1985 –Government plans to build a new federal

building; leave the Grove Arcade– 1985-89 --City leaders formed Mayor’s Task Force,

leading to formation of Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation (Foundation)


• GAPMF – Explore possibility of restoring Grove Arcade and

re-commissioning for commercial/mixed use– Work with federal government to arrange for

transfer– Facilitate funding• Public/Private funding• Tax incentives• Tax credits


• How it happened:

– Building was conveyed to City in 1997 under the National Monuments Act-Quitclaim Deed

– Public entity must hold title

– Other federal laws



– Conditions provide for preservation and utilization consistent with purposes of Act• Preservation= restoration of exterior and

interior• Utilization=public market uses• Restrictions on type of business, “profit making

activity”



– City leases to Foundation for 99 years• Lease • Operating agreement

– GAPMF subleases • Individual tenant spaces on ground floor and exterior

for commercial use• Spaces above ground floor for office/residential


• Law :

– Downtown Development Act (allows public/private projects in CBD)

– Local Development Act of 1925 (allows economic development activity)

– Historic Preservation Act (NC)


• Players and roles:– Foundation• Coordinate construction work• Lease ground floor spaces (retail/office)• Manage building• Secure funding (grants, tax credits, etc.)


• Players and roles:– City of Asheville

• Finance restoration of ground floor– Certificates of participation– Foundation to repay

• Infrastructure and permitting

– Carolina Power & Light (now Duke Energy Progress)• Finance restoration of upper floors/residential condos

– Direct participation through housing subsidiary– State and federal historic preservation tax credits


Work began in 1997

Asheville’s Grove Arcade• Problems:

– Cost = More than anticipated• Asbestos • Code compliance• Maintenance issues

– Some restructuring required for tax purposes

– Occupancy rates• National economy (2 recessions)• Rent structure• Conditions of transfer


Re-opened in 2002


• The impact:– Building now valued at $16.7 million– Office/condo constructed on next block– One hotel constructed, one being built within 2 blocks– Several major new buildings planned in area– 4-6 new restaurants in building (outdoor seating)– Increased pedestrian activity


• Before


After


• Credits:

– Ruth Summers, Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation

– Stacy Merten, City of Asheville Historic Resources– Photos courtesy of the Grove Arcade Public

Market Foundation and the Pack Memorial Library North Carolina Collection

There and Back Again Reclaiming Asheville’s Grove Arcade as a Public Market

Documents

Transcript of There and Back Again Reclaiming Asheville’s Grove Arcade as a Public Market