Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The River Arts District property that once served as a regional stockyard has been in the news a lot lately. It has been rumored to be the spot where New Belgium Brewing is looking to build its new East Coast brewery. It’s owners have also envisioned a 40,000-person capacity music venue there.
The location was up for rezoning last week. Here’s what Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Joel Burgess reported on his FB page:
Co-owners of the nearly 6-acre piece of land, attorney Joe Ferikes and Alan Sheppard, owner of Alan’s Jewelry & Pawn, are asking it to be rezoned to a district that would be easier for non-residential uses. The current Urban Place zoning district is intended to be mixed-use, something that would be good for housing and shops.
The Recession killed the mixed-use idea, Ferikes told the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission. Commission Chairman Mark Brooks asked Ferikes if there were any immediate plans for the property, to which the Asheville attorney said no.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the property be rezoned.
After the meeting, I asked Ferikes specifically if the property would house the new brewery, to which he said, “We’ve heard that same rumor,” and said it was, in fact, just a rumor.
The Asheville Design Center created a plan for an area in the River Arts District that included the stockyard. The “Between the Bridges” plan said this about the stockyard:
Owners of the WNC Stockyards are eager to convert the existing amphitheater space, formerly used to show livestock, into a music venue that will serve as a missing piece in the Asheville music scene. The vision for the Stockyards includes a restaurant with riverside views, high-density residential apartments/condominiums, dock space for kayaks and a 40,000 person capacity outdoor music venue.
The stockyard is a hot property. We’ll have to keep an eye on developments there.
40,000 person capacity! That HAS GOT to be a typo. I don’t think you could park or handle the traffic there for a 4,000 person capacity venue. Not on 6 acres of land. Maybe they plan to float people in from upstream and stack the thousands of boats at the kayak dock space?
Yeah, there’s no way a 40,000 person venue could fit there in a 6 acre space! Just for reference Verizon’s Ampitheater (former Blockbuster Pavilion) in Charlotte only holds 18,700.
Looking at that artist’s rendering it definitely looks like they meant 4,000 for the capacity. I’m really surprised no one else caught that before the Between the Bridges document was published or before this article was published.
Not a typo. The owners worked with the Asheville Design Center to get a preliminary concept for development. Link: http://ashevilledesigncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BTB_11x17_printFinal.pdf.
I do agree it is overkill. The existing infrastructure in the RAD couldn’t successfully handle 10,000 folks.
Perhaps it should correctly read ..”dock space for kayaks and a $40,000 outdoor music venue.”
You are wrong, it definitely is a typo in that document. Sorry but there is no way you could fit 40,000 there.
Have you ever been to a concert at an any of the regional amphitheaters? It would have to be more than twice the size of the venues in Raleigh, Charlotte or Atlanta. There is simply not enough acreage. It would take probably upwards of 100 acres of land to build such a complex…even if it were all lawn seats.
It’s not just “overkill” as you say or that the “existing infrastructure couldn’t handle it.” It’s physically impossible.