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Aww no love for the BB&T building. It looks like the Seagram building in NYC. It has architectural merit. Its from a time when we looked forward to a bright, steely prosperous, air-conditioned future. I’d be glad to move into it and you’d be welcome to come up for a drink and enjoy the view.
Bravo Ashevillian! While many tend to mistakenly group every structure with elements such as little embellishment or the appearance of exposed beams as “Modern”, the BB&T building, when viewed from the relevant historical reference and context, is a tremendous architectural asset and emulates/represents one of the greatest architects of our day, Mies van der Rohe.
At the same time, this widely overlooked building speaks not only the language of the architectural “less is more” but at the same time paying homage to van der Rohe as the last director of the wildly influential German Bauhaus.
“God is in the details” and we are lucky to have a great part of this history right here in Asheville.
I like the idea of implosion, but it’s likely improbable.
Oh please oh please oh please….tear it down! Please oh please oh please…before it falls down. It’s rickety, ugly, and worthless. Better to become the epitome of snob hill that what it is now…
"The building is an immediate throwback to the 1960s in every way"
Perfect for a town filled with so many Deadhaeds, no?
SpeckledHen nails it again! With all the chat about downtown and neighborhood density and urging people to use mass transit, there is never a word spoken or even an implicit acknowledgement that downtown is no longer a livable place. There are restaurants, cafes, and bars galore but no drugstores, dry cleaners, grocery stores, doctor’s office, etc. It would be a good thing for the city if downtown once again had some actual residents. At least I think so but then I can remember when all of the above were present in "downtown" along with private homes. It made for a more interesting, charming, and user friendly downtown area.
Any upgrade to the building would be good, but the major downside would be loss of downtown office space that helps drive activity in the area. Hotels and condos for second-home seekers do not create vibrant downtowns because there is little permanence to the activity they create when compared to offices and condos/townhomes that are there for full-time residents. You need a strong mix of all of these and it seems that the trend in downtown is moving toward the GPI model. That’s why there’s not a grocery story or similar business downtown despite the growth in residential units over the past 10 years. Part-time and overnight residents don’t provide enough of a critical mass to support it.
I certainly hope there is some degree of truth to this rumor!
The BB&T Building is perhaps Asheville’s biggest eyesore and long overdue for a complete makeover. The building is an immediate throwback to the 1960s in every way. The exterior is hideous and would require a to the steel makeover — ultra expensive.
Great views abound from this building. A nice hotel, with a restaurant and lounge at the top would surely do well downtown, and there is also high ceilinged space at street level. The opportunities to make this a showcase structure for downtown Asheville are endless.
The BB&T building has been owned for many years by family-owned Wilcox Travel Inc., and the building also controls the low-rise parking deck directly across the street.
With the new Pack Square finally almost finished, this is a prime location for the city.
Does GPI have the ability to do a hugely expensive project like this? Other companies may also be in the mix, perhaps Biltmore Farms or other developers?
I wonder how well the other downtown hotels are doing — specifically the new Hotel Indigo?
While The Ellington was a poor idea for several reasons, this would be brilliant. If GPI could pull this off, it would be a great service to Asheville and do wonders for GPI’s image.
This would be a stroke of genius, if true. A face-lift of that building by the good folks at GPI would potentially turn our White Elephant into a White Swan.
I hope SOMEBODY buys that thing and cleans it. The BB&T is a lame 70s eyesore and an embarrassment in an otherwise wonderful downtown.
Let’s suggest that they buy the old Windsor Hotel at Broadway and Walnut!