Asheville Yoga Center buys former Femcare clinic, plans major expansion

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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asheville_yoga_center_2015Sunny and Stephanie Keach, owners of Asheville Yoga Center near downtown, have purchased an adjacent parcel of property their center and are planning a major renovation that will allow the yoga center to expand significantly.

In November, the owners of the 18-year-old yoga center located on Liberty Street purchased the former Femcare health clinic on Orange Street. The two properties adjoin, and the renovation work will connect the two buildings with landscaping and a walking path.

Asheville’s reputation as a yoga mecca has been cemented in recent years with the addition of several new yoga centers and the first-ever Asheville YogaFest, held last year in Montford. Thousands of students support an array of studios across the city.

Here’s what the owners wrote on the Asheville Yoga Center website about the move:

We had a major expansion in 2012, opening up our new state-of-the-art, purpose-built yoga studio and tripling our studio size. You all showed up in droves and we are so very thankful for that. Now, just a few years later, we are bulging at the seams (again!) and ready to expand our offerings to meet that demand. Due to this growth and our striving to serve as best we can, we are currently renting extra space outside of our main studio. We rent parking, offices and a third yoga room in our old studio space. These disjointed parts of AYC create challenges and risks in continuing in our mission.

Fortunately, a solution presented itself that alleviates many of these risks and challenges. The property right behind our yoga studio came up for sale. We bought the building in November, but now we need to renovate it and turn this 70s era medical office building into a kick ass yoga teacher training facility and community event space. With this expansion, we will be able to custom create and control the space, ensuring AYC’s survival and legacy for many years to come. We will overcome our lack of parking, challenges with the disjointed old space, and lack of adequate office space. We will expand our current campus in order to have everything organized under two roofs on adjacent properties. We are connecting the buildings with a lovely pathway while expanding the edible landscaping of our current space.

Our current building at 211 S. Liberty St. will have two classrooms devoted exclusively to our weekly classes with expanded schedules. The new building around the corner at 62 Orange St., will have two larger studio rooms that will host our teacher trainings, workshops, events and live music. Since this creates an additional studio room, it will open up time on the schedule for more community events, kirtan, get-togethers, movie nights, benefits, and such for our local Asheville community. We are expanding on our vision of a campus dedicated to higher learning here in the South-East. The new building will also house our offices (we now operate with a staff of 20 amazing yogis and over 50 wonderful teachers), an expanded retail store, and expanded parking. We’ll be incorporating a lovely large covered patio gathering space as well.

In this newest phase of growth, we need some financial help with the renovation project. We don’t want donations though. We want to give to get. Some of you have already helped out and didn’t even know it. Thank you. We’ve been running three specials during the month of January to help raise funds for the renovation. We are offering a year unlimited yoga pass, a free month of yoga for our regular unlimited membership and up to $1,000 off a world renown yoga teacher training.

All of these specials end January 31st. If you or someone you know are interested in the best yoga at the best price in town ($2.74 a day), an unlimited yoga membership with us, or one of the best yoga teacher trainings you are going to find on the planet, please consider helping us help you or them. Ultimately, this healing and love continues to spread outside our doors, outside our city, all over the world, so it’s a great cause, if you can help.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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2 Comments

  1. kas January 28, 2015

    Is it just me or does something about this seem, rather, wrong?

    Less yoga, more choices for abortion in WNC.

    (I know the owners aren’t resposnible for current laws but still)

    Reply
    1. Sunny Keach February 6, 2015

      I don’t know about less yoga, but I would agree it was a very unfortunate situation for Dr. Cummings at Femcare. Raleigh politics pretty much shut her down. As a friend and business neighbor it was a very sad thing to witness. Asheville has indeed been without an abortion option for several months now, but the new Planned Parenthood, which is either open by now or will be any day, will bring that option back. I was glad to be able to help the owners of Femcare in the way that we did by purchasing, first the lot our existing studio is on, and then the building Femcare was in. It was a huge relief for them, once it was clear the deal could go through. Well being has certainly been shown to increase with more yoga, so more yoga, and more choice over your own reproduction as well. Sunny Keach, Owner Asheville Yoga Center.

      Reply

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