Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The FIRC Group, owners of the Haywood Park Hotel in downtown Asheville, wants to build a 94-room Country Inn & Suites hotel in four buildings at Westgate. The leader of that group is Tony Fraga, who owns the Haywood Park Hotel in downtown Asheville. Fraga is also planning to build a new hotel, a Cambria Suites, at the corner of Page and Battery Park avenues.
Here’s the notice of an initial hearing at Asheville’s Technical Review Committee meeting on July 21:
Country Inn & Suites – Westgate Shopping Center
Planner: Julia Fields, AICP
Current Zoning: RB
14-08978PZ
Level II Review of a request for the development of a four story, 94 room hotel in four
3-story buildings. The development is located on a 2.37 acre parcel known as 40
Westgate Parkway and PIN 9638-79-4616. The property is owned by FIRC Group,
Inc and the project contact is Tony Fraga.
Asheville is on the verge of hotel building boom, with at least five hotels planned, and a couple more potentially in the works. Here’s the run-down:
-Haywood Street at the intersection of Montford Avenue: This location is the former Three Brothers restaurant site. Demolition of the old restaurant is done and construction should be starting soon. This will be a Hyatt Place hotel, shown above.
-Corner of College Street and South Charlotte Street: The Hilton Garden is a proposed 7-story, 108,220-square-foot hotel. The site is known as 311 College St.
-BB&T building: We learned Wednesday that the plan is for not one, but two, hotels to be built on the BB&T property. The first 120-room hotel will go up at the corner of College and Broadway, where an old parking deck sits now. That will be flagged a AC by Marriott hotel. Once construction is complete, crews will begin renovating the BB&T structure to include a 150-room boutique hotel.
-Corner of Page Avenue and Battery Park Avenue: Tony Fraga, the owner of the Haywood Park Hotel, recently unveiled plans to build a Cambria Suites hotel on the site.
-New hotel at Biltmore Estate: The Biltmore Estate has been slowly working through the process of considering building a second hotel on its property. There’s been no decision made.
More corporate chains downtown.
Except that this isn’t downtown.
Isn’t this entire shopping center due to face the bulldozers once the I-26 Connector project begins?
The I-26 Connector project is set to begin 45 years from now around the fall of 2059. It’s being built around it anyways.
The 45 year figure was from the Citizen Times article about the Bowen Bridge. “A 2010 DOT list put the entire I-26 Connector next to last among 21 urban “loop” freeway projects. That would have meant a 45-year wait for construction to begin.” They are guessing it will now happen sooner (before 2055).
I’d rather have I-26/I-40/I-240 interchange and I-26 widened first. If you have ever driven through there, you know how crazy it is with all the truck traffic. That way, the whole section from I-40 in West Asheville to Airport Road will be completely widened and drivable.
I believe we can have everything done including the I-26 Connector despite the spending cap. Our representative need to tap into federal money from the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS)or an emergency fund to bring I-26 up to interstate standards. Additionally, Buncombe County could chip in or make a deal to take care of some roads in exchange for it being built like Charleston County is doing with the I-526 extension. Instead of the bitter clown-head Moffitt trying to destroy Asheville, how about he try to make sure all these projects happen within 10 years. I am a Republican, but I can’t vote for you Moffitt if you are just going to be stupid. Do something.
The construction is at least 10 years off – there’s time to build this, make oodles, and then get paid for the property if/when the state has to buy it to make way for the new road(s)…
They’ll need a trolley to haul all the beer drinkers down to New B,Wedge, beer lovers discount cheap rooms\great beer.
Since we have far fewer hotel rooms than we did 100 years ago and prices are relatively high downtown, compared to a very few years ago, this supply increase is welcome.
Does seem like simple supply and demand. Indigo was just ahead of the curve.
Wasn’t there also one announced for the old Merita Bread property on Patton….