SOLD: Bank of America building in downtown Asheville for $3.2 million

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Jason Sandford

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

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bank_of_america_building_asheville_2014A group of Florida investors has purchased the Bank of America building at 68 Patton Ave. for $3.2 million according to property records. MRK Investments already owns the old Windsor Hotel building on Broadway, as well as the iconic S&W building on Patton Avenue near the Bank of America building.

Brett Krueger, a spokesman for MRK Investments, said Thursday that there were no specific plans for how to develop the building, other than to make it look better. Krueger said the building was an eyesore badly in need of sprucing up. In terms of use, everything is on the table, from condos to office space, he said. (The purchase of the building included the purchase of a parking lot on Buncombe Street.)

Krueger’s group recently finished up its renovation of the old Windsor Hotel building on Broadway, and stands ready to begin renting 14 vacation condos there, he said. On the ground level, retail space will include a restaurant and a home furnishings shop, but those details have not been finalized, Krueger said. One note on the vacation rentals: Krueger said the rooms include North Carolina-made furniture, hand-crafted work by local artists, as well as decorator items picked from Paris flea markets. Those items will all be for sale, Krueger said.

A couple of months ago, Krueger was in negotiations with the popular retail chain Anthropologie to locate a shop in the historic S&W building. Nothing has come of those negotiations, according to Krueger.

Image link for Bank of America building photo.

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Jason Sandford

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

  • 1

8 Comments

  1. Jason Sandford February 15, 2014

    From loyal reader Phil:
    I hope we’re not seeing the beginning of the end of Downtown Historical Asheville as we know and love it. That would truly be a shame and a disaster for the city. The draw of Asheville is it’s history and the buildings that helped make that history. Keep tearing them down and reaplacing them with chrome and glass monstrosities and we’ll end up back in the eighties when downtown was a place to be avoided. It’s booming because of what it is; a charming historical unique friendly place where people can go escape the modern madness that is closing in on us more each day.

    We moved out here from California eight years ago after living there all of our lives because money hungry developers ruined our state. Don’t make the same mistake with our beloved Asheville. Shiny new toys may seem nice for the moment but they get old after awhile and end up in the trash. Is that where we want to go?

    POSTED BY PHIL DIMON | FEBRUARY 15, 2014, 9:39 AM

    Reply
    1. hauntedheadnc February 15, 2014

      How is that relevant to this discussion? No one is talking about tearing down the S&W Building, and the bank building isn’t historic. It replaced some historic buildings that burned down sometime in the 70’s or 80’s.

      Reply
  2. Jerry February 15, 2014

    Rumor control! After three articles about Athropologie coming to downtown and it’s potential impact, how about a follow up now that it’s not happening? What do people think? It seemed important enough to garner headlines in November, but not now?

    Reply
  3. theOtherBarry February 14, 2014

    Thank the Gods! Let the affordable housing units flow forth!

    Reply
  4. Um, no. February 13, 2014

    Maybe they can start clearing their sidewalks.

    Reply
  5. orulz February 13, 2014

    This, and the Wachovia/Wells Fargo building, have always been the dynamic duo of UGLY in downtown Asheville since they day they were built. By comparison even the oft-reviled BB&T building is an architectural gem.

    Reply
    1. LEW February 13, 2014

      Disagree – they’re all bloody ugly and if I could (somehow magically) only get rid of one it would hands down be BB&T. At least you can’t see the Bank of America or the Wachovia/Wells Fargo buildings from miles around.

      Reply
    2. Kim Roney February 13, 2014

      The BB&T building looks like a gem in the sunset tonight.

      Reply

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