Update coming on remodeling of former BB&T building in Asheville

Jason Sandford September 20, 2016

Jason Sandford

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

McKibbon Hospitality Group officials on Wednesday plan to deliver an update on the project to remake the former BB&T office building into a structure that’s home to luxury condos, a boutique hotel called The Arras and two new restaurants in the building. The meeting, which is not open to the public, will include new details from Posana restaurant owners Peter and Martha Pollay. The couple will be working with hotelier John McKibbon on the two new restaurants.

The redevelopment project is one of the biggest in downtown Asheville. The creation of Pack Place, which turned several old buildings in the heart of downtown into an arts center in the late 1980s/early ’90s, was one. More recently, the former City/County Plaza was remade into Pack Square Park in the mid-2000s to create the amphitheater, water feature and park that exists today.

The old BB&T stands at 18 stories tall and was opened in 1965. The remodeled building has been approved for a mix of:

-133 hotel rooms

-44 condominiums

-2 new restaurants

Construction is expected to be complete in 2018. Reese Vanderbilt & Associates, the architects on the project, have a gallery posted on their website. They described the project as an “adaptive reuse” that “strives to integrate the building with Asheville’s urban context and maximize the views to the city surroundings.” The building’s new “new exterior skin inspired by the Asheville’s historic art deco buildings.

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Jason Sandford

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

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3 Comments

Barry Summers September 22, 2016

There are no words to express my disgust.

“Glenn Wilcox, Tower Associates chairman and president, who occupied the former BB&T building for more than 50 years and is a co-developer of The Arras, said he believed God specifically sent McKibbon to work with him.
McKibbon reveals new details about former BB&T development
avlne.ws/2daNx8q

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RobotDanceMonkey1975 September 20, 2016

“They paved the parking lot, and put up a parking deck.” – Joni Mitchell

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Murphy September 20, 2016

I’m no expert, but that parking deck entrance/exit looks like it’s in a bad place…

How many folks will attempt to come out of there and either turn left to get on S Lex, or cross over the left lane to attempt to make a quick left onto westbound College…

That little stretch of Lexington is already a hot mess as it is – imagine the congestion once hundreds of cars a day are exiting that garage…

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