CONFIRMED: New mixed-use building, parking deck planned for River Arts District

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Jason Sandford

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

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This is the former Dave Steel site at the corner of Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue in the River Arts District. The building has been demolished and the site has been empty for a couple of years. Next up - apartments, mixed-use space and a parking deck./ Photo by Jason Sandford

This is the former Dave Steel site at the corner of Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue in the River Arts District. The building has been demolished and the site has been empty for a couple of years. Next up – apartments, mixed-use space and a parking deck./ Photo by Jason Sandford

 

pilos graphicWord on the street is there is announcement coming today about a new mixed use development planned for the former Dave Steel building at the corner of Clingman Avenue and Roberts Street in the River Arts District.

The building would have 200 apartments, mixed-use space and a parking deck facility.

More detail soon.

UPDATE: Press release:

RiverLink is excited to announce that the site where Dave Steel Company was founded over 80 years ago in the heart of what was once Asheville’s industrial district — now known as the River Arts District — is about to get a big facelift. Delphi Development (Delphidevelopment.com) of Asheville is under contract to purchase and develop the site at the intersection of Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue.

The project will be known as The RAD Lofts and consists of 200 +/- residential units and an internal parking garage, along with retail, restaurants, and live/work units. In response to artists’ expressed desire to own their own space and in support of the River Arts District, Delphi will be offering pre-sale retail and live/work studio spaces along with a mix of retail rentals to complement the proposed apartments.

The RAD Lofts conforms to the popular Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan as well as the city’s stated strategic goal to encourage more high density development within the city limits.

Delphi Development has successfully completed a number of projects in Asheville, including The Sawyer Motor Building Condominiums on Coxe Avenue, Eastwood Village in Reynolds off of Route 74 and the Mosteller Mansion Estate in Hickory, North Carolina.

Delphi, an Asheville company, will utilize local artists for exteriors and common area finishes of the building and has hired Jeff Dalton and Robin Raines of Rowhouse Architects of Asheville to lead the design team. Spake Real Estate of Asheville is conducting presale/prelease efforts for the retail and live/work spaces. Once all permits and due diligence investigations are completed, the projected timeline for the development envisions that construction will begin in the spring of 2014 and will be completed by summer of 2015.

The River Arts District has dramatically changed over the past decades, evolving from an entirely industrial area to a prime destination for recreation, art, music, alternative energy and a variety of unique food offerings. Unlike other arts districts around the country, the Asheville arts district has 14 artist-owned buildings.

Asheville’s riverfront has become an even more exciting destination since the decision by New Belgium Brewing, the third largest craft brewery in the U.S., to build its east coast facility on the west bank of the French Broad River at the former WNC Livestock Auction Facility on Craven Street. Sierra Nevada, the second largest craft brewery in the U.S., also chose WNC as the new home for an east coast brewery and packaging facility, located near the Asheville Regional Airport on the banks the French Broad River.

Dave Steel Company and the Dave family have been prominent fixtures in the Asheville business community for almost a century. Dave Steel Co. continues to operate its steel fabrication plant near the Swannanoa River on Meadow Road as well as a new plant located in Chesnee, South Carolina and an engineering office in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Dave family continues to be industrialists and philanthropists in the Asheville community as they have for generations. According to Jeff Dave, President and CEO of Dave Steel Company “The RAD Lofts is the next logical development for our original factory site. The river and riverfront have changed greatly since I was a child and this new vision will take us to the next level in making Asheville and the Asheville riverfront a destination for everyone to live, work and play.”

 

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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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13 Comments

  1. fido May 12, 2013

    see what chattanooga tn. did with the district around the river. we could/should look at that as a model.

    Reply
  2. Sarah G May 11, 2013

    Do we know if these are going to be living wage apartments? I’d be interested to learn more about sizing and prices once the information is released.

    Reply
    1. Jason Sandford May 13, 2013

      not living wage apartments, as far as i know. one-bedroom rent will be about $900/month; two-bedroom will be about $1,350/month

      Reply
  3. J May 11, 2013

    any word on what these apartment’s are going to go for?

    Reply
  4. hauntedheadnc May 10, 2013

    After seeing the rendering, I have only this to say: Chop-chop. Time’s a wasting. Hop to it.

    Reply
  5. fido May 10, 2013

    about time!!!

    i had a dream about 10 years ago to make the RAD a anchor point. the southern railway roundhouse being a focal point as a lychpin as a working see & touch place. people love trains! this is a happy place moment!

    Reply
  6. peter May 10, 2013

    Yes! Parking!

    Reply
  7. Liz Rojas May 10, 2013

    I love this! As an artist, a business owner and a Dreamer. This is what dreams are made of, I am so happy to hear of projects like this. I really wish I lived closer, I am in Kentucky. I love to share your stories with our Downtown planning group here, we have a lovely Downtown which is full of potential if only they would all realize it. I plan to visit you all as soon as possible though now maybe I will wait til Summer 2015 🙂

    Reply
  8. hauntedheadnc May 10, 2013

    Bring it on. This is urban growth, and precisely what Asheville needs — especially in light of the fact now that it is more or less ilegal for a city to expand its boundaries now. If Asheville is going to get more money to run the things we love about it, like the park system, it’s going to have to come from growth and development inside the existing city limits. Infill is the only way to accomplish that, and a project like this is infill. Therefore… bring it on. Better 200 apartments in the middle of town than 200 apartments somewhere out the hell in Leicester.

    Reply
    1. Elise May 10, 2013

      Amen.

      Reply
    2. JT May 11, 2013

      Yes!! Well put.

      Reply
    3. Smytty May 11, 2013

      …or out at Biltmore Park. Or up at Reynolds Village.

      This makes a ton of sense. Parking, shopping, and living space for New Belgium workers and visitors.

      Reply
    4. tat May 11, 2013

      Well said. People who are complaining about ‘gentrification’ apparently weren’t around 12 years ago. This former industrial area was absolutely dead then. I only wish the building was 5 stories taller.

      Reply

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