From Staff Reports

The nonprofit in charge of renovating Pack Square in downtown Asheville says a proposed condominium building planned for land adjoining the park would be too tall and in the wrong place.
The Pack Square Conservancy’s board voted unanimously that developer Stewart Coleman’s plans violate the group’s design guidelines because of the proposed building’s height and because it would block some of the view of City Hall and nearby mountains.

After the vote, Coleman said he is redesigning the project, but did not specify whether he would satisfy the board’s objections.

The conservancy board also expressed support for the idea of swapping city-owned property with Coleman to allow the building to be moved south of where it is currently planned.

Though the board’s decision about the building’s design does not carry legal weight, it could carry some weight as the proposal moves through the city’s approval process.

Coleman noted that the plan ultimately has to be approved by City Council.

The conservancy board did express enthusiasm for some aspects of Coleman’s Parkside Condominium proposal.

The group’s plans do call for a building in the nearby vicinity to bring more activity to the park, but board members said they wanted that building in a spot further south than where Coleman wants to build.

Conservancy spokeswoman Donna Clark said the group favors a building as long as it is set back from the park.

Coleman said he is redesigning the project so the building would not require a small tract of county-owned land close to an automobile turnaround in front of City Hall.

The Buncombe County Commissioners’ sale of a tract of land to one of Coleman’s companies in November 2006 led to a public controversy when it became publicized earlier this year.

That tract of land, which includes a large magnolia tree that is threatened by the development, is the subject of a lawsuit by descendents of George Willis Pack.

Pack donated the land to the county for use as a public park and the plaintiffs in the suit charge that the sale of a piece of it violated the terms of Pack’s donation.