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Put park on vacant city parcel
Asheville City Council should be commended for having the wisdom to announce that it does not want a hotel to be built on its empty 0.8-acre parcel — valued at $2.6 million — at 68-76 Haywood St., across from the U.S. Cellular Center downtown.
Proposed uses for the city-owned land have included a convention center, a hotel, a plaza, a park and a performing arts center.
Through 10 years of city ownership, the parcel, variously called “the world’s most expensive (non) parking lot” and the “pit of despair,” remains vacant. Most of the seven council members want to see a tax-producing structure there, along with a plaza or a similar public space.
What’s more, Mayor Esther Manheimer recently said, “I think it’s more of what we don’t want to see. I don’t think there is any interest any longer in a hotel.”
Meanwhile, an environmental group and one council member continue to advocate for a park, claiming they have the support of many voters.
We think the park idea has much merit, especially since the historic Basilica of St. Lawrence, one of downtown’s crown jewels located just across the street from the city’s parcel, includes a signature brick dome that experts fear could suffer damage from any heavy-duty construction projects nearby. (The church was built by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino in 1905.)
The city lacks parks in that area — and a park would be an organic and aesthetic addition, complimenting the neighboring structures and benefitting the community as a whole.
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