The City of Asheville is weighing how to rebuild pedestrian infrastructure in Biltmore Village and is seeking public input on the fate of more than five-dozen trees in the historic district, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene.
The project, which is being funded by a $2.5 million dollar grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, involves striking a balance between protecting the long-term health of the trees and preserving the historic vision of famed planners Frederick Law Olmsted and Richard Morris Hunt, who designed the neighborhood.
City staff walked residents through some of the proposed changes during an event at Standard Pizza Wednesday afternoon.
David Hazzard, interim division manager for urban design and place strategies in the city of Asheville’s Planning Department, said the funding will allow the city to embark on a wide range of repairs and additions, such as brick sidewalks, granite curbing and ADA-compliant ramps, all of which will benefit local businesses.
“One of the key elements here is accessibility improvements to make sure that when we replace the sidewalks, that they meet accessibility guidelines and codes, along with the ramps and so forth,” he told BPR in an interview.
The city has also applied for funding for additional repairs through the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, Hazzard said.
Most of the current repairs are focused in a roughly seven-block area at the heart of Biltmore Village, along three main corridors: Biltmore Plaza/Kitchin Place, Boston Way and Swan Street.
The historic nature of the district adds a wrinkle to the project, however.
In the late 1800s, George Vanderbilt hired Olmsted and Hunt to design Biltmore Village as a neighborhood for Biltmore Estate workers. As part of the design, the district includes several streets known as allées, lined by trees that are of the same species and size.
Over the decades, some of those trees have caused infrastructure issues, Hazzard said.
“There's a lot of mature trees,” he said. “In some of the areas, the sidewalk issues we're having have been caused by the tree roots. A number of those trees and the tree roots are going to be impacted in the sidewalk replacement.”
The flooding from Hurricane Helene — when the nearby Swannanoa River crested at more than 27 feet — further eroded the sidewalks on some streets. In addition, some of the neighborhood’s trees are in poor health. Others were planted in recent years and are species that are not suited to urban environments, according to city planners.
Three potential approaches to restoring the district’s trees were on display at Wednesday’s event. One focuses on preserving most of the existing trees. The second would remove and replace nearly half of the existing trees, with the goal of preserving Olmsted’s vision for an allée between Biltmore Plaza and the Cathedral of All Souls. The third would remove and replace the majority of the existing trees, restoring the allées on Biltmore Plaza and Boston Way.
Hazzard said that while city planners are “trying to take a very scientific approach” to the issue, the input of community members and local business owners is crucial.
Among the attendees at Wednesday’s event was Neal Reed, operations director for New Morning Gallery in Biltmore Village and owner of the Fine Arts Theatre in downtown Asheville. Reed said his main concern about the tree restoration project is in “respecting history as it's evolved, and not just Olmsted's vision.”
Some of the species that have been planted in Biltmore Village in more recent years have beautified the neighborhood, he noted.
“Those aren't in Olmsted's original vision, but neither are dozens and dozens of species that are on the Biltmore Estate now part of Olmsted's vision,” Reed said.
He also voiced appreciation for city staff for listening to the community’s concerns and securing funding for the project.
“The city really needs to be applauded for all their efforts. And they listen and they're working hard,” Reed said. “So we want to thank them, but we've got to be patient and we’ve got to be diligent and tell them what we need.”
Kara Irani, executive director of the Biltmore Village Association, attended the event both to represent the voices of local business owners and to hear feedback from other members of the community.
“We have gotten used to what ‘disruptive’ looks like, I believe, in the Village now,” Irani said. “And for us, the short-term challenges of disruption are far outweighed by the long-term benefits of getting everything back up and running.”
Whichever way the city and the community decide to tackle the issue of the trees, Irani said it’s exciting to see the infrastructure repairs moving ahead after a long and difficult nearly two years.
“These iconic shaded walkways, the brick space is core to what our identity is as a district,” she said. “And I think that there's a lot of desire to maintain that and to support that and preserve that so that future generations are also enjoying what Biltmore Village was intended to be.”
The project is being funded through the N.C. Department of Commerce Small Business Infrastructure Grant program. Members of the public can get more information and weigh in online here until August 11.
