January
8, 2013
Honorable Terry Bellamy, Mayor of Asheville
Asheville City Council
Gary Jackson, Asheville City Manager
Stephanie Monson, COA Riverfront Redevelopment Coordinator and Urban
Planner for Economic Development
Dear
City Council,
We
are writing this letter in regards to the future of the Ice House property on
Riverside Drive. First of all, we
would again like to acknowledge our appreciation to the City of Asheville for
the efforts it has taken to address the numerous problems at the site. While the building is still not fully
secured, action has been taken and the situation has improved. Additionally, the City has been in open
communication and dialogue with us about permanent solutions to address the
public safety problems as well as the long-term possibilities for the
site.
Within
our neighborhood, there are varying opinions about the future of the Ice House. Most people support the demolition of
the building, acknowledging that this process began many years ago through
neglect. Others feel that it should not be demolished and we are repeating past
failures of vision and political will to preserve a special piece of
history. Yet, there is a broad
feeling of concern about the public’s safety in and around the building as well
as the loss of history that has already taken place through neglect, and that
may yet still take place through demolition. Because there wasn’t a greater effort put forward years ago
by the property owners, the City of Asheville and the community to better
secure, protect and envision a new future for this historical asset, we are now
left with few options, with demolition being the easiest path.
Beyond
the Ice House, many WECAN residents are concerned about the continuing loss and
deterioration of significant historic structures in our neighborhood. We hope that a renewed effort can be
harnessed between a range of public, private, and civic partners to create the
vision and funding to give new life to these structures before we are, once
again, faced with demolition as a seemingly reasonable solution. Additionally, since this numerous
people were using this building as shelter, it is a reminder that we still have
much work to do to eliminate homelessness and solve the problems that
communities such as ours face as a result of the many people who cannot, will
not, or are unable to find permanent housing.
If
City Council decides to move forward with the demolition of the Ice House,
WECAN would like to recommend that it proceed under the following conditions:
·
Every effort is made to preserve and save any existing significant
historical elements of the building including but not limited to, the large
brick chimney, any old remaining machinery and other contributing elements so
as to leave remnants of the building for future reference.
·
Once the building is demolished, we would like to see a kiosk or
informational display that references historical information about the history
of the site and the building.
·
City Council require the demolition contractor (Taylor and Murphy or
whomever is selected) to have at least one employee working on the demolition,
who resides in one of the surrounding neighborhoods (WECAN, Hillcrest, West
Riverside, East-West Asheville Neighborhood, South French Broad, Southside, etc)
and to work with Green Opportunities to ensure this occurs.
·
The City should remain in constant and open dialogue with the public
and surrounding neighborhood about the future development possibilities of the
Ice House, and consider how this site and those around it can engage and create
productive public spaces that reference the exceptional history of the
riverfront area and surrounding residential community, while also providing a
place for a range of people and incomes to work, play, and live.
We
appreciate the City’s leadership on this issue and look forward to this site
becoming a significant community asset.
Sincerely,
West
End / Clingman Avenue Neighborhood (WECAN)
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