Haywood Streetscape and Infrastructure Improvement Project Happening Now Phase 1 is 7 weeks, Phase 2 is 7 weeks, Phase 3 is 7 weeks, Phase 4 is 8 weeks, Phase 5 is 5 weeks, and Phase 6 is 4 weeks Project construction began the week of January 6, 2020 and will continue in phases, with full project completion anticipated in early fall of 2020. As of December 17, the City-owned property at 68 Haywood Street is being used for an on-site superintendent office and construction related staging. Regular email updates provide details on upcoming work. Drop-by open office hours are held on the Third Thursday of each month from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Asheville Downtown Association office located at 29 Haywood Street as an opportunity to meet the project team and ask questions (temporarily cancelled due to COVID). The construction phasing schedule with anticipated closures/impacts is available here. A stakeholder group is guiding the development of promotional tools, including signage, to support businesses during construction. This effort is being led by the Asheville Downtown Association. Subscribe to receive project updates by email Email Address Name Previous email updates September 1, 2020 – project updates: upcoming work two weeks ahead August 13, 2020 – project updates: upcoming work two weeks ahead July 27, 2020 – project updates: upcoming work two weeks ahead July 10, 2020 – project updates: upcoming work two weeks ahead June 12, 2020 – project updates: sidewalk work to begin next week May 20, 2020 – project updates: two weeks ahead May 4, 2020 – project updates: two weeks ahead April 29, 2020 – project updates: closure between O’Henry and Flint April 23, 2020 – project updates: street closures this week extended April 20, 2020 – project updates: street closures this week April 17, 2020 – project updates: upcoming work and street closures next week April 3, 2020 – project updates: two weeks ahead; Ready Team and One Buncombe Fund March 20, 2020 – project updates: two weeks ahead March 16, 2020 – project updates: tree removal, contact info & COVID-19 March 5, 2020 – project updates: SoCon Tournament, Signage & upcoming work February 20, 2020 – project updates: rescheduled drop-in hours and upcoming work February 13, 2020 – project updates: planned water outages & upcoming work January 31, 2020 – project updates: water outages planned January 23, 2020 – project updates: traffic changes planned for Walnut January 17, 2020 – project updates: work on College and Walnut under way; promotional signage campaign in-progress January 3, 2020 – project updates: utility work begins Jan 6 on College Street; Walnut to follow December 17, 2019 – open office hours 12/19 November 19, 2019 – open office hours 11/21 August 22, 2019 – meeting Sept. 5 at 9 a.m. March 8, 2019 – project updates February 7, 2019 – project updates Notice: Please also consider signing up for the City’s emergency notification system, AVL Alerts. AVL ! ALERT Project Background This project will include sidewalk rehabilitation, street resurfacing, stormwater improvements, sanitary sewer improvements, and the sourcing, siting and installation of various street amenities. A key component is the replacement of the blue stone in the sidewalk on Haywood Street. The streetscape portion of project (sidewalks replacement and amenities on Haywood Street) is funded by the Transportation Bond Referendum that passed in 2016, prioritized as a safety issue and a major need by the City and various boards, committees and associations over the past several years. The general project limits are along Haywood Street from Vanderbilt to College Street. MSD will contribute funds and design consultation for the sanitary sewer replacement along an extended area of Haywood Street as well as on portions of College Street, Walnut Street and potentially Rankin Avenue. Design and engineering began in the fall of 2018 and continued through summer of 2019. Public input was collected on design changes to the street and sidewalk. The construction phasing schedule was presented at a community meeting on September 5, 2019. Notes and the presentation from the meeting are available as supporting documents below. On November 12, 2019, City Council authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with Tennoca Construction Company and move forward with the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) of Buncombe County for cost sharing. Meetings and Engagement Current – On-going by phone, email and in-person meetings as needed (see contact info below); staff provides updates to the Downtown Commission and Downtown Association monthly and email updates approximately bi-weekly. March 4, 2020 – Construction open office hours January 17, 2020 – Construction open office hours December 19, 2019 – Construction open office hours November 21, 2019 – Construction open office hours November 5, 2019 – Downtown Commission Parking and Transportation Committee and Haywood Street businesses review a draft loading plan for Haywood Street once construction is complete. (The plan is being revised based on feedback.) September 5, 2019 – Community meeting to share updates on construction phasing schedule and communications moving forward August 19, 2019 – Update to the Tree Commission February 19, 2019 – Follow up discussion and feedback with Downtown Commission Design Review Committee January 16, 2019 – Discussion and feedback with the City’s Bike/Pedestrian Task Force January 2, 2019 – Discussion and feedback with residents of Vanderbilt Apartments and Battery Park Apartments December 12, 2018 – Public input open-house meetings for design changes to the street/sidewalk and other priorities. December 4, 2018 – Discussion and feedback with hospitality/tourism representatives (convened by Explore Asheville CVB staff) November 15, 2018 – Discussion and feedback with Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors Issues Committee November 14, 2018 – Discussion and feedback with Asheville Downtown Association Board November 14, 2018 – Discussion and feedback with Downtown Commission Design Review Committee November 9, 2018 – Overview and discussion with Downtown Commission October 24, 2018 – Overview and discussion with Multi-modal Transportation Committee September 13, 2018 – Pre kick-off meeting (with businesses and residents in the project area) Notes and key take-away’s from focus group meetings are here. Public engagement related to construction activities and coordination with impacted businesses and residents is on-going. Please contact Dana Frankel or sign up for email updates to stay in the loop. Supporting Documents City blog post: Haywood Streetscape tree removal begins March 16 Press release: Streetscape construction to begin in early January (December 17, 2019) Press release: Haywood Streetscape Improvement Project moves forward with construction contract, anticipated to begin in January (November 18, 2019) Staff Report to City Council to authorize construction contract and MSD agreement (November 12, 2019) Presentation (including construction phasing schedule) from community update meeting (Sept 5, 2019) Notes from community update meeting (Sept 5, 2019) Design Plan (in progress) as of August 2019 Design Plan (in progress) as of March 2019 Presentation Boards for public input meetings (Dec 12, 2018) Powerpoint Presentation for Downtown Commission (Nov 9, 2018) Powerpoint Presentation for Multi-modal Transportation Commission (Oct 24, 2018) Council approval for Engineering and Design Services (Aug 28, 2018) Powerpoint Presentation for Pre Kick-off Meeting (Sept 13, 2018) Contact Information Dustin Clemens, Program Manager, Capital Projects, City of Asheville Project role: construction manager 828-232-4580 Dana Frankel, Downtown Specialist, Strategic Development Office, City of Asheville Project role: communications and coordination 828-251-4051 / 828-273-5248 Meghan Rogers, Executive, Executive Director, Asheville Downtown Association Project role: promotional wayfinding and marketing support for businesses 828-251-9973 Steve Olkowski, Tennoca Construction, Project Superintendent Project role: on-site coordination and communications 828-458-3981 Updated 06/12/2020 Related Services Business Inclusion The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city. Apply for a commercial film or photography permit Information about commercial filming and photography work involving city-owned property, sidewalks, streets, and parks. Apply for a special event or festival permit Information about hosting an event on city-owned property, sidewalks, streets and parks. Cold weather emergency shelter When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold. To find out when Code Purple is in effect, visit the Homeless Coalition’s Code [...] Sign up for city e-newsletter Receive City News in your inbox! Watch livestream of city council meetings View live televised Asheville City Council meetings, at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Explore city data Public datasets and maps are available on the open data portal at data.ashevillenc.gov. Gun safety Learn how to prevent deadly gun accidents and teach your children what to do if they come across a firearm. Find financial support for your Asheville business Learn about financial support that may be available for your business. Find or register a minority, women or disabled-owned business Resources for finding or registering a minority, women or disabled-owned business. More Related Services Haywood Streetscape and Infrastructure Improvement Project News Asheville launches affordable housing initiative shaped by Harvard research Posted on September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Program is designed to help landlords make providing affordable housing more feasible Twenty-five landlords in Asheville now have a chance to be part of an innovative solution to the affordable housing crisis in our area. Thrive Asheville, an initiative of UNC Asheville that brings together local community advocates, policymakers, and professionals from diverse perspectives to find equitable solutions [...] Reimagining public safety survey link now live Posted on September 4, 2020September 14, 2020 by Ashley Traynum-Carson Following a clear call from our community, City Council voted to remove or repurpose the Vance Monument, passed a resolution supporting community reparations, and passed a budget that only funded departments for three months so that City staff could [...] Asheville residents invited to reimagining public safety listening sessions this week Posted on August 28, 2020September 14, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Updated information: The City of Asheville has now opened a survey to gather input from residents on how our public safety services can better promote racial equity and economic inclusion. Original announcement: In September, the City of Asheville will launch an extensive series of listening sessions with the community to help us reimagine the [...] More Haywood Streetscape and Infrastructure Improvement Project News
Business Inclusion The Business Inclusion Office for the City of Asheville actively seeks to identify minority and women-owned businesses for an opportunity to participate as providers of goods and services to the city.
Apply for a commercial film or photography permit Information about commercial filming and photography work involving city-owned property, sidewalks, streets, and parks.
Apply for a special event or festival permit Information about hosting an event on city-owned property, sidewalks, streets and parks.
Cold weather emergency shelter When extreme cold weather is expected, the Asheville Homeless Coalition issues a Code Purple Alert. Participating homeless shelters voluntarily add space beyond their normal capacity to keep as many people as possible out of the cold. To find out when Code Purple is in effect, visit the Homeless Coalition’s Code [...]
Watch livestream of city council meetings View live televised Asheville City Council meetings, at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.
Explore city data Public datasets and maps are available on the open data portal at data.ashevillenc.gov.
Gun safety Learn how to prevent deadly gun accidents and teach your children what to do if they come across a firearm.
Find financial support for your Asheville business Learn about financial support that may be available for your business.
Find or register a minority, women or disabled-owned business Resources for finding or registering a minority, women or disabled-owned business.
Asheville launches affordable housing initiative shaped by Harvard research Posted on September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Program is designed to help landlords make providing affordable housing more feasible Twenty-five landlords in Asheville now have a chance to be part of an innovative solution to the affordable housing crisis in our area. Thrive Asheville, an initiative of UNC Asheville that brings together local community advocates, policymakers, and professionals from diverse perspectives to find equitable solutions [...]
Reimagining public safety survey link now live Posted on September 4, 2020September 14, 2020 by Ashley Traynum-Carson Following a clear call from our community, City Council voted to remove or repurpose the Vance Monument, passed a resolution supporting community reparations, and passed a budget that only funded departments for three months so that City staff could [...]
Asheville residents invited to reimagining public safety listening sessions this week Posted on August 28, 2020September 14, 2020 by Polly McDaniel Updated information: The City of Asheville has now opened a survey to gather input from residents on how our public safety services can better promote racial equity and economic inclusion. Original announcement: In September, the City of Asheville will launch an extensive series of listening sessions with the community to help us reimagine the [...]