African American Heritage Resource Survey Photo Credit: North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina. Happening Now The City’s Living Asheville Comprehensive Plan calls for identifying strategies to honor the history and contributions of the African American community in Asheville. As a baseline for more fully documenting the rich history of the African American communities that have thrived here for generations, the Planning & Urban Design Department is currently facilitating an architectural survey of the city’s historically African American neighborhoods. What is an Architectural Survey? An architectural survey is the systematic process of identifying and recording historic buildings, structures, objects, districts, and sites (both historic and prehistoric) in a given geographic or thematic area. Why Undertake a Survey? Documentation of the built environment as it relates to local history is an important tool for preservation of neighborhood and community character. Survey information can help inform related projects and is important in understanding the community’s historical narrative. How Can Survey Information Be Used? Survey information can be used to identify historic resources that require further study, individual properties and/or districts eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and individual properties and/or districts eligible for local historic designation. Architectural surveys are also critical to long range planning for the community. Background In partnership with the community, Planning staff has identified the imperative need for documentation of African American heritage resources within the city. The need to identify these resources is essential to documenting, understanding and illustrating a more comprehensive narrative of Asheville’s unique sense of place and to celebrate and honor local African American history. Historic resources in Asheville have been documented over the course of several survey projects, beginning in the late 1970s through the most recent survey update occurring from 2007-2012. These efforts have only nominally documented historic resources significant to the city’s African American community. Few resources have been recorded across the city’s historically African American neighborhoods, including the East End/Valley Street, Livingston Heights, Southside, West End/Clingman Avenue, South French Broad, Burton Street, St. Johns-A-Baptists, Shiloh, Hillcrest, Stumptown, and Pisgah View. It is anticipated that survey of all resources related to African American heritage may require additional grant funding. This is the initial phase of the survey work, and will include contextual research and documentation, oral interviews, prioritization of areas for survey, and survey of roughly 75 resources and identification of future survey phases and/or other related projects. The city has contracted with Owen & Eastlake, Ltd., a historic preservation consulting firm based out of Columbus, Ohio. Owen & Eastlake specializes in history and architectural history and focuses on African American, ethnic and civil rights history and sites. Timeline February 2018 – Planning & Urban Design staff applied for a Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) federal pass-through grant to initiate the project. June 2018 – City was awarded HPF grant for $12,000, with a match of $7,000 allocated by the Planning & Urban Design Department. September 2018 – Request for Proposals (RFP) posted. December 2018 – Revised RFP posted. February 2019 – Consultant selected. March 2019 – Community meetings. Wednesday, March 27, 2019 6 – 7:30 p.m. Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center 285 Livingston Street Thursday, March 28, 2019 4 – 5:30 p.m. Stephens-Lee Recreation Center 30 George Washington Carver Avenue Final Public Meeting – Date & Location (To Be Determined) This meeting will be to present the results of the survey to the community. Supporting Documents Staff Report to City Council – August 28, 2018 Request for Proposals (RFP) Owen & Eastlake response to RFP Community Meeting Flyer Contact Information Alex Cole, Historic Resources Planner 828-259-5638 Related Services Learn about large-scale development Keep up to date on current projects and applications. Explore city data Public datasets and maps are available on the open data portal at data.ashevillenc.gov. Schedule a mandatory Technical Review Committee pre-application meeting Schedule your required pre-application meeting for Level II, Level III, Conditional Zoning and Major Subdivision reviews. Apply for a homestay permit Apply for a new homestay permit or apply to renew your existing permit. Look up information about a permit Use online tools to look up information about permits Check whether your address is within city limits Search to see if it is within the City of Asheville's permitting jurisdiction. Find what permits and licenses you need for your business Use Asheville's Open for Business wizard to find out what permits and licenses you will need and an estimate of permit fees. Find location and zoning information Find the zoning information for your project. More Related Services African American Heritage Resource Survey News City of Asheville releases StoryMap about City-owned property and Urban Renewal Posted on June 4, 2021 by Polly McDaniel The City of Asheville has released a new StoryMap explaining which City-owned properties came from Urban Renewal. With assistance from UNC Asheville faculty, City staff researched, identified, and mapped existing City-owned properties acquired through three Urban Renewal projects in Asheville. The Urban Renewal and City-owned Property StoryMap shows which City-owned properties came from [...] Historic Resources Commission honors two volunteers for restoring and caring for the South Asheville Cemetery Posted on May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Each year, the Historic Resources Commission awards an individual or individuals in the community who by word or deed has kindled among the citizenry of Asheville and Buncombe County an appreciation for the history or historic resources of the area. The Historic Resources Commission is pleased to honor this year’s recipients, George Taylor and George [...] Community invited to Wilma Dykeman’s 101st birthday anniversary as part of River Arts District celebration Posted on May 19, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Hey Asheville! Bring your friends to 8 River Arts Place at 3 pm Thursday (May 20) and help the community honor author Wilma Dykeman. Dykeman, who has meant so much to the development of the French Broad Riverfront that the community named the new greenway after her, would have been 101 years old [...] More African American Heritage Resource Survey News
Explore city data Public datasets and maps are available on the open data portal at data.ashevillenc.gov.
Schedule a mandatory Technical Review Committee pre-application meeting Schedule your required pre-application meeting for Level II, Level III, Conditional Zoning and Major Subdivision reviews.
Check whether your address is within city limits Search to see if it is within the City of Asheville's permitting jurisdiction.
Find what permits and licenses you need for your business Use Asheville's Open for Business wizard to find out what permits and licenses you will need and an estimate of permit fees.
City of Asheville releases StoryMap about City-owned property and Urban Renewal Posted on June 4, 2021 by Polly McDaniel The City of Asheville has released a new StoryMap explaining which City-owned properties came from Urban Renewal. With assistance from UNC Asheville faculty, City staff researched, identified, and mapped existing City-owned properties acquired through three Urban Renewal projects in Asheville. The Urban Renewal and City-owned Property StoryMap shows which City-owned properties came from [...]
Historic Resources Commission honors two volunteers for restoring and caring for the South Asheville Cemetery Posted on May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Each year, the Historic Resources Commission awards an individual or individuals in the community who by word or deed has kindled among the citizenry of Asheville and Buncombe County an appreciation for the history or historic resources of the area. The Historic Resources Commission is pleased to honor this year’s recipients, George Taylor and George [...]
Community invited to Wilma Dykeman’s 101st birthday anniversary as part of River Arts District celebration Posted on May 19, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Hey Asheville! Bring your friends to 8 River Arts Place at 3 pm Thursday (May 20) and help the community honor author Wilma Dykeman. Dykeman, who has meant so much to the development of the French Broad Riverfront that the community named the new greenway after her, would have been 101 years old [...]