Parking Garage Improvement Project

Happening Now

Repairs on the North and South stair towers at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center garage will commence Monday, January 22. The work will require the partial closure of the stairs and the temporary loss of some parking spaces.

The work will be performed in phases so that only a portion of a single stair tower is closed at any one time.
On the levels where the stairs are out of service, pedestrian pathways will be created through the parking decks. This could impact up to 65 parking spaces at any one time.
Detour signage and safety barricades will be installed to direct pedestrian traffic.
The work is scheduled to be complete by the first week of March.

Beginning Monday, November 27, the top floor (3A-3B) of the Rankin Avenue Garage will be closed for improvements, which is expected to be completed by Spring 2024.

The overhead repairs in the Wall Street Garage are now complete. The diverted driving lanes have been removed, and the impacted parking spaces returned to use.

Repairs to the elevator landing at the Wall Street garage will begin Wednesday, February 28. The work is expected to take one week to complete. Elevator access will be limited during this time. Barricades and signage will be placed at the elevators during this period.

Accessibility Improvements:

Engineering for accessibility improvements in all four parking decks is underway which includes: cane detection, striping, signage and other improvements. This work is expected to start in Winter 2024.

More information on this project can be found in Public Input at this link.

Background

The City of Asheville operates four parking garages located in the Downtown Central Business District: the Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Wall Street, Rankin Avenue, and Biltmore Avenue garages.

The facilities were built in 1976, 1988, 1988 and 2011 respectively. As the facilities age the frequency with which they need to be inspected increases. A comprehensive facility assessment of all four garages was performed in the first half of 2023. The report identified select repairs and wholesale renovations categorized by priority:

Immediate Repairs – the most urgent repairs
Base Repairs – high priority repairs
Enhancements – medium priority repairs

Common repairs included in the report are:

Concrete repairs
Stair and elevator framing replacement/repair
Joint sealant replacement
Guard rail replacements
Weatherproofing and coatings
Restriping and improved signage

These repairs will be implemented over the next 2 ½ years in phases organized to address the highest priorities first, and with as minimal disruption to parking services as possible. Over the course of the project, parking availability will be limited at times throughout the four garages.

Timeline

Immediate Priority Repairs and Accessibility Improvements

Impacted Facilities: Wall Street, Rankin Ave, Harrah’s Cherokee Center Garages.
Repairs needed for stairwells, elevator landings, and deck improvements.
ADA: resizing of ADA spaces, new striping, relocation of select ADA parking spaces, cane detection, signage
Start Fall 2023 / Complete Winter 2024

High Priority Repairs

Waterproofing, joint seal replacements, mechanical, electrical and drainage repairs.
Start Summer 2024 – Complete Spring 2026

Medium Priority Repairs and Enhancement

Full replacement of Harrah’s Cherokee Center garage stairwells, replacement of framing at Wall Street elevator landings, guard rail replacements, signage and wayfinding improvements.
Start: Summer 2025 – Complete Spring 2026