Summary (Updated 3/16/26): More than 50 community members gathered at the YMI Cultural Center on March 11th to discuss the City’s proposal to build a new performing arts center on The Block. Most attendees were against the idea and also mistrustful of how the process was likely to unfold. It was clear that much more community engagement would be needed before the City moves forward with plans that could significantly reshape this historic area.

It was also clear that the communities closest to the site – The Block and the East End / Valley Street neighborhoods – must have a central seat at the table as discussions move forward. These communities have deep historical ties to the area and would be directly affected by any major development.

For this reason, we are calling on Asheville City Council to make a formal public commitment to establishing neighborhood representation in any future negotiations or planning related to the so-called “Parkside” site. If the City chooses to move forward with its proposal to hold the land for future development, it should only do so if this commitment is adopted at the same time.

We have updated our email template below to convey this message, and encourage you to use it to contact City Council today.

Update 3/9/26: There is still time to email City Council about this issue before they vote on it on March 24th (please see the template we’ve included below and send it to the Council if you haven’t already). Local community members and allies will also be meeting about this issue on Wednesday, March 11. (Learn more at https://peoplesplaceavl.com/civic-engagement).

Update 3/2/26: City Council is at a decision point. A vote to hold the “Parkside site” is not a final approval, but it signals intent and begins formal negotiations. Once negotiations begin, leverage shifts. Conditions that are not established early become harder to secure later.

City staff are asking City Council to continue holding approximately 2.4 acres of City-owned land downtown for a potential arts and entertainment complex. The site is located on Eagle Street in The Block, Asheville’s historic Black business district, and is therefore near areas deeply affected by urban renewal and near historic Black institutions. While the project is still exploratory, decisions made now will shape what feels possible later. Large civic developments like this one on public land can significantly affect surrounding property values, small businesses, and housing costs – all of which have displacement implications. Given Asheville’s history of urban renewal and racialized displacement, early guardrails are critical.

The facts: City Council will receive a report on a proposed “land hold” at their February 24th Briefing. The City owns approximately 2.4 acres of land downtown between Eagle and Marjorie Streets that has been referred to as the “Parkside” site. City staff are asking Council to continue holding this land while they further explore the possibility of a public-private partnership that could include arts, cultural, and entertainment uses. Staff have not presented a finalized proposal, but the direction signals continued interest in pursuing a significant civic project on this publicly owned site.

The current request is procedural – extending the “land hold” to allow additional conversations and concept development to move forward.

Why the Land Hold Vote Matters

A land hold:

• Signals to developers that the City is serious about moving forward

• Gives the City leverage to negotiate with a developer

• Creates a window in which the City can establish mandatory conditions the developer must meet

If displacement protections are not named as a condition now, they are unlikely to emerge later.

We are not necessarily opposed to the construction of a performing arts center. However, we are alarmed that the leading site in consideration for this facility is on The Block downtown. The construction drawings from the planned presentation before City Council depict a massive building just steps away from the YMI Cultural Center and the heart of The Block business district. The presentation insists that this site is “not associated with Urban Renewal parcels” – the City has declared a moratorium on development on those parcels as part of its incomplete Reparations process – but then goes on to acknowledge that the area was “impacted by Urban Renewal.”

This strikes us as a significant understatement. Prior to the East End / Valley Street urban renewal project in the 1970’s, there were dozens of businesses on The Block, including the very stretch of Eagle Street that is being targeted for this new development. The City’s decision to tear down hundreds of homes and businesses caused massive ripples throughout Black communities and devastated neighborhoods like The Block and East End / Valley Street, which the City openly acknowledged and promised to amend in its 2020 Reparations Resolution.

Building a massive performing arts center on The Block risks still more damage to the adjacent Black communities. Here are just some of the likely consequences:

• Housing displacement in the East End / Valley Street neighborhood. Large projects like these often increase nearby land values, and that in turn tends to increase rents and property taxes.
• Cultural displacement for The Block. Local Black-owned businesses are at risk for displacement as a result of the expectable rising land values. In addition, these kinds of massive facilities typically dominate and transform the neighborhoods they are located in. For the past few years, the Block Collaborative has been working with the City, through a grant from the Mellon Foundation, on the Boosting The Block initiative, which is supposed to develop a Black cultural corridor from Pack Square to The Block. That work could easily be overshadowed and rendered irrelevant by the placement of a massive arts center in such close proximity.

There is nothing in this proposal that binds the City to a plan to develop a performing arts center here, but momentum is building for it and we think that demands a course correction. Because this involves public land in a historically impacted area, it’s imperative that the City do extensive community engagement and demonstrate meaningful equity protections before advancing further on this project.

Our Proposal (updated 3/16/26): Before extending or formalizing this land hold, the City of Asheville should formally commit to include community stakeholders in the development process at each stage of the process.

Things to do (updated 3/16/26): We invite you to join us in calling on the Asheville City Council to commit to formalized community participation in the development negotiations around the proposed performing arts center on The Block.

Email Template (Updated 3/16/26): You can send an email to the Asheville City Council by filling out the form below. Our email tool will send an individually addressed email to the recipients, and enable us to track how many emails were sent overall in the campaign. If you prefer to write your own email, you can copy and paste (and adapt) our template text – please cc: or bcc: info@gapavl.org on your individualized email, so we can better track how many emails were sent.

To: AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov

CC: or BCC: info@gapavl.org

Subject: Please ensure local communities have a seat at the table on Block performing arts center

Dear Mayor and City Council,

I am writing regarding the City’s proposal to build a performing arts center on The Block.

Last week more than 50 community members gathered to discuss this proposal, and many expressed serious concerns about the potential impact of such a large project on surrounding neighborhoods. This meeting made clear that much more community engagement is needed before any major decisions are made.

Most importantly, the communities closest to the site – The Block and the East End / Valley Street neighborhoods – must have a central seat at the table as the City considers the future of this property.

If the City chooses to move forward with its proposal to hold the land for future development, I urge you to make a formal public commitment at the same time that establishes a clear process for neighborhood representation in any negotiations or planning related to the site.

Major decisions about historically significant areas should not move forward without meaningful participation from the communities most directly affected.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Name]

Report Back

The Performing Arts Center was discussed extensively during the worksession (the conversation takes place at approximately 1:18–1:45 of the linked video). The worksession conversation focused on site control, financing structure, potential partnership terms with ATG, projected economic impact, and next procedural steps. Council members asked questions about cost exposure, risk allocation, and revenue assumptions. Council Member Antanette Mosley suggested that this project was a good candidate for a displacement analysis. In addition, several Council Members (Roney, Ullman, Mosley, Hess) did suggest it was important that community members from those two neighborhoods be included in planning conversations. Chris Corl, Asheville’s Director of Community and Regional Facilities, suggested that those neighborhoods could be included in the deal “if (they) could bring money to the table,” but then also agreed (when asked) that their interests needed to be considered differently than other potential private partners. There was also discussion about how the performing arts center could impact the ongoing “Boosting the Block” initiative, which is a Mellon Foundation-funded effort to amplify the presence of that area in relation to the rest of the city. Director Corl said (when asked by Council Member Hess) there would not be a possibility for any public community engagement before the March 24th vote, but Council Member Ullman offered to lead such a meeting. 

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 43

Recipients and Responses:

Asheville City Council

• Mayor Esther Manheimer: No response
• Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley: No response
• City Council Member Bo Hess: No response
• City Council Member Kim Roney: No response
• City Council Member Maggie Ullman:  No response
• City Council Member Sage Turner: No response
• City Council Member Sheneika Smith: No response