Asheville NC, the good, the bad, and the ugly (Henderson: rent, condo)

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by tribe48

Reynolds Mountain Development will begin construction of Merrimon North at Reynolds Mountain this fall. The community will incorporate 410,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, 595 multi-family units, including lofts, mid-rise condominiums, porch homes, courtyard brownstones and an 80-acre park.

I watch the financial news with growing satisfaction every day. Hopefully RM has plenty of cash buyers lined up, because those Jumbo mortgages are going to be hard to come by.

By the way, Biltmore Lake is offering incentives for buyers who finance through Wells Fargo, but only on purchases of existing inventory. Looks like sales must be slow, even though everybody wants to live in Asheville

Sure, Asheville needs another 595 luxury units. I hope all the developers go broke.

[gypsychic]

Beaver Lake was recently dredge out at great expense to remove silt from developments upstream - it is already filling up again:

AOL Pictures - Welcome

I am thoroughly disheartened at what is happening to Asheville - we are new to the town, but we care about nature and the environment - we bought a small resale home in an older established neighborhood, and already they are RUINING even our small neighborhood - I don't even want to talk about it here, it is too upsetting. I can't believe the town and county government can't or won't control this better. All the wanton building on the mountaintops is not only ruining the scenery and wildlife habitat, it is sending mud and floods down into established neighborhoods. This seems criminal to me.

I'm with you, Fitz, I hope the d*mn developers go broke!

[cooperwx]

Originally Posted by tribe48

Oh these terrible RM developers! bringing jobs, growth and opportunity to woodfin and surrounding areas; how disgraceful! and turning a landfill (and eyesore) into parks, affordable housing, shopping (read: JOBS!) and a full service Y with memberships to the disadvantaged; oh those horrible capitalists! Yes, you are right RM is a BAD place run by bad people. we should all protest this horrible development; things were much better before!

If it only cost us an entire mountain, forever compromised views, and silt-laden creeks and lakes, I guess it's worth it. It's nice of them to prop up the rest of the community with minimum wage retail jobs and subsidized Y memberships.

Can you not see why these huge mountaintop developments are hurting us so much? WE LOVE OUR MOUNTAINS!!

[jrogers345]

[quote=tribe48;1280287]Oh these terrible RM developers! bringing jobs, growth and opportunity to woodfin and surrounding areas; how disgraceful! and turning a landfill (and eyesore) into parks, affordable housing, shopping (read: JOBS!) and a full service Y with memberships to the disadvantaged; oh those horrible capitalists! Yes, you are right RM is a BAD place run by bad people. we should all protest this horrible development; things were much better before! Just read this article that was recently printed in local newspaper:


Where do you see stated "Affordable housing"??? Jobs?? minimum wage jobs at shops?? Think those people will be living in RM development???

I can't believe RM and the other new developments going up in this and surrounding areas the prices for either an empty lot or a home! Most people I know here in NJ can't afford to buy in this area. You need Million plus to build or buy a home.

[jrogers345]

Originally Posted by mgspooky

GREAT INFORMATION EVERYONE, THANKS!

Thinking of relocating in a couple of years moving from New Jersey.

Waiting for my 15 year old to graduate high school and I am gone out
of Jerzey.

Heading out to Asheville for a week during 4th of July week and then to the
Durham area the following week to check whats out there.

Sold our business here (didnt realize Jersey was a silent partner in my business as well with all the taxes they extorted from us, lol) and not really in need of employment unless the real estate market continues to collapse here in Jersey and Florida where we own some property.

Looking in the Flat Rock and Hendersonville areas as well.

Thanks for the information!

So what did you think of the areas? We're in the same boat.. have a 15 yr old and just waiting for graduation to move and ALSO sell property here in NJ.

[SaveMtns]

The developers seem to be intent on doing to WNC what they've already done to South Florida: destroy the natural beauty of the area in the name of endless developments & strip malls. So all of the reasons people wanted to be here like clean air, gorgeous vegetation, natural coastline, etc. are now gone. They've destroyed everything that was good about Florida--and that brought people here! We bought an older resale near one of the town's oldest golf courses (our son's high school course) and now developers have bought it, completely mowed/graded it flat, and built the ugliest development of a gazillion houses on postage-stamp-sized lots. Another developer did the same treatment to a natural jungle-type area 2 blocks away, and just destroyed countless turtle habitats, as well as probably the habitats of 50 other species. The greed that motivates people to destroy the landscape is astonishing. AND--there are subdivisions down the coast who are running out of water, while more developments are popping up all around them. DUH! I hope WNC residents are able to somehow control the developers--because they (developers) are obviously too stupid/greedy to realize that they are destroying that which can never be replaced.

STOP THEM NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

[jrogers345]

Originally Posted by SaveMtns

The developers seem to be intent on doing to WNC what they've already done to South Florida: destroy the natural beauty of the area in the name of endless developments & strip malls. So all of the reasons people wanted to be here like clean air, gorgeous vegetation, natural coastline, etc. are now gone. They've destroyed everything that was good about Florida--and that brought people here! We bought an older resale near one of the town's oldest golf courses (our son's high school course) and now developers have bought it, completely mowed/graded it flat, and built the ugliest development of a gazillion houses on postage-stamp-sized lots. Another developer did the same treatment to a natural jungle-type area 2 blocks away, and just destroyed countless turtle habitats, as well as probably the habitats of 50 other species. The greed that motivates people to destroy the landscape is astonishing. AND--there are subdivisions down the coast who are running out of water, while more developments are popping up all around them. DUH! I hope WNC residents are able to somehow control the developers--because they (developers) are obviously too stupid/greedy to realize that they are destroying that which can never be replaced.

STOP THEM NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Developers never care about the environment, etc. The only way residents can control the growth is by putting pressure on elected officials - local and state. Put into effect zoning, environmental, etc. regulations. Now I know more laws can sometimes be a pain, but can also serve some good. By the way, developers aren't the only ones greedy. I bet they've been greasing the palms of township officials, etc.

[SaveMtns]

Yes, jrogers345, you are right on. The citizens have to be diligent in keeping after the elected officials--and laws that protect the natural beauty, environment, and habitats of an area are GOOD laws! Developers are often absolutely in the pockets of commissioners--and what better reason to vote them OUT?!

Again, the lesson here is--sit by complaining and watch your beautiful, peaceful area be destroyed OR get active and make your voice, along with the voices of many, to be heard--and make your votes count!

[gulfgirl]

Hey Jcat--From one Floridian to a previous Floridian--I thank you for all your information about Asheville--it was very informative without being negative or opinionated--I have read so much negativity about Floridians moving into Asheville. I plan to visit the first week of October and really going to look into the business start up possibilities! Coming from Sarasota, FL, I think the same service business opportunities here in this area would fare well in Asheville i.e. tourism, second homes, vacation properties, etc.) I'm considering a Concierge Service that includes a "home-away" service and vacation rental services, but not limited to....
What's your thoughts on this?

[Jcat]

The crime here in Asheville is a problem. Getting worse. Here are a few stats:
2006 1 serious crime every 1.2 hours, 1 violent crime every 19 hours, 1 property crime every 1.8 hours, 1 rape ever 6 days. (Rape has more than doubled from 05 to 06) Downtown seems to have the most problems, as well as west Asheville. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have some pepper spray, a stun gun, a taser, self protection products to feel safer now! Does anyone out tehre use any self protection stuff? We have a driveway voice alert thing that tells you when someone has come onto our driveway. I know there is crime everywhere, but we did not know that it was bad here in ASheville. You know? We need a Stealthprotector to watch out for us so we can feelsafernow!

Any one out there got a comment on crime? In Asheville NC? A judge's son was beaten in downtown Asheville during our big festival here, Bele Chere. Five people, including a woman beat him nearly dead. If he had had some pepper spray or a cell phone stungun on him, maybe he would have been able to fight back. Crime prevention is important. We need to prevent crime. We need to fight back.
I know a man who was beaten in downtown ASheville also. Because he was black. It was on St Pattys day (Saint Patricks) and he and his brother were victims of a hate crime, because they are black. Nicest guy you would want to know. There again, a large group of people beat them terribly. If they had had some pepper spray, or a stun baton, or a telescopic steel baton, well maybe they would have been able to fight back. In both cases, nothing has been done!! The criminals are out there. Roaming around ASheville.

Feel Safer Now . com sells alot of this self protection stuff.

Crime in Asheville needs to be addressed.