Jubilee! Community church building for sale for $5.2 million in downtown Asheville; PlantHouse terrarium store planned; Peruvian eatery finds food hall location
Also, hotelier John McKibbon has announced his retirement, and much more
Note: This story sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.
Here’s some of what’s going around:
The Jubilee! Community church property at 46 Wall Street is for sale. The retirement of founder and longtime minister Howard Hanger two years ago, the hiring of a new minister who lasted for just six months and the arrival of the pandemic, which halted in-person gatherings, combined to cut the size of the church community and its financial donations, according to background info that church administrator Bruce Mulkey emailed me.
The church bought the building in 2000 for $550,000. (The building fronts both Patton Avenue and Wall Street.) By the mid 2000s, the Jubilee! community grew to about 500 active members and the Wall Street building became a hub of spiritual, artistic, social justice, and environmental sustainability activities seven days a week, according to Mulkey’s background. Today, the Jubilee! community is just a quarter of its previous size and uses the upper Wall Street level for church activities, while the Patton Avenue level serves as a small shelter for houseless women.
The church made the decision to sell in August. It selected NAI Beverly-Hanks Realtors to represent it in a potential sale, which could go a couple of ways. The entire building, at 10,750 square feet, is being marketed as its 101 Patton Ave. address for a listing price of $5.2 million. Alternately, the lower level is available as a commercial condominium with a listing price of $2.7 million, with the church planning to stay in the upper Wall Street level. Church officials have been talking with other local churches and private schools and have found several possibilities for a future home if the entire building is sold, according to the background.
The Jubilee! community also plans to use money from the sale to continue its support of nonprofit groups that provide services to unhoused and low-income populations in and around Asheville. The church community has donated more than $2 million to such groups as Habitat for Humanity, Haywood Street Community, Homeward Bound, Manna Food Bank over the past 33 years, according to Mulkey. The church is working with the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina for the proceeds of the building sale to reside there, with a portion in a permanent endowment that will provide funding for local nonprofits that Jubilee! choses to support.
A developer is looking to build a 5-story, 33,800-square-foot building containing about 30 residential units on 1.2 acres at 100 Craven St., according to city permits. The location is across the street from New Belgium Brewing.
Someone is looking at renovating the old Jack Smith Transmission shop into either new commercial space or mixed-use space, according to city permits. The 8,300-square-foot building islocated at 240 Biltmore Ave.
Over on the South Slope, city permits reveal that someone is looking to renovate the two-story, 5,100-square-foot building at 196 Coxe Avenue and add a bar called CTL + ALT + DEL.
Wild Ashe, a shop that sells candles and accessories, is now open at the Grove Arcade.
Renovations are underway at the former Ambrose West music club building on Haywood Road. City permits say downstairs renovations are for office space, while upstairs renovations are for a “venue.” We’ll see. Details to come.
PlantHouse is planning to open in the Biltmore Station shopping center at 2 Hendersonville Road. (The breakfast joint First Watch recently opened there.) PlantHouse is “an experienced-based terrarium workshop and premium plant store” that combines “plant-based activities, products and environments that bring people together in a way that inspires connection and creativity,” according to its website.
John McKibbon has announced his retirement from McKibbon Hospitality alongside fellow executives Vann Herring and David Hughes. McKibbon has been an influential hotel developer in Asheville for many years, most notably the developer who partnered with Glenn Wilcox to remake the former BB&T bank and office building into the Kimpton Hotel Arras, a hotel and condo complex. McKibbon, Herring and Hughes grew McKibbon Hospitality from a small family company into a nationally known and award-winning hotel management and real estate company, according to a press release. Following the retirements, Randy Hassen has been promoted to chief executive officer, Bruce Baerwalde has been promoted to president, Joe Taggart has been promoted to chief financial officer and president of McKibbon Hotel Group, and J.B. McKibbon IV has been promoted to president of McKibbon Equities, a new arm of the company responsible for new development and management of McKibbon-owned properties.
William Dissen, the chef owner of The Market Place restaurant in Asheville, is opening Billy D’s Fried Chicken restaurants on college campuses. His first Billy D’s was opened in 2018 at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. Now he’s got a restaurant on Elon University’s campus and another planned at Wake Forest University. He sources from sustainably operated organic farms in North Carolina.
Suwana’s Thai Orchid Restaurant has opened its third location at 45 Tunnel Road.
Leo’s Italian Social, a new restaurant coming to Biltmore Park Town Square, is nearing its opening. The restaurant held an orientation for 50 new staff members this week.
The Landing Depot, a discount grocery store, is planning to move into the shopping center at 805 Patton Ave. The location is a couple doors down from Gypsy Queen restaurant, in the former Gopuff distribution spot.
If a full subscription isn’t for you, please consider sending a few bucks Venmo for the coffee that keeps me running. You’ll be supporting independent, community journalism. Thank you!
Mikasa Criolla, a new Peruvian restaurant by owners Chef Santiago Vargas and Ana Austin, is planning to open in The S&W Market next month. They’ll replace Peace Love Tacos at the downtown food hall, which is home to Buxton Chicken Palace, Highland Brewing, The Hop Ice Cream, Bun Intended, Farm Dogs and The Times Bar. Vargas and Austin have been operating a catering company, Mikasa AVL, which specializes in the authentic Peruvian flavors they plan to bring to the brick-and-mortar location. The eatery will spotlight the diverse selections of crops and ingredients that are grown in Peru’s many micro climates. Those ingredients include Aji Amarillo and Aji Panca (two chiles that are staples in Peruvian cuisine), Maiz Morado (purple corn that grows in the Andean region well above sea level), quinoa (the superfood from the Incas), and Peruvian Cacao, according to a press release.
Baked Pie Company has closed its Reynolds Village location.
A new seafood restaurant is coming to the Erwin Hills Shopping Center on New Leicester Highway. It will be moving into the former home of a big furniture store, Erwin Hills Wayside Furniture, which is closing after 52 years in business. The plans set off a lot of speculation about the possible return of Calabash West restaurant, a beloved family-owned joint in the same shopping center that closed about 20 years ago. I’ve been assured that Calabash is not returning, but that a new restaurant is coming.
Plans to build three buildings totaling 585,360 square feet of space at Enka Commerce Park are still in the works. Enka Partners of Asheville wants to build the spec space and is awaiting final approval of a zoning change. Word on the street is that Saia LTL Freight, a trucking company, and Sunbelt Equipment Rentals, are considering moving in there.
Thanks for reading,
-jason
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the real estate company that the Jubilee! church had chosen to help it sell its downtown building. That company is NAI Beverly-Hanks. I apologize for the error.
Thanks for the info. Feeling sad about jubilee church!!!