Asheville corridor continues to recover post-Helene

Описание: Nearly 17 months after Hurricane Helene, the Thompson Street commercial and business corridor in Asheville is still in recovery.

There are empty lots where metal warehouses have been demolished. Other buildings with open sides show wires and metal frames exposed. There are multiple residential complexes, including condo units, gutted and empty.

But touring around in the smaller streets behind Thompson Street, you can find building owners inside with crews working to bring some buildings back to life. Dick Hoffman, who has owned a building in the corridor for more than 20 years, is getting ready to list the nearly-20,000-square-foot space for lease.

"This is the area that where I first put my eyeballs on the building and how bad it was," Hoffman said as he walked in the building's side door.

More than a year later, the hallway has new drywall. There's a new office space and garage area. Plus, the largest space he hopes to lease out is upgraded with new electrical, meeting all code requirements. The space has several vintage cars as well as items Hoffman was able to salvage after Helene floodwaters rose more than 20 feet.

"I kind of refer to this as the morgue," Hoffman said.

Hoffman has spent over $100,000 to bring the building back, including electrical work that included raising electrical boxes to new heights with a stairway and platform for someone to be able to access. The platform sits two feet above the floodplain. Hoffman said he had to challenge the City of Asheville’s building valuation, which was hundreds of thousands of dollars lower than the true value.

"If the repairs and renovation were greater than 50% of the value, you had another set of criteria to follow from FEMA, which was much more stringent up to the point of demolishing the building," he added.

Hoffman got his own commercial appraisal, which then showed repair costs would be a fraction of his property's value. That fact made it feasible for him to repair the building and keep the property viable for a tenant.

Along Simpson Street, residential developer Kirk Booth continues to repair his property, where he has 70 units renting for $915 a month.

"I developed these with the city," said Booth, who has 30 units available. "Most of our tenants here need these units. We do have some income caps."

Homeward Bound, which places unhoused individuals in rental units, has rented units in Booth's buildings. Other buildings are also getting renovated; AVL Clay studio has leased a brick building and offers classes and pottery space for artists.

"I love it," said Diana Bresson, a studio tech at the studio. "I think what we're trying to do is bring back the River Arts [District] down here. We're hosting sales, we're doing events, we're doing workshops."
#helene #recovery
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