These buildings located off Riverside Drive behind Riverview Station are up for sale. The move comes after city of Asheville officials cut off electricity to the property earlier this year after deeming the buildings unfit for occupancy. About two dozen local artists had been using the buildings for studio space./ Photo by zen sutherland
The property that’s home to several warehouses that once provided affordable studio space to working artists in Asheville’s River Arts District are up for sale, the property owner says.
Back in July, officials with the city of Asheville declared a group of eight buildings off Riverside Drive (behind Riverview Station) unfit for occupancy. The buildings had served as studio space for about two dozen working artists over the past three years. The buildings included The Tannery studios, Switchyard Studios and space for Terpsicorp dance company.
Asheville’s Development Services Department and Fire Marshal’s Office cut power to the buildings, declaring them unfit for occupancy. Property owner Robert Camille said he was allowing artists to improve the space and occupy the buildings in an effort to give them affordable space to work. The loss of the artists studios has been a significant blow to working artists in Asheville, those more concerned with the creation of art that the making of the almighty dollar.
Camille told me this afternoon (Thursday, Dec. 4) that he’s giving up on his noble intention and has hired a commercial Realtor to sell off the property. Camille said he had a potential buyer earlier this year who made a series of offers, but the buyer kept dropping his price, so Camille ended the talks. Camille declined to say how much the property would be listed for – he said the Realtor is researching the value now.
Camille added that city officials last week wanted to see proof that he had allowed graffiti artists to paint the warehouse buildings. The city over the past several months have been more aggressively enforcing rules against graffiti, and Camille says city officials want to see proof that he gave artists his permission to paint what he (Camille) considers works of art.
The change in the use of these buildings is just the latest in a series of tectonic changes to Asheville’s River Arts District, a gritty industrial district that in recent years has harbored working artists:
-The Phil Mechanic Building is reportedly under contract to be sold. It’s been home to working artists for years.
-Asheville City Council is pumping millions of taxpayers’ dollars into infrastructure improvements
-New Belgium Brewing continues construction on its new $175 million brewery just across the French Broad River from the RAD.
-Also over the past couple of years, a couple of derelict buildings have been torn down, and a new ownership group took over the Wedge Studios and pushed out some artists while adding some new retail businesses, including a hair salon and a restaurant.