Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The Charlotte newspaper has the story. The Citizen-Times ran a last week. Everyone appears to be getting excited about what’s happening at Biltmore Park.
The new REI store opens this weekend. More stores are coming. One Biltmore Park official calls the development a critical mass of development not seen since the construction of the Asheville Mall.
Read on:
Biltmore Park Town Square is a construction zone today with stores, condos, apartments and parking decks rising from the George Vanderbilt family’s former dairy land.
But by late next summer, this will be Asheville’s Next Big Thing – a commercial and residential hub similar to Birkdale Village in Huntersville.
Asheville’s Biltmore Farms LLC is teaming with Charlotte’s Crosland LLC on the $200 million, 42-acre mixed-use development at Interstate 26 and Long Shoals Road, about four miles south of Biltmore Estate.
The initial specialty shops, offices and YMCA are open, but the big surge is just beginning.
“Right now, we are probably a third of the way through,” said Biltmore Farms President Jack Cecil, George Vanderbilt’s great-grandson. “Once the large retailers committed to the geographic area, we had to go all at once.”
The first big national retailer – outdoor gear supplier REI – plans to open a two-story, 29,000-square-foot store Friday. It will be followed next month by a Regal Cinemas 15-screen stadium seat theater.
Town Square’s 285,000 square feet of specialty retail and restaurant space is 55 percent leased, including tenants Barnes & Noble (opening in late spring) and restaurants P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (January), Brixx Wood Fired Pizza (January) and 131 Main (spring), said Crosland’s James Downs, vice president-retail division.
The University of Phoenix anticipates opening a branch there by January, and a 165-room Hilton hotel is coming by late spring.
“There has been no critical mass of retail like this since Asheville Mall was developed in the 1980s,” said Paul Szurek, Biltmore Farms’ chief financial officer.
Similar to Birkdale Village, the project’s apartments and townhomes will wrap parking decks and be constructed on top of retail stores and restaurants along a main street to create an urban village.
At last! Biltmore Park is a modern marvel that compliments the historic areas of Asheville. I went to the grand opening of the new Regal Movie Theater and finally found comfortable stadium seating with no one’s head in my way. All theaters were sold out that night and it was the first time in a while that I’ve been in a theater that was completely full, but still very comfortable. The staff was more professional then any other area theater. As for the parking, it has ample parking decks. I don’t know why people complain about traffic in this area. It took only minutes to exit the parking deck and get back to Long Shoals Road. With PF Chang’s opening soon, and a new Hilton next year, this is definitely an exciting place to visit!
I believe some folks are mistakenly replying with messages related to Asehvelle Mall and Biltmore Square Mall..This article is explaining the develpment of BILTMORE PARK off Long Shoals Road in Arden’Sjyland area..whee WLOS is now located…some shops., YMCA, apartments, an homes, already there..much more being added including theatre and more restuarnats, hotels, etc. now….YES, THE BUS ROUTE DEFINFITELY NEEDS SO COME DOWN LONG SHOALS ROAD ….OFF HENDERSONVILE ROAD…be a big help to all..
Yes Biltmore Square is doomed unless they flatten it and turn it into a walking mall like Mall of Georgia.
More Traffic is a good sign of more money coming to South Asheville. By the way Asheville City caters to witches you can see why all the jobs are moving away along with great developments. Build them in South Asheville and I will save more gasoline.
It’s neither fish nor flesh. The ‘urban village’ model seems to nod towards Atlantic Station in ATL, and the layout apes classic downtown mixed use, but the parking allocation is just like another mall. I’ve walked around there too, and it’s pleasant, but how it’ll look when the big-name tenants open is another thing entirely. (Zipperhead? I know how to get more parking decks downtown: bulldoze the Grove Arcade!)
One thing that can be said: it’s time to put Biltmore Square Mall out of its misery (though clemency for Cinebarre).
Aren’t they off in the dating of the Asheville Mall. It was built long before the 80’s. I left Asheville in 1976 and the mall had been around 3 or 4 years by then.
Unless the Asheville Mall is not the mall built in the early 70’s. The downtown sears and s&w cafeteria closed and moved there. I think Bon Marche and Ivey’s did the same thing.
Only Top’s Shoes stayed.
The traffic at that junction has been nasty since the houses started going up over ten years ago, but at least it is nice to walk around down there. Hopefully this will get bus service to move off of just Hendersonville Rd in South Asheville.
the traffic there will be atrocious.
"and a 165-room Hilton hotel is coming by late spring."
I guess this makes it official –
Asheville – Paris Hilton of the South!
Asheville should learn a lesson by what is being done at Biltmore Park and the jobs it will create in such a small area.
We need something on that acale to be built in downtown Asheville. In one swoop Biltmore Park will have more Parking then all of Asheville. FYI: It took less then one year to build all those parking decks at Biltmore Park.