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SOLD! Key parcel on Asheville’s downtown South Slope for $2.95 million

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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226_hilliard_avenue_2014Duke Energy bought a key piece of real estate on Asheville’s red-hot South Slope on Wednesday for $2.95 million, according to property records. That’s one of the biggest real estate sale of downtown property in 2014,  a year that saw several high-dollar transactions.

The property is 226 Hilliard. It is the former Hayes & Lunsford location at the corner of Hilliard and Asheland avenues, right across Hilliard from the nasty Hot Spot. Hi-Wire Brewing is nearby at 197 Hilliard.

The 1.79-acre parcel was in foreclosure with Hometrust Bank. G/M Property Group in Asheville handled the sale for the bank.

Earlier this year, word on the street was that Duke Energy bought the former Matthews Ford property at 35 Biltmore Ave. with an eye toward building a new power substation there. I’m working on tracking down whether that deal went through. UPDATE: Duke Energy bought the 4.13-acre site of the former Matthews Ford car dealership in August for $5.3 million, according to property records.

In terms of other top property transactions for downtown Asheville, the previous top deal (as far as I can tell) was the March sale of a 1.78-acre parcel at 185 Coxe Ave. for $2 million. The parcel is a parking lot with a small structure on it at the south end of Coxe.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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20 Comments

  1. Hot Spot Aficionado December 22, 2014

    I resent you referring to the Hot Spot as nasty…I happen to find it a enduring piece of downtown Asheville ephemera

    Reply
    1. Jason Sandford December 22, 2014

      resent all you want, but it’s a simple fact. the Hot Spot is dirty, run down and nasty.

      Reply
      1. Harry December 22, 2014

        You are too nice sometimes. I was going to call it a shit hole.

        Reply
      2. Matt December 22, 2014

        Careful, Jason. Your true colors are showing. 😉

        Reply
        1. Steve December 23, 2014

          As a neighborhood resident the Hot Spot is a massive problem for that part of town. You might think it’s authentic or kitschy or ironic, and the twitter feed is funny, but try living by it. It is merely a place for alcoholics to buy beer and prostitutes and drug dealers to hang out at all hours. That they sell gas that people need is the only potentially positive aspect of it. There is no healthy food, it’s not a community gathering point, it provides habitat for many more ills than it does good. That the city has to post police officers there at night is very telling. Hilliard would be vastly improved if the hot spot were not there.

          Reply
          1. ashevillain December 26, 2014

            If the Hot Spot was not there, it wouldn’t prevent all of the activity that you mentioned. Like it or not, there is a market for everything that happens there. If not there, then it would still happen some place and someone else would feel just like you.

            Reply
          2. Matt December 27, 2014

            So….not in your back yard? Gentrification as a form of public welfare?
            Progress is King?

            Reply
          3. Steve January 1, 2015

            Yes, not in my backyard, or anyone’s backyard. I’m not at all suggesting the Hot Spot get relocated to the middle of Aston Towers, but as it stands now, the business is an enabler to alcoholism, prostitution, and drug dealing. I’ve had my kid pick up used condoms on the sidewalk and walk past drug deals and drunks galore on the way to school. If you’re cool with that, please take a walk down Hilliard most any night, better yet, send your daughter/wife/girlfriend, then walk down Patton Ave and see which feels more comfortable to you. Patton’s not perfect at all but the worst there tends to be fights between folks at the various shelters, and it’s deserted later at night. The Hot Spot is teeming with activity.

            I know getting rid of the Hot Spot won’t magically cure the ills of this area, but I do believe it’s existence is not improving the community. For those dismissing the thought of “progress;” should we just be happy with the status quo? Could things possibly be improved by message board discussions?

            Reply
  2. jennifer December 20, 2014

    If Duke bought it I’m sure it will not be a hotel or anything else related to bringing tourists to Asheville. It will stay industrial.

    Reply
  3. ALV LVR December 19, 2014

    A power substation would be a major eyesore. Duke should not be allowed to build it at such a visible location close to downtown. If they do build it, it should be built enclosed in a historic-looking building or enclosed in a Biltmore-like wall with thick bushes all around it.

    Reply
    1. Sean December 20, 2014

      Yeah. Screw all of those new buildings that need electricity!

      Reply
      1. AVL LVR December 20, 2014

        If is needed built it, but disguise its purpose. When I drive by, I shouldn’t easily guess it was a power substation. Enclose it or wall it and beautify it.

        Reply
    2. weavervilleman December 21, 2014

      Duke energy owns many buildings which are not power substations. They might lease it out to other businesses and maybe make it into offices for the Asheville region.

      Reply
  4. murphy December 18, 2014

    J. Do you have any info on that fenced (with barbed wire no less) lot behind The Grey Eagle in the RAD…it seems like a primo location for something…

    Reply
    1. Former Reporter at WYPN December 19, 2014

      You mean the RAD Lofts project? On the old Dave Steel property across from Clingman Cafe?

      Reply
      1. murphy December 20, 2014

        Yeah, I guess that’s probably it…

        It just seems kinda odd that there is an 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire around a huge vacant lot…

        I was on the LaZoom tour and they referred to it as “Asheville’s own area 51!”…

        Reply
  5. orulz December 18, 2014

    Rumor has it that Duke is looking for a place to dump some coal ash from the Asheville plant. Maybe this and the Matthews Ford site are related somehow!

    Reply
  6. Barry Summers December 18, 2014

    ,i>“Ho-tel! Ho-tel! Ho-tel!!”

    Reply
  7. Helen December 18, 2014

    What are they going to do with it. Do you know?

    Reply
    1. Jason Sandford December 18, 2014

      Helen, I don’t know yet. I called Duke Energy’s public relations department this afternoon and made a request for more information. The woman who answered said someone would be back in touch with me.

      Reply

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