Before the riverfront and West Asheville became the hot places they are today, Haywood Road going up from the Clingman Avenue bridge was industrial on the south side and a wooded gully on the north.
One of the group that developed the Bledsoe Building asked us to design some housing for the edge of the wooded gully. He saw how active the river arts scene was getting and he wanted to offer artist housing that featured studios at the basement level, retail store and gallery space at street level, and an apartment with mezzanine above.
Sadly, his eyes were a lot larger than his bank account and he was unable to go forward with it.
Mathews Architecture
