It’s not often you get a thrill from just driving over a bridge.

But I definitely got a little tingle Wednesday when I cruised over the newly opened span leading into the Enka Commerce Park from Smokey Park Highway.

The excitement came not from wondering if the bridge’s weird, metal-tube wrapped pillars would hold the weight of my pickup (and me), but from actually witnessing it in use, by real vehicles, in motion. After I spent about a decade looking at it, or taking pictures, perhaps you can understand my skepticism.

I’m going to estimate I’ve written about this bridge 5,312 times over the past decade. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but it sure feels like it.

Construction started in 2016, and of course readers asked me about it then, when I was writing Answer Man for the Asheville Citizen Times.

I drove out and took pictures of the construction back then and wrote it up. I interviewed Martin Lewis, a member of Fletcher Partners, which developed the site.

The partners bought the 200-acre site in 2008, right when the Great Recession hit, and while the city of Asheville approved site plans, development was slow to come. In fact, Lewis had a great line when I asked him then about when they hoped to build out the retail part of the project.

“About eight years ago,” he said. “This is going to be an overnight success 10 years in the making when it happens.”

He was joking, but, boy, was he prophetic.

I drove over the bridge Wednesday because the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a spec-warehouse building opening in the park, and because the bridge opened. The EDC pegged the event as a celebration of “a key infrastructure development designed to improve connectivity and facilitate future economic growth.”

Buncombe County’s investments in the bridge, as well as the roads inside the park, the Bob Lewis Sports Park and planning for the Hominy Creek Greenway, total more than $10 million, the EDC noted.

“The newly completed bridge and access roads represent critical infrastructure improvements that will divert commercial freight and truck traffic from nearby Sand Hill Road while addressing traffic congestion and enhancing accessibility for workers, residents, emergency services and local schools,” the EDC’s news release stated.

For the bridge and roads, the NCDOT has contributed about $2.5 million to the project, the federally funded Appalachian Regional Council $3.1 million.

Lewis told me Wednesday that Fletcher Partners also had skin in the game on the bridge.

“The county put $3 million towards it, and then the bridge ended up costing a little bit over $4 million, so Fletcher partners made up the rest,” Lewis said.

I asked him how it felt to see that rascal open.

“It feels great,” he said with a smile.

Plans at one point swirled around big box retail

Back when Fletcher partners bought the property, the plan was for a large retail development, possibly including a Walmart or Lowe’s. Rumors also swirled about Costco going in there, but that never happened, as Asheville is cursed when it comes to landing that big fish. 

A few years back, Amazon was close to locating a hub on the property, although it never was identified, but the deal never happened. So Samet Corp. and Fletcher partners shifted to the current plan of three large warehouse spec buildings that will provide about 600,000-square feet of space for prospects.

It’s also worth noting that Enka Commerce Park already has 15 significant employers in it that support more than 500 jobs.

But let’s get back to the bridge.

Clark Duncan, executive director of the Economic Development Coalition, also had to reference the bridge’s long incubation period.

“This bridge access is going to divert some 250 trailers a week off of Sand Hill Road, and it is already in immediate use,” Duncan said. “I got a special kick over driving over that bridge —  legally — for the first time.”

Amanda Edwards, chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, also made reference to the bridge and the development timeframe.

“That was a weird feeling today to be able to drive across that to this spectacular industrial building built by the Samet Corporation and the Fletcher Partners,” Edwards said.

Tim Anderson, division engineer for the NCDOT’s Asheville-based Division 13, got the best laugh of the day, after the crowd gathered in the new warehouse gave him a round of applause when he was introduced.

“I’m really not used to folks clapping for DOT,” Anderson said. “Normally when we come to a meeting like this, there’s a lot of angry people looking at us, wanting to know when we’re going to buy their property or whatever.”

In seriousness, Anderson said it was really a “great day.”

“I know for a lot of folks around here, it was like, ‘Somebody built a bridge, when are they ever going to do anything with it?” Anderson said. “But this bridge and the roadway is really a story of perseverance and partnership. And for folks who think sometimes government works in silos and we don’t talk to each other, this is proof that that’s not the case.”

The NCDOT had to permit the bridge, and the department had to coordinate with the developers and other federal funders on road construction. Also, the plans for Enka Commerce Park shifted several times.

“I kind of think of it as the old saying about a fighter — you’ve got a plan for your fight until you get punched in the nose, and then the plan goes out the window,” Anderson said. “That’s kind of what this entire project was. It got started, then the economic downturn. There’s a bridge. There’s nothing to go in here. Folks start scrambling, looking for things that can come here and be a vital part of the community.”

In the end, it worked out, and the bridge, roads, and buildings are going to lead to more jobs, a key goal, Anderson pointed out.

Edwards noted that Asheville City Council two years ago approved plans for the spec building and two others to be built. The iconic Enka clock tower will also be preserved.

“These things take vision, they take time, they take investment, and they require strong private- public partnership,” Edwards said, citing the county’s $10 million investment.

Enka’s long industrial history

Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley spoke about the site’s history as a major employer, noting that the American Enka Corp., a rayon manufacturer, first invested in Asheville in 1928. The enormous manufacturing facility spanned much of the current property.

“As a native of Asheville, I understand the historic importance of this land to the families of our region,” Mosley said. “The American Enka company once employed as many as 7,000 residents, and the company facilities once spanned some 2,200 acres, including buildings on this very spot that were demolished well over a decade ago.”

On a side note, I still have one of the large bricks from the smokestack that was demolished. Hey, who doesn’t like an industrial souvenir?

Mosley lauded the Enka Commerce Park and the spec buildings as a way to add to the city’s tax base and “to expand and reinvigorate the economic engine of the Enka Commerce Park.”

Josh Drye, development manager with the Samet Corp., said it plans to start the second spec building when the first is 50 to 75 percent leased. That first building is ready for leasing.

Samet also has committed to preserving the clock tower. Drye said the structure is in decent shape, other than minor vandalism.

I wouldn’t look for the actual clocks to be restored to functionality any time soon, though.

“There’s a tremendous amount of money to get the electrical in there — to get it run up to the top — and then get all the clock things working,” Drye said. “We’ve looked at it. I think we got a price for it, but it’s not even considering the electrical aspect. Very expensive.”

I suspect it might take a decade or so.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/. 

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