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.”
The new Enka Commerce Park bridge will take about 250 trucks a week off of nearby Sand Hill Road, officials said. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
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.”
Samet Corp., which is developing spec warehouse buildings in Enka Commerce Park, has committed to preserving the historic Enka clock tower. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
“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.
Asheville Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley spoke about the Enka site’s rich heritage as an employment center for Asheville and Buncombe County. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
“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 atjboyle@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 14:16:00
(The Center Square) – Planning and response to Hurricane Helene with early voting already underway has been deemed worthy of an award for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Fifty-three programs from 258 nominations earned the Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Additionally, election boards in the counties of Buncombe, Currituck, Durham and Wake won 2024 Clearinghouse Awards, and those in Durham, Rockingham and Union counties earned honorable mention.
Helene killed 107 and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
Election Day was six weeks away. The disaster area declared included 25 counties and coordination with the state board; county boards; lawmen on the federal, state and local levels; the state National Guard; the U.S. Postal Service; and information technology professionals on multiple levels.
Voter turnout in the 25 counties was 74.9%, a tick higher than the state average of 72.6%.
“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our state’s election officials and our partners to pull off a successful election under the most trying of circumstances,” said Karen Brinson Bell, the state board’s executive director. “Hundreds of thousands of western North Carolinians were able to vote in the important 2024 election because of state board planning, along with the hard work and resiliency of county election officials and the invaluable assistance of our emergency management and law enforcement partners.”
The award is a different kind of light for the state board.
Between July 22 and Sept. 12, seven lawsuits were filed against the state board of Democrats Alan Hirsch, its chairman, Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen; and Republicans Stacy Eggers and Kevin Lewis; and Bell. More followed the election and are still unresolved along with the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin.
SUMMARY: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to check on Abrego Garcia, who has been held for over a month at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation error. Despite challenges in securing a meeting, Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia and shared an update with his wife. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the meeting, commenting that Abrego Garcia would remain in custody.
SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.
Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.
