The group transforming the face of Woodfin held a town forum Thursday night (October 18) to promote its dedication to building a healthy community for the town's citizens to enjoy.
Representatives from Reynolds Mountain and the YMCA of Western North Carolina were on hand to give updates on the construction of the new Woodfin Town Center as well as ask for feedback from those in attendance.
The first tenant in the approximately 410,000 square foot town center will be the YMCA, which is scheduled to open toward the end of 2008. The YMCA's inclusion speaks to the group's dedication to healthy living environments, said Reynolds Mountain Director of Business Development John Metcalf.
The town center will connect via sidewalks and walking trails to various other retailers and office spaces as well as multi-family communities of condominiums, townhomes, and porch homes.
"The YMCA will come in and be a major part of building healthy communities. Part of our initiative is programming this outdoor space and |
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making it as accessible and useable as possible," Metcalf said. "We are counting on the folks of Woodfin to also give us some guidance."
The YMCA will initially be located at the center's core off the new Merrimon Avenue extension. However, a larger, permanent site across Merrimon Avenue in the valley, according to Paul Vest, CEO of the YMCA of Western North Carolina. Vest said this facility will be comparable in size to the YMCA in downtown Asheville. Construction could begin as soon as 2013.
The YMCA's first home will be a 15,000 square foot facility featuring two floors, exercise equipment and group exercise rooms.
However, Vest noted the plans are subject to change pending acceptance from the town's residents.
"Our slate is clean. We are here to be a community YMCA," Vest said.
Asheville resident William Najger asked Vest about whether the Woodfin YMCA would look at constructing an earth-friendly, sustainable building.
Vest said the YMCA was looking in that direction on a national scale. Woodfin Town Administrator Jason |
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Young offered that the site on which the permanent YMCA facility will ultimately be built is on the old Asheville landfill. The time the Town of Woodfin invested in that property to make it useable again is the ultimate form of recycling.
"This is the hallmark of green development," Young said.
In other development news, Metcalf unveiled the center's second tenant, Blue Water Seafood, located out of Hendersonville, will open in the old Ash-Co building after a renovation. Metcalf said local and regional tenants, such as Blue Water, are ideal for Reynolds Mountain.
Young also mentioned plans the Town of Woodfin is developing to give Woodfin more walking trails, especially along the French Broad River. He said these plans might be ready as soon as January.
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