I thought I would throw my voice out there and join the small chorus of people who care about the quality of downtown and not just property value and misplaced tourist fanaticism. Please, Asheville City Council, do not allow another hotel to be put up, especially not right next to the beloved basilica, and the dishonored former Civic Center [now the U.S. Cellular Center].
Make this vacant and decrepit lot a public green space like the greenway on Broadway or, heck, give it to a environmentally minded nonprofit like the Bountiful Cities Project so that they may make it into something wonderful that would actually reflect the spirit of Asheville. And of course you could always just let me and my friends come in and make it a beautiful spot as well.
— Matthew Frederick Bates
Asheville
