We are very much in favor of a park in this place [Asheville city property along Haywood Road across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence]. It would accentuate the beautiful basilica, and give a strong feeling of a city that cares about its environment, as we would see in Europe. The BB&T building is a much better place to stash a hotel, if it is needed.
Alan Anderson
Asheville
We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we’ve never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.
We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.
1 thought on “Wants park across from basilica”
A Google search for cathedral piazza brings up many images of cathedrals in European cities that have busy commercial squares (some pedestrian only, some with traffic) immediately adjacent to their historic cathedrals, not parks. A properly designed hotel with a shopping arcade and a pedestrian piazza would be perfectly in keeping with Asheville’s desire to have a European feel. St. Paul’s in London is a good example: http://www.mcaldg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/St-Pauls-Cathedral.jpeg. Maybe the City of Asheville needs to have a design competition, similar to the one for Westminster Cathedral Piazza in London: http://www.building.co.uk/new-westminster-public-space-competition/3156503.article.