Stakeholder Meeting Recap for Lexington Avenue Sidewalk Restoration Project
If you are affiliated with a business in the project area and did not fill out a form at the Oct. 8 stakeholder meeting, please help us better understand your business operations by filling out this online form.
Thanks to neighbors who were able to attend the stakeholder meeting at Dobra Tea last week to learn about updated project plans and initial construction impact information for the Lexington Avenue Sidewalk Restoration Project. Whether you were able to join us in person or are catching up now, we want to ensure everyone has the same information.
Here's a summary of what was covered at the stakeholder meeting on Oct. 8.
The goal of this 2024 GO Bond-funded project is to restore the sidewalk on both sides of the street, improving accessibility while maintaining the character of the section of Lexington Avenue between Walnut and Woodfin.
Project Scope and Materials
We are continuing to move forward with brick sidewalk and granite curb materials to maintain the existing look and feel of the corridor. The design team's analyses showed that improvements to the ramps at the four corners of Hiawassee/Woodfin and Walnut are unfortunately not feasible and have been removed from the scope.
Resource: Project Site Plan
Tree Removal and Replacement
Preserving our urban canopy is a priority, but infrastructure updates do present challenges. Earlier this year, we shared an exhibit that portrayed tree health conditions in addition to the risk level of impacts to trees during construction. The project team considered overall tree health, potential construction impacts, utilities, and community feedback to inform a tree removal and replacement approach. When the project is complete, there will be a net gain of 3 total trees.
Resources:
Light Poles (Note: new information since the stakeholder meeting)
We are coordinating with Duke Energy to install new light poles. While we initially anticipated Duke’s recent changes to site requirements and project delivery to create some challenges, we are pleased to share that we have coordinated a path forward. For Lexington, we will be able to include the lighting work within our initial construction phase, rather than having two separate waves of construction. This will require close coordination with Duke, but our contractor should be prepared to handle the necessary site preparation. Any newly installed light poles will be similar to the existing poles on Haywood Street.
Resource: Light Poles and Utilities Exhibit
Construction Timeline & Impacts
As an intentional step to ensure high-quality work, we are currently pre-qualifying contractors experienced in downtown environments and specialized brickwork. We expect the construction bid to be posted this fall and, if all goes well, we anticipate construction will start in January or February and last approximately six months. This timeline is an educated estimate, not a promise. Downtown construction often involves unanticipated setbacks, and weather will inevitably cause delays.
Once a contractor is hired, we will host a dedicated pre-construction meeting to introduce the team and discuss logistics in more detail. We know construction will cause disruptions, and we want to mitigate impacts where possible. While we cannot incorporate all requests or eliminate disruption entirely, we will aim to mitigate impacts as much as possible.
Resource: Proposed Construction Phasing Exhibit
Business Support During Construction
At their Oct. 13 meeting, City Council approved utilizing a portion of previously collected Downtown Municipal Service District (MSD) sales tax specifically for business support during construction of the Lexington Avenue Sidewalk Restoration Project. This initiative will be managed by the Asheville Downtown Improvement District (ADID), the City's established service provider for the Downtown MSD. ADID will work with impacted downtown stakeholders to develop corridor-specific support with activities including:
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Business continuity and stakeholder coordination
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Construction-phase placemaking
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Access and wayfinding
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Neighborhood marketing, corridor activation and media.
The City will continue to lead construction management, including site safety, logistics, project coordination and general public information. ADID will provide an additional layer of business support and corridor activation, drawing on its existing relationships with downtown businesses and stakeholders and ability to provide nimble and responsive support.
Next Steps
We'll continue to keep in touch using e-newsletters and by keeping the project page updated, which we aim to do on a monthly basis. Stay tuned for updates as we move through the bidding process and transition into the construction phase. As previously stated, we'll host another in-person meeting before construction begins where we'll share more details about impacts and timeline.
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