Entries Tagged as ‘News: Asheville’

November 16, 2009

Commercial development, albeit on a smaller scale, continues in South Buncombe

The days of rapid-fire commercial construction in the area have passed, but it’s not as if developers have just shut down operations completely.
Some building continues in Asheville and Buncombe, although not the type of massive commercial projects that marked the late 1990s and early part of this decade. Speculative building — where developers erect a [...]

November 16, 2009

Spruce Pine one of Western North Carolina towns reaping tourism gains from Blue Ridge Parkway

The owners of the Orchard at Altapass took North Carolina to court when the state proposed acquiring 200 acres of the apple orchard to create the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s.
The owners at the time ran a wholesale apple business and did not see the benefit of having the scenic road come through the [...]

November 16, 2009

Western North Carolina builders seek local advantage

Some area architects and contractors are trying to get residents and public officials to apply the “buy local” mantra to more than produce.
A group of about 40 building professionals from four Western North Carolina counties have formed a group to encourage the use of area firms for commercial construction in the area.
Some say a large [...]

November 9, 2009

Bart Jones ready to build Marshall concrete plant

Bart Jones says he wants “to get started right away” on construction of his concrete plant in the quarry off U.S. 25/70 after the Madison County Board of Adjustment voted 4-1 to approve a conditional-use permit for the facility.
The vote came after a five-hour long public hearing last week in the courtroom of the Madison [...]

November 9, 2009

Dewey’s Bakery to open holiday store

Dewey’s Bakery has opened a seasonal holiday store in Biltmore Village.
Based in Winston-Salem, Dewey’s opened in 1930 and has become noted around the state for selling baked goods such as Moravian sugar cookies and sugar cake.
The seasonal store, which will be open through December, also will sell gift tins, baskets, ornaments and other holiday items.
The [...]

November 9, 2009

Asheville GoMini’s Dealer Receives Asheville Chamber Award

GoMini’s Portable Storage in Asheville has been recognized as one of the area’s fastest growing small businesses by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce.
On Thursday, October 29, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Business After Hours at the North Carolina Arboretum attended by hundreds of local business leaders to announce the 2009 Sky High [...]

November 5, 2009

Haywood County braces for economic impacts of prolonged I-40 closure

By all indications, the closing of Interstate 40 due to a massive rockslide will be more than just a minor headache for many.
Through traffic heading west to Tennessee will be directed to I-26 from Asheville, where cars would have to travel 130 miles to link back up with I-40 across the state line.
Though much of [...]

November 5, 2009

Unemployment continues to plague Western North Carolina

BOONE—Unemployment rates in Western North Carolina have more than doubled in the past two years from just under 5.0 percent to 12.2 percent. And while the region’s economy experienced positive growth in the spring, the region lost some of those gains in the third quarter of this year.
“Employment continues to be a problem,” said Todd [...]

October 20, 2009

A-B Tech to offer customer service job training course

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is offering a course in advanced customer service next month as part of the governor’s Jobs NOW initiative.
Classes will run from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Mondays-Thursdays, Nov. 9 – Feb. 4 in the Haynes Center at the college’s Enka campus.
Those who complete the course will be qualified for jobs like [...]

October 20, 2009

Motorcycle shop opens

Mike Jones has opened Blue Ridge Riders on Tunnel Road.
The dealership offers motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. Two years ago Jones sold Mike’s Bikes, his dealership in Fort Myers, Fla., with plans to retire, but the business drew him back.
“My father taught me that quality and affordability generate more repeat customers,” Jones said in a press [...]