1 Bedroom | 1 Bath | 693 SQFT | 360 SQFT Terrace | Parking

Cool, contemporary and upgraded condo with the best in indoor/outdoor terraced living located in the heart of walkable Five Points just one block from downtown and steps from the best coffee shop & groceries in town. Enjoy the world from a large outdoor terrace—so big you have a dining area, lounging area & covered hot tub area for versatile year round enjoyment. The open interior is upgraded with warm wood style tile floors throughout. A ventless fireplace further warms the living area. The kitchen upgrades include hand finished tiles, quartz counters, appliances and custom lighting similarly to the open spa bath. The master bedroom is spacious enough for a king bed and opens to the hot tub terrace. This condo home is efficient, luxurious and simply everything you need to live conveniently in and at the same time escape the urban setting. And don't forget the building has recreation and work out rooms with downtown views, a secured and tall storage unit and one parking space.

Want to see more? Here you go. Cheers!

— Troy and Kelly

In discussing our changing downtown conversations, as we often do, always lead to the hotels and whether or not development is pushing locals out. Is there a way to accommodate both tourists and locals and is our current development doing that? While that is a challenging question, here are some interesting articles from hoteliers looking at that issue.

Go here for Metropolis Magazine. Here. Also, here and here. Note that most of these articles are from the Hotels perspective creating and adding experiences to bring locals and doesn't necessarily address the bigger urban planning aspect of what residents need downtown for living and working.

1 Bedroom | 1 Bathroom | 519 SQFT | Extra Storage

We are pleased to bring this condo unit to the market place today. Great downtown Asheville turn-key investment offered with this cool, efficient and low maintenance condo in Rankin Press Lofts. Located in the heart of downtown just above coffee shops and restaurants this furnished condo is a ready to go investment as a short-term rental with great history. This loft style condo blends the best in historic and modern features mixing together brick walls and oak floors with stainless and concrete. The urban, industrial style home has 1 bedrooms, 1 bath and extra generous storage in basement.

Give Kelly and Troy a call for more information or to schedule a tour. In the meantime see the tour here. Cheers!

For the past couple of weeks as we drive through downtown and see the alterations to the former BB&T building—somehow this movie scene flashes through our minds. Anyone else? What are your thoughts? Cheers!

A Regionally Inspired Parking Garage

As always, we believe we could be far more innovative in designing and constructing a living and sustainable downtown. I came across this little story on NPR and just wanted to share it as inspiration from the Northwest.

Here is a snippet:

"Employing a unique engineered wood product only recently produced by Oregon mills, a UO student team has won an Honorable Mention in a competition hosted by the American Institute of Architects Northwest and Pacific Region.The students in Professors Judith Sheine and Mark Donofrio’s spring studio designed a parking structure using Oregon’s newest structural wood product—cross-laminated timber, or CLT—an exceptional accomplishment in architectural education and design practice."

Go here for the rest. Wouldn't it be great to see some of our own designers be able to participate, use regional inspiration and resources, in the design and construction of our downtown buildings and community. Cheers!

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12-South-Lex-Comp

Price: $422,000Size: 1200 - 1400 sqftFeatures: 2 Beds + 2 Baths Congrats to Kelly for selling this unit at 12 South Lexington, my personal favorite condominium building in town. Its modern, industrial styling combined with green features, solid construction and central downtown location is unbeatable.Here is how listing agent, Kelly Erin-Spinney, describes it, "Modern/Contemporary condo downtown living at its best! Bright, open 2 bedroom, 2 bath, high ceilings-great light-loft feel. Juliet balconies, granite, bamboo-hardwood, stainless steel appliances, gas range & deeded secure parking available. Smoke Free-Pet friendly building with low HOA dues. Lease in Place. Roof top terrace-views of Downtown Asheville & beautiful mountains."Want to see more of this listing? Click Here. Give us a call to help you sell your vintage modern, contemporary, industrial condo or home to a targeted audience.

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In light of the announcement that the BB&T building will be repurposed and remodeled, I thought it would be appropriate to pull this article out of the archives. In the attached video, local architect Mark Allison gives context to the architecture of the building in relationship to both other cities and Asheville itself. Enjoy! A Commentary on the BB&T Building in downtown Asheville.  Local Architect Mark Allison was generous enough to send me his new video commentary on the BB&T Building. Enjoy this interesting history into the architectural influences of Mies Van Der Rohe. The BB&T Building was completed in 1965 as the headquarters for North Western Bank.  It is 18 stories, was built by George Goodyear and designed by D. Gene Whittington. The BB&T building reflects the International style of Mies Van Der Rohe.  Mies's thirty years as an American architect reflect a more structural, pure approach towards achieving his goal of a new architecture for the 20th Century.  He focused his efforts on the idea of enclosing open and adaptable spaces with clearly arranged structural frameworks, featuring pre-manufactured steel shapes infilled with large sheets of glass.  His early projects at the IIT campus and for developer Herb Greenwald opened the eyes of Amercians to a style that seemed a natural progression of the almost forgotten 19th century Chicago School style.  His architecture with origins in the German Bauhaus and western European International Style became an accepted mode of building for American cultural and educational institutions, developers, public agencies, and large corporations. The BB&T building does not live up to some key design principles of Mies as Mark will point out in his video. Thank you Mark. Photo courtesy of the Pack Memorial Library

452558-3

Sale Price $269,500

1579 sq/ft

3 Beds and 3 Baths

This home has returned to the real estate market. Cleverly designed by Darryl Rantis, it offers efficient living in Chicken Hill between downtown and the River Arts District. Here is what I had written about it in 2009 when the home was first built - "Finally, some clever and well designed "in fill" housing that is badly needed in Asheville. I took a tour of this home today. Derived from its context and both the industrial and work cottage vernacular it has developed into a smart, loft style home. These healthy built homes pack a lot in a small square footage and represent the future of what homes will become - smaller square footage, healthy built and some versatile square footage.  The basement can be a bedroom, office or in-law suite.  The details all fit - from the european style cabinetry to the pine plank flooring and some of the built in shelving you will find these homes both clean and charming."

411 Exterior Comp

Here is how the current listing agent describes it  -  "Fantastic contemporary nearly new home within 1 mile of Pack Square & right in the middle of the River Arts District! Walk to restaurants and shops and feel a part of the thriving area w/all Asheville has to offer! Sleek modern interiors, certified Healthy Built Home designed by award winning architect Daryl Rantis. LL could be separate apt - 12' ceilings/polished concrete floors. You will be the envy of all your friends w/ this dramatic home!"

411 Interior Comp

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Kelly and Carol are bringing more buyers to these new lofts just a block from our Real Living office. There are not many opportunities that come along like this in such a great location in downtown. Give them a call for a tour. In the meantime, here is a link for a bit more info - Rankin Lofts Contact: Kelly Erin-Spinney 828-333-8830

I stopped by to see Otto Hauser yesterday, one of the owners of STUF Antiques on Broadway in downtown Asheville, along with Craig Culbertson. They have a lamp repair shop along with a nice assortment of antiques. We recently had him refurbish two vintage lamps  for our contemporary condominium.While there I couldn't help noticing that their Mid-Century and Danish Modern collection has been growing over the years. Along with Revive in Biltmore Village,  I think they have one of the best curated collections of vintage modern furnishings in Asheville. Craig, who travels the states in search of distinctive pieces, definitely shows a discerning eye. See below for a sampling or better yet stop by 52 Broadway for a closer look. Some of my favorite pieces are not shown here. Enjoy!