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"They came, they listened, they drew." So began the words of Carol King, chairman of the Pack Square Conservancy Project, at the Friday afternoon unveiling of a new community-assisted view of the future of Pack Square and the surrounding area that includes the current City-County Plaza and the transitional area that connects Pack Square with City-County Plaza. "They" includes a team of architects, public space designers and landscape architects who listened and responded to what they heard through a series of focus meetings with community leaders, arts and festival organizers, business leaders and regular citizens full of good ideas. The culmination of these many ideas and years of experience, coupled with a deep respect for Asheville's history and the role that Pack Square has played in it, resulted in the plan that was explained Friday at the Diana Wortham Theatre. Before a crowd of about 100 interested Ashevillians, the plan designers recounted Pack Square's history along with the history of the planning process through which they have progressed in the past year. The plan they revealed includes a visually cohesive and pedestrian-friendly area of town that embraces two-way vehicle traffic around the square and most of the other area roads, roadside parallel parking, large shade trees, wide sidewalks, several (but smaller) fountains, terraced seating and large green spaces. According to the redesigned plan, the current City-County Plaza would be reconfigured to include a large green, or great lawn, immediately in front of the City and County buildings. This area would be large enough to accommodate a festival- or concert-going crowd of up to 6,000 people. On the side of the green closest to the City and County buildings would be a stage and fountain area; on either side of the green would be wide, sweeping sidewalks with large shade trees and smaller, more intimate seating areas so that crowds of any size would be comfortable using this large, public green.
Just above this area is the current Pack Square. Pack Square is envisioned to remain in much the role it has played all along in Asheville, that of a town square, but it would be reworked in some key ways. Two-way vehicle traffic would once again roll on all sides of Pack Square, creating a more accessible retail, commercial and residential area. The current fountain size would be reduced and trees would be added, but the Urban Trail sculptures would remain that they are now. Wider sidewalks would also be part of the redesigned Pack Square. When the public input process began last year, it was thought that a "liner" building would be built in front of the current Biltmore Building that would include retail, commercial and residential space and would include a fa�ade that is more in keeping with Pack Square's more historic ambience. Since that time, however, it has become known that the first floor of the Biltmore Building may be available for refitting in the next few years with the departure of the current occupant of that space. If that occurs, the first floor of the building could become part of the overall redesign of the square and include public space as well as commercial and retail space. Other ideas for the area include removing the six or seven parking spaces that are currently in front of the restaurants across from Pack Square, providing a wide and sweeping view of the square, the green below and the mountains beyond. A redesign of the current Pack Place marquee sign is also a possibility, perhaps including an information/ticket booth in its place and a redesigned plaza in front of the building.
Another feature of the redesign would be two-way traffic on College Street all the way to Pritchard Park as well as two-way traffic on all of Patton Avenue. The College Street part of the design would also include a 20-foot-wide median with shade trees in the middle of the road, creating a breathtaking boulevard effect for College Street. This part of the plan would probably create interest among real estate developers to build new residential and commercial buildings to complement the newly created boulevard. The ideas that have come about as the result of the Pack Square public input have resulted in a plan that will reconnect all elements of the public spaces from the Vance Memorial at Pack Square to City-County Plaza. It provides a more rational use of streets, more park space, more efficient layout with fountains and large lawn areas, and an integrated stage for festival gatherings. It also serves to activate all sides of Pack Square and reorganize the current fountain area, and, no doubt, will inspire private developers to begin to participate in the overall finished product.
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The smaller, transitional area just above City-County Plaza (leading up to Pack Square) would be incorporated into the total "green" concept by also including it in the park-like layout of the City-County green. In this smaller area, terraced seating would be made available along with more large, shade trees and a fountain area. This area would be appropriate for smaller gatherings or intimate concerts or could also be included as part of the available area for very large concerts or festivals that would be held on the City-County green.
The redevelopment of the Eagle Street/Market Street area is also part of the comprehensive design. Two-way traffic on Eagle Street and Spruce Street, roadside parallel parking, wider sidewalks and shade trees will all serve to make the area more pedestrian-friendly and more available to vehicle traffic, thereby creating a more viable commercial and retail area. This area also has to take into account the need for wide roads to accommodate the emergency vehicle traffic that is necessary on these streets, considering the nearby location of the fire and police stations.