A contractor expects to start construction next week on a 5,929-square-foot building that will house a Chipotle Mexican Grill and an Aspen Dental Clinic.
Built as a Lizard’s Thicket, the building at 59 Highlands Square Drive next became the Mad Greek Eatery and in the end was the Moose Café. The property sold on Dec. 31 to Greenville, S.C.- based Carolina Holdings Inc. for $1,225,000. Britt Goodson, of Carolina Holdings Inc., confirmed only that the building would house a restaurant with a drive-through window on the side facing I-26 and a dental office on the side closest to the gas pumps. Since the first of the year a contractor has bulldozed the old building and cleared the site for new construction.
At 2:21 a.m. on Dec. 25, fire awoke occupants of the Echo Mountain Inn. The fire consumed an outbuilding that housed the inn’s business office and health spa. “Valley Hill Fire Department was here in less than 15 minutes,” said Bud Bonnema, a retired police officer from Minnesota who bought the property with his wife, Jan, in July of 2019. “They were great. Another two minutes and we could have easily lost more buildings.” The two-story 3,000-square-foot building, which stood less than 50 feet from the main inn, has been deemed a total loss. The fire marshal’s report did not determine a cause but did suggest that it could have been an electrical fire or it may have originated from a space heater. Built in 1896 as a summer home for John H. and Jessie B. Patterson of Jacksonville, Florida, the main building has been operated as an inn since the 1920s by numerous subsequent owners.
Amid the throng of 140,000 trade exhibitors and shoppers at the show in the spring of 2019, a team of North Carolina industrial recruiters sought out Pratt & Whitney representatives and had a moment to chat. Word had gotten out that a major net engine maker was looking to site a major new plant, and the economic development team from the Tar Heel state knew that landing the company would be big.
It was more of a ‘fit and feel’ situation, as much art as science,” Chris Chung, president of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and a leader of the recruiting team in Paris, said in an interview. “We seek out potential industries and meet with their executives. We didn’t know then exactly what they wanted.
The plant is seen as the anchor facility in the 1,000-acre Biltmore West industrial park what Cecil called a “lighthouse of innovation” shining the way for more business and more high-paying jobs. “This is the largest industrial economic development project in Western North Carolina that we are aware of,” David Rhoades, communications director of the state Department of Commerce, told the Lightning. “Due to the multiplier effect, our economists have projected that the project will grow to a $7.4 billion economic impact in 12 years.” The Golden Leaf Foundation and community colleges in Hendersonville and Asheville also were partners on the team that landed one of the region’s biggest economic development catches in recent decades. The partnership’s incentives add up to $62 million and include a bridge over the French Broad River. We predict years from now, everyone will recognize the largesse as a wise investment.
Amid the throng of 140,000 trade exhibitors and shoppers at the show in the spring of 2019, a team of North Carolina industrial recruiters sought out Pratt & Whitney representatives and had a moment to chat. Word had gotten out that a major net engine maker was looking to site a major new plant, and the economic development team from the Tar Heel state knew that landing the company would be big.
It was more of a ‘fit and feel’ situation, as much art as science,” Chris Chung, president of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and a leader of the recruiting team in Paris, said in an interview. “We seek out potential industries and meet with their executives. We didn’t know then exactly what they wanted.