West Asheville
West Asheville- Once its own town, separated from Asheville proper by the French Broad River, it is now what’s referred to as the funkie part of Asheville. It’s one of the few true walker friendly parts of town, a place where you could easily live without having to drive everywhere- convenient cycling distance to downtown; it is also served by the local bus service. Many local restaurants, grocers, bakeries, schools, library, police & fire are all located within the 2 mile stretch of Haywood Road. Like much of Asheville, you will find outstanding, award winning restaurants, The Admiral, SunnyPoint Café and Nona Mia strive to support farms and companies by using locally grown, organic when possible. There is a strong sense of community here and the spirit of cooperation is the very essence of what makes West Asheville so unique.
People of all ages, income levels and ethnic backgrounds have replaced most of the blue collar workers who used to make up much of the population of West Asheville. The movie theaters, department stores and trolley cars that lined Haywood Road have been replaced by independent restaurants, alternative health practitioners, artisans and pubs serving our famous local microbrews. Sidewalks are filled with walkers, runners and strollers and the bank parking lot for Tuesday’s Tailgate Market is filled to capacity with vendors and buyers of local products. And our office, located in a little brick building sits right in the middle of all that is West Asheville..jpg)
Several years ago West Asheville became “the” place to live, perhaps fueled on by being named #1 Eco-Friendly City in the US by Natural Home Magazine in 2007. It continues today- with older homes undergoing renovations and seemingly endless additions to the already impressive collection of ECO friendly and GREEN built homes. Malvern Hills, Gaia and Westwood Intentional Community are just a few on the neighborhoods that reflect the uniqueness that is West Asheville.
A few miles west on Smokey Park Hwy-19/23, you’ll find Biltmore Lake, Enka and Candler- three very different communities. Enka was once a mill area with the traditional mill houses clustered around the factory that was in turn nestled next to Enka Lake. Around 2005, Enka Lake became Biltmore Lake and Biltmore Lake the community was born. Today it boasts almost 600 residences with plans to add, over time, an additional 300+, making it the largest community in all of Buncombe County. Candler is further west on 19/23 and offers a very rural feel, with opportunities for moderately priced developments, large parcels of land, less restrictive zoning and wide open views of Mount Pisgah.
