Asheville Commercial Real Estate For Sale — 101 Coxe Ave: A Sign of the Times

There’s a commercial property sitting right in the heart of downtown Asheville — on 101 Coxe Avenue, in the South Slope brewery district — that has been on the market for quite some time with no takers yet. This is more than a real estate listing. It’s a mirror reflecting some harsh truths about Asheville’s future, its recent struggles, and the kind of community we’ve become.

This 14,840‑square‑foot commercial building — zoned for commercial use, right where breweries, bars, restaurants, and experience‑driven hospitality once hummed day and night — now sits in limbo.

What This Building Represents

This building is prime — central location within walking distance of downtown tourism, surrounded by breweries and restaurants, and in a neighborhood once heralded as the next big thing in Asheville commercial growth. But despite that, there’s been no decisive investment here. That tells you something deeper than a moment on the market.

This property is a sign of the times.

It reflects a broader pattern in Asheville’s economy — one that’s been hit by a brutal series of setbacks:

• COVID‑19 Era Shocks — The pandemic shuttered small businesses and slashed tourism, devastating the very lifeblood of our local economy. Restaurants, breweries, and service businesses that once drew crowds every night suddenly faced existential threats.
• Hurricane Helene’s Devastation — In late 2024, Hurricane Helene pummeled Asheville, flooding major cultural and tourism districts like the River Arts District, wiping out shops, galleries, studios, and brewery infrastructure. Many businesses lost buildings and inventory, and some owners are still grappling with insurance claims, staff shortages, and uncertain futures.
• Eroding Brewery Anchor — Breweries were once one of Asheville’s most profitable cultural experiences — contributing hundreds of millions to the local economy and providing thousands of jobs. But with closures and ongoing recovery, that backbone is tenuous at best.
• Disconnected Political Leadership — Much of Asheville’s political leadership lacks firsthand experience with true, ground-level community building. Instead of serving as bridge builders, too many have taken sides, reinforced divisions, and made partial decisions that leave entire sections of the City and County without meaningful representation — or hope. When policy is driven by ideology instead of empathy and equity, the result is a growing gap between those in power and those most affected by their choices.

Why This Once Promising Corridor Is Struggling

There was a time when Asheville was the story. A mountain town with unique character, culinary innovation, breweries competing to be the next great pint, and an arts scene that drew the world to its doorstep. Tourism became a major part of the economy — visitors now account for nearly 20% of Buncombe County’s GDP — and that visitor economy used to feel unstoppable.

But over time, something fractured:

• Community Politicking & Division — Instead of rallying behind shared growth, factions emerged. Instead of celebrating restaurants, breweries, and shops that succeeded, territorialism and local competition created distrust.
• “Copycat” Follower Politics — Rather than envisioning original paths and lifting each other up, too many groups doubled down on insular thinking and reactive posturing.
• Non‑Profit and Media Gamesmanship — Instead of leveraging resources to truly build community resilience, too often organizations competed for headlines, grants, and positioning rather than collaboration. Non-profit and grant scamming has even turned true journalism into propaganda, distorting narratives and eroding public trust in the process.
• Tourism Gatekeeping & Detached Leadership — Asheville’s governing and leadership structure at times feels distant from the real engine of the city: small businesses, artisans, restaurateurs, brewery founders, and the service professionals whose incomes depended on the city’s vibrancy.

This isn’t nostalgia talking — the statistics bear it out. A building like 101 Coxe Ave, in a once‑highly coveted district, not selling is not normal in a thriving market. It is a symbol of how uncertainty, fractured purpose, and a lack of strategic vision can stall momentum.

When We Stopped Lifting One Another Up

There was a day when Asheville looked out for one another. A time when local success was celebrated, not resented. When a new restaurant launch or brewery expansion was for the benefit of the whole, not just a clique. When tourism growth was a shared blessing, not a begrudged burden.

Churches once poured energy into community support, yet too often today it is now directed outward — to faraway struggles — and to profit themselves, while the family next door, the struggling people stuck in a mental health crisis, or the shuttered elderly go unattended. Then protesters rally for lands far away, but cannot love their neighbor and practice what they preach here.

That contrast isn’t just sad — it’s a failure of community imagination. It reflects a fundamental truth: you can protest for the world’s needs, but if you cannot care for your neighbor, you have missed the core of what community even means.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

Because what we’re doing isn’t working.

It’s tempting to despair — to see 101 Coxe Ave as just another empty building waiting for a buyer who may never come. But there’s another way forward, and it starts with leadership that does not divide, but unites; that does not hoard opportunity, but cultivates it.

A comeback requires:

1. Shared Vision & Leadership

We need community decision‑makers who are willing to unify disparate voices — small business owners, service workers, artists, brewers, and residents — around a shared strategy for growth that serves everyone, not just a select few.

2. Cooperative Investment

Instead of exclusionary politics, Asheville needs to bring stakeholders together — public and private — to collectively build economic opportunities (including restoring and reinvesting).

3. Real Support for Local Business

We should be cheering when someone succeeds — and helping when someone struggles — because every small business is part of the greater whole that drives tourism, culture, jobs, and vision.

4. Re‑Centering Community Values

Asheville can thrive again if it remembers what made it special: authentic hospitality, creativity, inclusivity, and people working with one another despite differences.

A Hopeful Vision for the Future

This isn’t fantasy. Communities across the country have faced similar crises — natural disasters, economic downturns, fractured politics — and chosen cooperation over competition. They rebuilt together. They shared resources. They centered mutual respect and collaboration. Asheville can do the same.

Imagine if we channeled the energy used to fight one another into building up the entire ecosystem. What if the breweries, restaurants, artists, commercial developers, nonprofits, and government leaders formed a council — not to protect turf and exclude, but to plan a future that works for everyone?

What if 101 Coxe Ave became a symbol of rebirth, not abandonment? A place that attracts new talent, investment, and vision — a hub where community is the priority?

That’s not only possible — it’s necessary. And it starts with people choosing to believe in Asheville again.

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