News

Ask Matt ... about new buildings, vacant lots

By Matt Matteson, Published: June 27, 2016

Q. What’s up with the lot next to the Opportunity House they just cleared?

Commercial real estate broker Jeff Justus is marketing the one-acre tract. There is interest but no deals yet. The lot is next to a former bank that has been closed for years. Justus bought the property in August 2015 for $300,000 from Fred Niehoff before his death. The former mayor and his wife, Caroline, operated the old Mountain Aire Motel on the property before they retired and moved to Bluffton, S.C.

Q. What’s that going up on the corner of Kanuga Road and Erkwood Drive?

I’m told that Kirby Johnson will open a produce market for locally grown vegetables on low-lying land he filled. Johnson, owner of Flavor 1st in Mills River, is one of the largest commercial vegetables growers in the region.

Q. What’s the status on the land Park Ridge Hospital bought on Seventh Avenue?

Park Ridge bought five acres across from Lowes in 2014 and promptly bulldozed the old movie theater. Park Ridge officials tell me they still want to build a doctors office complex there when the timing is right.

Q. What happened to Blue Ridge Bedding on White Street where they are building Publix?

Larry Holbert bought the metal building for $20,000. It was actually on Market Street across from TD Bank near the Fresh Market. The structural steel is good but Holbert said he will need a new metal roof. Plans are to re-erect the 14,000 sq. ft. building in Mountain Home for some future business. The Pro Source plumbing supply building is still on the Publix site but it too will eventually come down. Pro Source plans to move the operation to Locust Street near Southern Appalachian Brewery. Hey, if you like the street name Market Street, it just may be available for reuse since the old street will now be covered by the Publix store.

Q. Where will they put the new Post Office that will replace the one on Fifth Avenue West?

U.S. Postal Service officials say that a “project determination letter” will be made public in the next few weeks with subsequent details on a location. There are no plans to close any of the other post offices in the county. The new post office will be a leased facility, as are the other 10 local post offices.

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Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.