Following is the press release issued on September 17, 2026 by the new owner of the 767 property.

New Chapter Begins for 767 New Haw Creek Road as Local Family Acquires Landmark Haw Creek Property

A new chapter is beginning at 767 New Haw Creek Road in Asheville’s Haw Creek community. The 26-acre property was recently acquired through a family-owned LLC, with Brandon Bryant, President of Alair Asheville | Red Tree, overseeing the property’s renovation, stewardship and long-term planning. 

For Bryant and his family, the acquisition is an opportunity to care for a property with deep roots in Haw Creek while thoughtfully exploring what its next chapter can become. The property includes five existing homes, wooded and open areas, a barn, workshop and other outbuildings. For decades, it was part of a family property and, more recently, became a gathering place for musicians and artists connected to Asheville’s creative community.

“We know we have something special here, and we only get one chance to do this right,” said Bryant. “Our goal is not to erase what has been here. It’s to understand the history of this property, respect the people who have shaped it, and thoughtfully determine what its next chapter can be.”

Restoring What Exists

The immediate focus will be on caring for and restoring the existing property. Bryant and his family plan to renovate three of the existing homes, address deferred maintenance and overgrowth, and restore portions of the land.

Bringing the existing homes back into productive use will also provide an opportunity to contribute to the region’s need for housing while preserving the character and history of the site.

Bryant is beginning work with civil engineering and landscape professionals to evaluate a portion of the property first. Any future plans for the remaining acreage are still in the early stages. “We’re evaluating possibilities, but we’re being very intentional about that process,” Bryant said. “We want to understand the land first - its ecology, its history and its relationship to the surrounding neighborhood.”

Looking Toward the Future

If future development moves forward, Bryant envisions a small-scale, wellness-focused community shaped by the principles behind Alair Asheville | Red Tree’s Wellness Architecture work.

Potential ideas include walking connections, restoration of portions of the property’s wetlands and stream areas, pollinator and community gardens, and shared spaces that encourage connection to nature and one another.“No final plans have been established,” Bryant said. “We want the land itself to be part of the experience and to explore what is possible while being responsible stewards of the property.”

Honoring a Creative Legacy

767 New Haw Creek Road also has a distinctive connection to Asheville’s music community. Over the years, the property served as a home, rehearsal space and creative environment for musicians who went on to make significant contributions to the independent music scene.

Bryant plans to connect with former residents and artists associated with the property to better understand what the place meant to them and explore ways that history can be respected moving forward.

“We’ve heard stories about what this place meant to the people who lived and created here,” Bryant said. “That matters to us. We want to listen, learn and find a way to honor the people, music and creativity that are part of this property’s story.”

The family also plans to build relationships with neighbors and community organizations as the property’s future takes shape. “We have a mission to have a positive, sustainable impact on the community,” Bryant said. “For us, this property is an opportunity to put that mission into practice.”

More information about the property and its future will be shared as plans develop.

About Alair Asheville | Red Tree

Alair Asheville | Red Tree is an Asheville-based custom home building and renovation company focused on exceptional homes through thoughtful design, craftsmanship, transparency and a commitment to the communities in which it works. As part of the Alair Homes network, the company brings nearly two decades of local experience to custom residential construction and renovation, with a growing focus on Wellness Architecture and climate-resilient design.

Haw Creek neighbors along Beverly Road came together to advocate for traffic-calming measures on this busy roadway, one of two main entrances into our valley. Thanks to that effort, City officials have approved the recently installed speed humps, with caution signs expected to be added soon.

While HCCA did not initiate this project, we’re encouraged to see residents speaking up about an issue that matters to our entire community. As Haw Creek continues to grow—with increased business activity, traffic congestion, and more people walking and biking—creating safer streets is an important part of keeping our neighborhood connected and welcoming.

The new speed humps are designed to encourage drivers to slow down, particularly along the downhill stretch of Beverly Road. Along with the soon-to-open New Haw Creek Road sidewalk and the Haw Creek Park Greenway, these improvements represent positive steps toward making it safer and easier for neighbors to get around.

It’s exciting to see community voices, local investment, and thoughtful growth coming together to help keep Haw Creek a safe, connected, and desirable place to live.

On a warm summer morning in August, eight energetic volunteers from HCCA’s Clean & Green Committee came together to tackle an area that had become increasingly overgrown along New Haw Creek Road, primarily in front of the Charlie Bullman ballfields. 

Working together, the volunteers cleared tall grass, weeds, and other unwanted growth, helping to improve the appearance of this well-traveled stretch of our neighborhood. Their work is a great example of what can be accomplished when neighbors are willing to give their time and energy to improve the community we all share.

This effort is also part of a much longer tradition. For more than three decades, Haw Creek residents have volunteered countless hours to keep our neighborhood clean, attractive, and welcoming. Year after year, a long line of dedicated volunteers has stepped forward to address everything from litter and overgrown vegetation to beautification projects and other community improvements.

Addressing the weeds along the new fence on New Haw Creek Road

Many residents have been asking about the weeds growing between the retaining walls and fences recently installed by the City. Unfortunately, the City has not committed to maintaining these areas. Rather than allow the vegetation to become an eyesore, HCCA’s Clean & Green Committee has once again agreed to step in. After the weeds die back this fall, volunteers plan to address these areas and help keep them looking their best. 

In addition, several committee members are in contact with our district DOT staff about the persistent overgrowth of vegetation along the right-of-way on New Haw Creek Road. Because this is a state-maintained road, the community expects—and our tax dollars support—regular maintenance of these areas. Unfortunately, the level of maintenance has not met those expectations in recent years. HCCA will continue to follow up with DOT in hopes of seeing the right-of-way regularly maintained. 

Volunteers make a difference

Maintaining and beautifying Haw Creek is possible because of the dedication and support of our community. Our volunteers generously give their time and talents, while HCCA memberships help provide the resources needed to support projects, programs, and improvements throughout the valley.

If you would like to participate in future Clean & Green projects, we would love to hear from you. No special expertise is required—just a willingness to lend a hand and help make Haw Creek a cleaner, greener, and more beautiful place to live. To get involved, email HCCA at info@hawcreekavl.com.

If you appreciate the work being done in Haw Creek, we invite you to become an HCCA member. Your membership is another meaningful way to invest in our community and help us continue making Haw Creek a beautiful place to call home. Join HCCA today.

The Asheville Police Department (APD) is changing how its Community Resource Officers (CROs) work with neighborhoods, with the goal of strengthening local relationships and improving community-level problem-solving.

New East Asheville CRO

Senior Police Officer Justin Lewis is now serving as the East Asheville Community Resource Officer, replacing Carrie Lee. A Western North Carolina native, Lewis has served with the Asheville Police Department since 2016 and currently works in the Baker District Patrol Division. During his career, he has served as a field training officer and patrol forensics technician and is currently a member of APD’s Crisis Negotiation Team and Peer Support program. 

Community members can reach Lewis at jlewis2@ashevillenc.gov or 828-271-6145. APD’s Community Resource Officers can also be reached at APDCommunityResource@ashevillenc.gov.

CROs Moving Into Patrol Districts

Community policing is a department-wide philosophy at APD. As part of this transition, CROs will move from a centralized office and become embedded directly within their local Patrol Districts. This will allow CROs to work more closely with the beat officers assigned to our neighborhoods.

The goal is to:

• Create greater ownership and accountability at the officer level.
• Provide mentorship and support for newer members of the department.
• Improve communication between CROs and patrol officers.
• Address localized neighborhood concerns more quickly.
• Strengthen collaboration between APD and the communities it serves.

Neighborhoods will still have a dedicated point of contact. This change is intended to enhance and expand APD's commitment to community policing—not reduce it.

New Initiatives

APD is also launching two targeted programs:

• High-Activity Corridors: A dedicated CRO will focus exclusively on high-demand commercial areas including Downtown, Tunnel Road, and Haywood Road, working on targeted problem-solving efforts and partnering with the City’s future co-responder program.

• Housing Authority Policing Team: A new dedicated team will focus entirely on public housing communities, building relationships with residents, property managers, and future resident councils while working to improve safety and quality of life within Housing Authority communities.

Division Changes

Effective July 4, 2026, APD’s Community Engagement Division was renamed the Specialized Operations Division to better reflect its evolving responsibilities. CROs will now become part of the Patrol Division.

The Specialized Operations Division will bring together several key teams and programs to maximize safety and strengthen community partnerships. This division will continue overseeing established community programs such as the Citizens Police Academy, Junior Police Academy, Immersion Academy, and Special Events. 

School Resource Officers and the Traffic Safety Unit will also work together on improving safety around schools. Together, these teams will increase traffic enforcement in school zones, develop new traffic-safety education programs for young people, and work more closely with schools and communities to address traffic concerns.

APD is committed to maintaining and expanding its partnerships with Asheville residents, businesses, schools, neighborhood organizations, and community groups. These changes are intended to broaden its community policing efforts and strengthen connections with residents across Asheville.

The 26-acre property at 767 New Haw Creek Road is currently under contract with a new buyer. The sale is in the due diligence period and is currently expected to close this fall. Once the sale is finalized, the transaction will become public information.

The buyer proactively reached out to the Haw Creek Community Association and met informally with several board members and neighborhood residents. He shared that he leads an Asheville-based residential construction company with nearly two decades of experience building high-performance, sustainable custom homes in the region. He also shared that he intends to live on the property.

Plans for the property are still in the early stages and may evolve as the project moves forward. In his conversation with HCCA and area residents, he emphasized thoughtful residential design, responsible site planning, environmental stewardship, and sensitivity to the property's natural setting.

We recognize that a property of this size is of significant interest to the surrounding community. The prospective buyer has expressed a desire to maintain an open dialogue with neighbors as plans take shape.

Once the sale officially closes and plans become more defined, we expect to be able to provide the community with additional details about the property and what may be planned for the site.

In the meantime, there is more information available on our 767 Development webpage under the Haw Creek Valley tab, which includes links to past news stories related to 767 and a link to a new page that summarizes the property's history.

As part of the City's ongoing sidewalk improvements, the portion of New Haw Creek Road along the entire project area will be milled and resurfaced beginning Friday, August 14.

Resurfacing work will take place on weekdays during daytime work hours, from 7 am to 6 pm and is expected to be completed by Wednesday, August 19, weather permitting. Lane closures are expected during work hours.

Originally, asphalt paving was scheduled as the final construction task. However, because of delays in the concrete work, the City decided to move the asphalt work forward and complete it before school resumes. This will help minimize disruptions to school traffic and allow the contractor to make the most efficient use of the longer summer work hours.

What’s Next

Work will continue on the remaining sidewalk installation. The contractor will also install pedestrian guardrails along portions of the sidewalk where there is an unsafe drop-off. The City’s code includes specific requirements for slopes and elevation changes adjacent to walking surfaces, and the guardrails will be installed in accordance with those requirements.

Beginning Thursday, August 20, when the school year resumes, the contractor will return to a work schedule with no lane closures from 7–9 am and 2–6 pm. This schedule is intended to minimize impacts during peak school-traffic periods.

The project remains on track for completion by the end of 2026.

The City of Asheville is updating its Traffic Calming Policy and is asking residents to weigh in on how the policy should guide future traffic calming requests and treatments.

The revised policy is intended to provide clearer direction for community members seeking traffic calming measures in their neighborhoods, as well as for City staff responding to those requests.

As part of the update, the City is gathering public feedback through an online survey. Residents can identify and rank priorities for the revised policy, weigh potential trade-offs, and share their experiences with traffic calming in their neighborhoods.

Residents are encouraged to take the survey and share it with others who may be interested in the policy update.

Feedback from the survey will be reviewed by City staff and the project consultant and will help inform the development of the updated Traffic Calming Policy.

Take the Traffic Calming Policy survey.

For additional information and project updates visit PublicInput’s Asheville Traffic Calming project page.

Read the City’s existing Traffic Calming Policy.

On June 1, 11 volunteers descended on the East Asheville Library to fill the three concrete planter boxes out front with over 400 native plant plugs — and despite this summer's drought, the meadow is establishing beautifully, thanks to a dedicated crew who've kept up watering duty ever since.

This project, dubbed Earthworms and Bookworms Unite, is a collaboration between HCCA and the Friends of the East Asheville Library. All plants are natives, grown for us by Wildbud Natives, and planted in a meadow-style design meant to attract native pollinators right in the heart of the neighborhood.

What used to be bare concrete boxes are now on their way to becoming a thriving, buzzing patch of habitat—proof that even small spaces can do real ecological work when a community shows up for them.

The City of Asheville has posted an update to our New Haw Creek Road sidewalk project.  Please read on for a progress report and update on summer hours for lane closures:

Current Progress and Next Steps

The New Haw Creek Sidewalk project continues to move along and remains on track for completion in late 2026. We're happy to report that the project team has reached significant milestones:

• Underground Stormwater Work: 100% Completed
  
• Retaining Walls: Nearly finished
  
• What's Next: Crews will transition into surface work (which means we will start seeing the actual sidewalk take shape!)
  

Summer Schedule Changes (Starting June 11)

To accelerate construction progress while school is out, the contractor will implement longer lane closure hours throughout the summer months. When schools start again in August, the contractor will resume the normal schedule with no lane closures from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.

We appreciate your continued patience and caution while driving through the work zone as we build a safer, more walkable community!

Questions?

Contact us by reaching out to the Capital Projects Division Manager, Dustin Clemens, at dclemens@ashevillenc.gov.

Connect Buncombe leadership recently presented the Haw Creek Community Association with a $5,000 contribution to support the development of the Haw Creek Park Greenway. The check presentation took place on Wednesday, April 22, at the East Asheville Library.

Beyond their financial support, the Connect Buncombe team has played an important role in the project’s early stages. Their guidance and expertise have been especially valuable as we worked through initial planning and development efforts.