Aloft hotel opening marks great public/private partnership

Beneath the bright and festive décor of the Aloft Hotel, which marked its grand opening Thursday, lies the City of Asheville’s most recent addition to its parking facilities. The 404-space parking garage is the fourth downtown deck operated by the City of Asheville and was built at considerable savings to the city thanks to a partnership with hotel developers McKibbon Group.

“It’s a great day here in Asheville,” said Mayor Terry Bellamy at Thursday’s ceremonial ribbon cutting. “We are happy to have a good community partner, and we appreciate the investment in our community.”

That partnership resulted in construction savings to the city of $2.66 million and design collaboration meant retaining maximum storefront potential along Biltmore Avenue.

The new garage addresses a need for additional parking identified in a 2008 parking study.

“This gives us additional parking that was sorely needed and identified for years,” the Mayor said.

Entrances to the parking garage can be found on Biltmore and Lexington Avenues. Parking is free for the first hour and $1.00 per hour thereafter. Monthly spaces are available by contacting the city’s Parking Services at (828) 259-5437.

For more information about the City of Asheville’s Parking Services, click here.