| |
Sandra Walker
Listening to Sandra Walker, there isn’t a doubt in my mind
that this perky tarheel miss must have been an Edneyville High ball
of fire. That red hair tinsels and those eyes twinkle as she rapid
fires her adventures, “I was in everything I could be in;
athletics, sports, basketball, chorus, FHA and Junior Marshall my
junior year.” Today, with that same enthusiasm, she does flowers.
I stopped by one summer afternoon to ask Sandra how things were
getting along on 7th Avenue, once the only business district in
Hendersonville. In that section of town, Mrs. Walker knows what’s
going on, past and present. Now the owner of Southern Traditions
Florist on 7th Avenue, she has been donating lots of her time to
the non-profit Historic 7th Avenue District and to the Merchants
Association. It was interesting to hear the stories of businesses
old and new. Some had colorful owners. All, including Wilson Pharmacy’s
soda fountain (located where Sandra’s flower shop is now)
left early Henderson County residents with life long memories, great
experiences that Sandra Walker believes should not be relegated
to faded photo albums. 7th Avenue has a place in modern Hendersonville
history and she and other visionaries tirelessly pursue that goal.
To their credit, this small band of urban renewalists has made quite
a difference on 7th Avenue. Due to their efforts the litter has
been removed, attractive lighting has been installed, sidewalk bond
money was used to repair and build sidewalks and a special tax district
was created to help beautify and maintain the district. According
to Sandra, though, they still have a long way to go. Part of the
problem is perception. There is still a perception that given 7th
Avenue’s proximity to the rescue mission, federal housing
and the tracks, it is a less than desirable location, location,
location. That doesn’t deter 7th Avenue’s number one
cheerleader.
“There is so much potential here, gift shops, barber shops
the historic train depot, businesses for people of color, and they
have ignored us. We need restaurants to open here. Trying to revitalize
an area, that is really too large a job for a small group of business
people—It should be the City Council revitalizing an area
of the city with us helping them instead of visa versa. They don’t
want urban sprawl to happen but yet they promote it by promoting
development east of I-26 and forgetting closer in to town like here
and the south end of town.”
Recent decisions by City Council have given fuel to her belief that
they are ignored. Landowners have requested that all property between
Four Seasons Blvd and 7th Avenue be zoned commercial so that more
commercial infrastructure could be built. “Just because it
is zoned commercial does not mean the homeowner has to sell, it
just means that it can be used for commercial and will be worth
more.”
Rules and regulations regarding the appearance and safety of buildings
are being ignored. “If a property owner can’t keep up
his building--no wiring, no heat, no plumbing--then he should sell
it. Perhaps it could be future apartments. Condemned buildings need
a certain amount of time to be fixed up or torn down. There should
be a regulation against windows and doors boarded up all the time.
It’s not allowed to happen on Main Street.”
Her greatest dissatisfaction, though, lies with Council’s
decisions to give up approval of alcohol sales on 7th Avenue. If
the truth were known, the merchants would prefer that no alcohol
sales take place on 7th Avenue to discourage sidewalk consumption.
Given the unlikelyhood of that happening, at the least they expect
liquor sales to be carefully controlled and regulated. Sandra believes
all licenses should be approved by City Council.
Despite all the trials, Sandra is still ever the optimist for her
side of town. She’s been north of the Mason/Dixon line plenty
of times and knows there are some good ideas there that would work
here. “Keep it [growth] here, I just came back from N.Y. City—all
the businesses are in the bottom, the people live up above and people
walk everywhere. Let’s do that here and leave the county alone.
I’m a native of here and I agree. This is the city, this is
where businesses should be. Make the trolley work, put apartments
upstairs, and make it work here.”
Any visionary venture capitalists out there?
Now the merchant’s goals include better lighting for better
safety, encouraging merchants and property owners to keep their
properties attractive, promoting 7th Avenue for future business
and improving the public’s perception of 7th Avenue.
To my readers: If you ever wonder if I get
comments on these columns, I do occasionally. What are your thoughts
on the matter?
Email
Eva
 *The
opinions stated in this page are those of Ms. Eva Ritchey and do
not necessarily represent the views of CyTech Computers & Internet
Solutions, Inc. |
