Where Creativity Meets Community
by Pat Barcas –
It’s been a long journey since the Riverview Station building was erected in 1902.
The gateway to the River Arts District is as strong as ever, with the owners casting a maternal instinct over the artist community housed in the large warehouse on Lyman Street.
Helaine Greene purchased the building in 1996 with her sister Trudy Gould after occupying 40,000 square feet of it for several years with their candle making business, Candle Station. The River Arts District wasn’t even a concept yet, and the area cast a post-industrial, unfriendly vibe. The building was largely vacant, with barbed wire fencing circling it.
“We could feel the excitement of that past industrial age, and just that sense of making something here,” said Greene, who presently manages the building and its 60 artists, craftspeople and entrepreneurs. “It had something special to it.”
They sold Candle Station in 2004, which allowed the sisters to focus on the aging building, which Greene said needed care and updating. The roof was replaced at considerable expense, and infrastructure updated, but she said overall it’s been a good investment.
“For us, the way we approached our life and our business was, opportunities came to us and we had a choice to either say yes, or not say yes. We always looked at each other and thought, ‘We can do this.’”
Pride shows in Greene’s face as she describes the tenants in her building, which she watches over and nurtures to their full potential. These are working artists and people who teach and help create things, companies such as Mountain Glass Arts, which employs 23 people and supplies high quality glass blowing artistry supplies to the glass blowers of Asheville.
“We were very fortunate to rent a space to them, we’re just thrilled to have them there because they employ so many people, and they’re an art support business. It’s in tune with what’s going on in the rest of the building as well,” she said.
Tenants will tell Greene their needs, and she always tries to be flexible and accommodating, with no set building hours and a hands off approach. This allows the building to stay at capacity, and grows the local artist community by proxy.
“It’s a real working relationship with everyone here. It’s been real special to build this community. For Trudy and me, it’s more than just real estate we’re renting out. It’s a sense of building community and supporting artists. We feel passionate about helping people build their dreams, and we’re supportive of that,” said Greene.
She said there’s very few original owners of art space in the RAD, and she’s not interested in selling, saying she doesn’t want the building to turn into strictly a high rent gallery, or even a brewery.
“I feel like there’s enough breweries. What would that really add? Owning this building was always very exciting and it still is today, to me,” she said. “I don’t think that when we purchased the building that we ever had the idea that it would ever blossom into what it’s become.”
Riverview Station
191 Lyman, Asheville, NC, 28801
(828) 231-7120
www.riverviewstation.com
