The series of hot questions today, my smart and genuine treatment:
Question: Good morning, wise man! Can you tell us what’s going on at Jake Rusher Park (also known as Castle Park, located at Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack in Sweeten Creek)? There have been significant ground movements for months, and now it turns out that everything is being built there. Can you also tell the history of this park? A friend told me there was a pool there. One comment: so unhappy to see the empty courtyard for so long. My kids enjoyed this park when they were little. Thanks a lot!
My answer: the threshold of “wise” is remarkably low. And I love it!
Real answer: when all is said and done, it will be good.
“Improvements at Jake Rusher Park began in April and come with new parking lots, sidewalks available, outdoor sports fields, a pavilion and bathroom building, new gardens and progressive lighting,” said Asheville City spokeswoman Polly McDaniel, adding that he funded the city’s bonus program. “The latest innovations on the site come from moving air services to the basement, laying the foundations of the building, and leveling the courts.
The Citizen Times wrote about the proposed updates in May 2018, noting that the allocation was worth $1.3 million.
Also: Answer Man: Long Shoals Bridge Large enough to expand the project? Park closed by school?
The land movement discussed through the reader is due to public sewerage and stormwater services. The task is expected to be completed in early 2021, McDaniel said.
The park has a great history.
“The property, formerly known as the Royal Pines Park-Pool, was owned and operated through Jake Rusher himself,” McDaniel said. “Asheville Parks – Recreation acquired the 5.5-acre park in the early 2000s and replaced the call to honor the original owner. Innovations were based on feedback from neighboring neighborhoods and park visitors.”
More: Response Man: Postal Code Indexed Coronavirus Instances?
In 2006, Citizen Times columnist Carole Currie wrote a glorious column about Royal Pines and Rusher Park. Royal Pines is the forest of Sweeten Creek Road.
“William Phillips Co., from Miami and Asheville, developed Royal Pines, Colonel Blake’s ancestral property of more than 500 acres,” Currie wrote. “Phillips bought the assets in 1924, and in October 1925, developer data indicated that the assets had more than 10 times their original value. For this reason, the masses presented thesettled unless their actual value.”
Currie wrote that the charge is $1,000 or more, which, of course, will cause readers of the overrated Asheville real estate market to shudder. Royal Pines has been listed as “a suburban city in the center of a charming and healthy setting for those who crave life in those captivating mountains.”
“Buyers were promised paved streets and sidewalks, blank water and electric lights. Royal Pines was rated ‘Asheville’s Suburb Supreme’,” Currie wrote. “Royal Pines buyers were even promised their own recreation center, a park containing a swimming pool and a casino. To be sure, many Floridan citizens considered it a smart position for a moment in the cool mountains.”
The Great Depression had other plans, and many of those who had bought land had to abandon it. Finally, Royal Pines saw a renaissance, and the park and pool were built.
“Many other people of my time grew up in Asheville Royal Pines Park,” Currie wrote. “When high school clubs and groups celebrated the end of the year, Royal Pines was the destination. We got hit by buses and then spent the morning at the pool. At lunch we went to the snack bar and ordered sandwiches, fries and then danced to the rock’n’roll music of the record machine. I was never there at night, but in their heyday, notable bands came here to play at Royal Pines and the couples danced all night.”
She argued that Rusher had owned and controlled the park for 30 years, however, as she was older, she needed profits from the park.
“He gave the land to the Trust for Public Land, and the trust, in turn, sold the land to the city of Asheville to a public park,” Currie wrote. “The proceeds from the sale provided him with a source of income until his death.”
Adorable and user who still writes an occasional column for us, Currie finished his column with a beautiful flower.
“The bright lighting fixtures and music in the park have given way to everything else: slides and swings,” Currie said. “It’s something no anti-development user can discuss.”
That’s John Boyle’s opinion. For a question, tap it at 232-5847 or [email protected]