Hedy Fischer and Gail McCarthy have been in Asheville since the late 1970s and, along with their artist husbands, played critical roles in the evolution of the River Arts District from a neglected, polluted wasteland of warehouses into the thriving arts and commerce destination it is today. They also have thoughts on whether the scales of progress for the neighborhood have tipped too far.

Today is the first in a two-part conversation with Fischer and McCarthy, along with Stephanie Monson Dahl, the city’s manager of Urban Design, Place Strategies, and Long Range Planning. 

We talk about how 2010 marked a key turning point for the district and how vision and investments from the city and key developers turned the tide. We talk about the differing impacts of hotel vs. residential development there, managing traffic in the RAD and whether building owners beyond McCarthy and Fischer are as committed to offering artists affordable workspaces.

The second half of this conversation posts Thursday, June 20.

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