Ten Feet Up the Wall: How Asheville's River Arts District Is Rebuilding Two Years After Helene

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  September 23, 2026

The flood mark at Local Cloth remains more than 10 feet up the walls. Nearly two years later, that mark is becoming part of a permanent fiber-art installation by the community.

Founder Judi Jetson is coordinating the WaterLine Project. Individual pieces of fiber art will trace the exact height Helene's water reached around the studio. The dedication is set for the two-year mark since the storm.

She remembers the days immediately after Helene. Red rubber boots, mud thick on the drive and the sidewalk, a blown-in window, and most of what was left inside covered in mud. Local Cloth reopened last August, and Jetson says the same community now contributing to the project played a major role in supporting artists after the devastation, with thousands of people coming to support them. (Source: https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-river-arts-district-helene-recovery-artists-creative-campus-radfest)

What the district lost

The River Arts District's buildings sit in a floodplain. The district grew out of mills, tanneries and warehouses built along the French Broad in the late 1800s, then filled with artists starting in the 1980s who converted the vacant industrial space into studios. In 2024, Helene brought significant flooding to the district, impacting a significant portion of studios and businesses.

Artist Spencer Beals says a lot of the affordable studios were in Riverview Station and Foundation Studios, and the district lost a lot of its affordable studios. Highwater Clays, the Riverside Drive clay manufacturer that served artists across the Southeast and nationally, ceased operations following significant storm impacts to both its Asheville and Florida operations. Cotton Mill Studios, one of the oldest and largest studio buildings in the district, needed more than a year of remediation and rebuilding before artists could return. (Sources: https://artsavl.org/the-river-arts-district-past-present-and-what-comes-next/ and https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-river-arts-district-artists-rising-rents-threaten-recovery-hurricane-tropical-storm-helene-creative-community-rad-rebuild-studios)

A flood-safe Creative Campus

The biggest plan on the table is the Creative Campus. The River Arts District Artists Foundation is under contract to acquire property on Lyman Street to establish a new, flood-safe creative campus. The site covers about four acres.

RADA President Jeffrey Burroughs says the plan centers on five areas, including affordable studio and creative manufacturing space, workforce development and investing in artists. Classrooms and apprenticeships would teach both creative and business skills, then pass them down to the next generation. Organizers also hope to build a performance space.

The plan includes a resiliency hub as part of the campus so the district is prepared for the next storm, Burroughs says. It also includes a permanent welcome center as a starting point for visitors, pointing them toward artists and places to explore across the district. Burroughs says Helene made worse a lot of challenges the district already knew about, and the community has put this project at the forefront. A capital campaign is underway. (Sources: https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-river-arts-district-helene-recovery-artists-creative-campus-radfest and https://wlos.com/news/local/river-arts-district-artists-foundation-north-carolina-wnc-rad-plan-new-flood-safe-creative-space-hurricane-helene-building-campus-creative-economy-community)

The new obstacle is rent

Recovery has brought its own problem. Beals says the loss of studio buildings during the storm has significantly reduced the amount of affordable space available in the district.

Beals paid about $400 a month for studio space before Helene. He now pays more than $1,000. He says affordable studios are the most important thing to artists, and he worries about talented people paying rent through the service industry who could really have wings if given the opportunity.

Elizabeth Schussler found the same thing when she went looking for space. The rates ran about three times what she was thinking when she started renting there. She is glad to see tourists and locals coming out, but says gas prices and everything else are going up, and no one is not feeling it. (Source: https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-river-arts-district-artists-rising-rents-threaten-recovery-hurricane-tropical-storm-helene-creative-community-rad-rebuild-studios)

Who is back and what is changing

Walk the district today and you will find a mix of reopened spaces, active construction and buildings changing hands. RAD Rendezvous has become a central hub with studio space and a flexible public-facing environment. At Wedge Studios, Summit Coffee reopened in a shared space with Joyful Noise Hi-Fi, combining café, music and gathering space.

The Marquee in the Foundy area is open again. Before the storm it housed hundreds of artists, makers, vintage collectors and creative vendors in a 50,000-square-foot former industrial building, and its reopening brings back an important visitor anchor for the district. Village Potters, formerly in Riverview Station, reopened in a new location. Molten Made, a fine art foundry that lost its original studio in 2024, is developing a new studio space while staying active through community events and partnerships.

Some of the largest properties are in transition. Riverview Station is entering a new phase under the ownership of GBX Group, with a preservation-focused redevelopment moving forward. Burial Beer Co. acquired Curve Studios for a mixed-use redevelopment with riverfront access. A fire recently hit the former Asheville Waste Paper Company building at 304 Lyman Street, intended as the new home of Salvage Station, though plans are still moving forward.

In 2026, USA Today named the River Arts District one of the top arts districts in the country. Potential passenger rail station locations are also being explored in or near the district as part of the Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Corridor, with additional study work planned through 2027. (Source: https://artsavl.org/the-river-arts-district-past-present-and-what-comes-next/)

RADfest returns in November

The third annual RADfest is set for November 14 and 15. This year adds a free LaZoom shuttle from downtown Asheville into the district, with a live band on board.

RADA board member Carol Spagnuola says the hope is that tourists and locals alike come to the district, have a great time and support the economy, because it is important to lead into the winter months that way. (Source: https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-river-arts-district-helene-recovery-artists-creative-campus-radfest)

 

Frequently Asked Questions

When is RADfest in Asheville?

The third annual RADfest is set for November 14 and 15 in Asheville's River Arts District. This year organizers are adding a free LaZoom shuttle from downtown Asheville into the district with a live band on board, according to River Arts District Artists board member Carol Spagnuola.

What is the River Arts District Creative Campus?

The Creative Campus is a planned flood-safe home for artists that the River Arts District Artists Foundation is under contract to acquire on Lyman Street. The site covers about four acres. Plans include affordable studio and creative manufacturing space, classrooms and apprenticeships, a resiliency hub for future storms, a permanent welcome center and a possible performance space. A capital campaign is underway.

Is the River Arts District open after Helene?

Yes. Many studios and businesses have reopened, including Local Cloth, Cotton Mill Studios, Summit Coffee at Wedge Studios, the Marquee in the Foundy area and Village Potters in a new location. Some anchors are still in transition, including Riverview Station under new ownership and Curve Studios under redevelopment by Burial Beer Co.