Main Street Balcony To Disappear Soon From Skyland Hotel Building

The historically refreshed balcony will be open to the private use of the second-floor condominium owner, who currently has access to the structure.

Commissioners approved a certificate of appropriateness allowing workers to demolish the enclosure, which was added to the 36-foot-by-20-foot concrete balcony in the 1970s. The stair and stair-landing patio area of the hotel will also be removed in the restoration.

The commission approved the project designed by Glazer Architecture of Asheville to restore the terrace to its original form, adding three awnings, uniform in color and design, to either side of the open balcony.

Chris Rogers of Glazer Architecture told the board that the railing of the terrace, as pictured in photographs dating back to the 1940s, will be restored.

“From what we can tell, the concrete floor is substantially intact,” he said, adding that they will restore the balcony’s original drain system. The unpainted concrete will be finished with a masonry coating.

Rogers said they propose simple-fixed canvas awnings to go along the five-inch limestone band, which currently runs at the top of the building’s first-floor windows.

Shopkeepers Sue Green, of the Living Room Coffee Shop, and Skip Sawyer, of State Farm Insurance — who occupy two of the three businesses which operate on the first floor of the building — expressed concern over the awnings. The two asked if the awnings would limit the visibility of their current signage.