Asheville’s Haw Creek Community Association (HCCA) was formed in 1983 in response to proposed development neighbors felt was out of character with the neighborhood, and a desire to ensure residents had a say about the future of their community. HCCA is a 501 C-3 (non-profit) incorporated in 1984.
Haw Creek is located in a beautiful valley in East Asheville. Its boundaries are US Highway 70/Tunnel Road at I-240 ending at Groce Methodist Church on Tunnel Road. It was settled in the early 1700s and named for the many Hawthorne trees that grew along the banks of area creeks.
A farming community in the early years, Haw Creek has two main entrances and very narrow roads throughout our valley. The lack of public right of way has resulted in a main concern for residents – no sidewalks on its two main roads, New Haw Creek and Old Haw Creek, or along our many side roads.
With over 7,000 households, including affordable apartments, single family, townhomes and condos, Haw Creek has always been a very diverse neighborhood. While it is rural in character, it is within 15 minutes of the Asheville Mall, Blue Ridge Parkway, downtown Asheville and main highways, which makes Haw Creek a very desirable place to live. The community has excellent schools – Haw Creek Elementary School and Evergreen Charter School, plus churches, and the East Asheville Rec Club with tennis courts, swim team, and swimming pool.
It has an activist neighborhood association, with many members serving on committees for City Council and efforts to improve our community, such as working to get a new library. The Association provides support to other neighborhoods with concerns or needs because of our members’ experience working with the city, county and state Legislators on many community issues.
Association activities include yard sales, an ice cream social, pot luck supper, Cider Fest, annual barbecue, National Night Out and a “Haw Creek Litter Brigade” to pick up litter. To stay in touch residents use NextDoor.com and have an active Facebook page, newly designed web page (hawcreeknc.wordpress.com) and Twitter. Each quarter board members deliver welcome kits to new residents that contain information on schools and churches, garbage collection and how to contact the police. Our goal is to make new residents feel welcome so they get involved. Newcomers also receive a copy of our current newsletter with information about upcoming Association events. The newsletter goes out quarterly to our email list of over 600 people. The summer issue is mailed to all residents of Haw Creek.
The Association meets at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 290 Old Haw Creek Road, where it has been meeting since it was formed. The annual meeting is held in January.
The Association will be asking all Haw Creek residents to participate in a vision process as part of the updating of the City of Asheville Comprehensive Plan. We want to have a say in what Haw Creek looks like in the future for things like the location of businesses and how to improve traffic flow.
Haw Creek is a great place to live and raise families, but to make it even better we need all the residents to belong and participate in this organization. That is the goal of the Haw Creek Community Association.