Downtown Restroom Facilities

Happening Now

Opening Soon!

The restroom unit was delivered to the site on September 18. Installation, landscaping and inspection work is now taking place.

Fencing is installed around the site to ensure safety on the premises. While the contractor is working on site, the vehicular and pedestrian entry/exit from Rankin Avenue Parking Garage onto College Street is closed. After work is completed each week, the College Street entry/exit to the Rankin Garage is reopened for the weekend. The contractor’s weekly site work ends on either Thursday or Friday, depending on construction scheduling.

Next Milestone: Project Completion

Background

This project is being funded with American Rescue Plan Act Funds. City Council voted at their May 10, 2022 meeting to allocate $650,000 toward the modernization and upgrade of downtown restroom facilities.

The primary goal for the prefabricated restroom facility is to provide a public restroom that is safe and accessible 24/7. A safe, activated downtown urban space with a public restroom in this location will improve urban livability, provide inclusive access to amenities that support public health and cleanliness conditions, and provide flexible opportunities for cultural and economic activity.

Stakeholder groups including homeless service providers, downtown businesses, local residents, the Asheville Downtown Association, Downtown Commission and tourism/hospitality sector representatives have long advocated for additional access to well-maintained public restroom facility.

The prefabricated unit type (i.e. Portland Loo or similar) was selected because of the following:

- It’s durable. The materials and structure are resistant to vandalism and built to last.
- Relative ease and efficiency of maintenance. The design and materials are consistent with industrial use to simplify maintenance and daily care.
- It’s sanitary. The unit is hooked up to water and sewer to support clean restroom and handwashing use.
- It’s ADA accessible.
- It’s designed with elements that promote safety and discourage misuse/illegal activity.
- It’s the most cost effective option for the City to provide 24/7 restroom access on an on-going basis.

The location was selected based on:

- Convenience and visibility (proximity to need)
- Utility access and feasibility
- Location relative to existing public restroom facilities
- ADA accessibility
- Opportunity for improvements to the public space, including public safety and accessibility enhancements
- Not located directly in front of a storefront/business/residential building
- Not displacing existing programming/successful use
- Positive initial feedback received from community members
- Other temporary restrooms put in-place during COVID generated significant negative feedback (Wall Street, Pritchard Park)

The public was invited to provide feedback on conceptual design options for the site through an online survey from 8/10 – 8/26, 2023. The results of the survey are viewable here.

A drop-in public meeting was also held on on Thursday, August 10, 2023. Attendees were invited to provide feedback on the three conceptual design options in order to best support a safe, accessible public space and restroom facility in this location.

At the meeting, City staff along with the design team providing landscape architectural and engineering services and facilitating the purchase of the facility provided background on the project and received feedback on the conceptual design options.

View background information and the concept designs here.

Input received informed the final design concept of the space, viewable below.

Timeline

2022

Site analysis of potential locations

2023

Spring: Consultant selected for design services; conceptual site options developed

Summer: Input opportunity on conceptual design including restroom siting

Fall: Final design development

2024

February: Council approval for restroom purchase and construction contract (see more info)

March: Site work began

Mid 2024:

Construction
The Portland Loo restroom was delivered on September 18 via crane. This is followed by two weeks of installation and inspection work. Shortly thereafter, the restroom facility will open to the public.
Landscaping and final wrap up of project