Asheville musicians' Haw Creek homes face demolition; say artists 'getting squeezed out'

ASHEVILLE - Driving up the Haw Creek valley, an expansive meadow, a small stream and four mid-20th century homes sit as if time had passed them by — stuck in a different era, when Haw Creek was full of farms and open fields.

These homes off of New Haw Creek Road have provided a refuge for Asheville-based musicians and artists, including Colin Miller.

In 2010, Colin Miller moved into one of the homes with his family and has been living there since. He has seen multiple Asheville-based musicians and bands record and live in the homes, many of them using the meadow, forest and valley views as inspiration for their lyrics, music and art.

Yet, this bucolic setting could soon change.

After the death of the property's owners — Margaret and Gary King — the land at 767 New Haw Creek Road was put under contract by the Asheville-based L.B. Jackson and Co. for $3.4 million. The Kings' will stipulates the land should be sold for the highest market value and the proceeds donated to charity. Margaret King died in 2018 and Gary King died in 2022.

In November, a plan to demolish the homes and replace them with 95 new homes was revealed. The proposal has been met with opposition and shock from some in the Haw Creek community in East Asheville. The proposal will be voted on during the April 23 City Council meeting.

Miller will live at the property with two other musicians, Karly Hartzman and Jake Lenderman, until the end of the month, as the musicians and artists that lived on the property face the rising costs of Asheville's rental market.

'A pretty incredible friendship'

Miller said he moved into one of the homes with his family when he was just 15, and over the years, while making music, he formed a close friendship with the Kings, calling them "family." They shared Thanksgivings together and spent time hanging out as the 77-year-old Gary King sat in an old chair in his car port or on the front lawn.

"The simple act of being there created a pretty incredible friendship," Miller said of his relationship with the Kings, who didn't have children of their own.

Hartzman moved onto the property in 2019 and wrote a song dedicated to the land and her landlord titled "Gary's Place." Her band, called Wednesday, was recently featured on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series and its most recent album, "Rat Saw God," was listed as one of the best albums released in 2023 by several major music outlets, including Rolling Stone.

"He cared for all of us genuinely like a family member," Hartzman wrote to the Citizen Times.

'Those places are definitely disappearing'

Using his living room as a recording space and bedroom as a control booth, Miller began recording full live bands in his house with Asheville-based singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza's first record, "I Love My Mom."

A few of the songs Miller helped record on the property, including "Take Off Ur Pants" and "What Are We Gonna Do Now," have garnered millions of listens on streaming platforms. Though no longer recording in the Haw Creek home, De Souza has since gone on to critical acclaim and popularity.

Since then, Miller's been able to record artists working on a smaller budget at the house, alongside touring and playing drums in Lenderman's band, MJ Lenderman.

Lewis Dahm, a musician who lived on the property until last October, said the rental situation made creating art easier.

"That sort of situation where you're paying like $450 a month makes it a lot more doable," Dahm said. "And those places are definitely disappearing."

Property must be sold for highest price, proceeds go to charity

The Kings chose two close friends — Clint Gorman and Jaime Head — to carry out their last wishes with the property.

Harry Burnette, Margaret King's father, died in 2013, and wished for the land to be sold and the proceeds donated to charity, Gorman said.

Margaret King intended to follow through with Burnette's wishes. Her will, which was obtained by the Citizen Times, stipulated that after the Kings passed away, the land would be sold to "maximize value received."

Once the land is sold, the will indicates proceeds will go to the residuary estate and specifically given to the "Harry and Mary Burnette and Margaret and Gary King Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina."

The Burnettes and Kings had selected multiple children's charities as the recipients of the land sale's proceeds, Gorman said.

"The long-term service that money is going to provide to children's charities is just as important as the meadow along New Haw Creek," Gorman said.

The Kings probably wouldn't like the current 95-home plan, Gorman said, but change is inevitable.

The sale of the property has been met with criticism that "Harry Burnette would be rolling in his grave," even though it was his wish for the land to be sold, and that the King family is selling to "get rich quick," despite the fact that the proceeds will go to charity, Gorman said.

Gorman called the claims "misinformation," as the Kings don't have any direct surviving family and they knew the sale would lead to the land changing hands.

"I would want it to stay exactly the same as it is, too, but that's just not how it works," Gorman said of the property, wishing he could allow Miller, Hartzman and Lenderman to remain on the land.

Kevin Jackson, with L.B. Jackson and Co., said discussion with the Haw Creek Community Association continues as the development company tries to address community concerns about the project.

Asheville artists 'getting squeezed out'

A 2021 Dogwood Health Trust study reported that Buncombe County faces a nearly 7,699 unit long-term rental gap. Fair Market Rent for one-bedroom apartments in the area is now around $1,500, which is the highest in the state since 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Even as others around town raised rents, the Kings kept theirs affordable, Miller said. He paid just over $300 a month to live on the property with three roommates.

"Witnessing our friends go through it just like: 'Oh they're selling my house' or they're like 'They just raised the rent for no reason, and now I can't live in Asheville city limits," Miller said of fellow musicians in Asheville.

After the project was announced, and facing the prospect of a steep rent increase in Asheville, Hartzman and Lenderman made the decision to move to Greensboro once their lease is up at the end of the month.

"I refuse to pay rent prices in Asheville as they are now," Hartzman wrote to the Citizen Times.

Hartzman and her housemates at her Haw Creek home paid $375 — a price that is unlikely to be found anywhere in Asheville.

"It really sucks. I wish I could come back to my home base and favorite place on earth," Hartzman said, hoping the developer chooses to "do something nice for the community with the land."

Dahm, who moved off the property to a home in West Asheville, said the area has become increasingly difficult for musicians to live in, as wages haven't caught up with rental prices.

"The tragedy of it is that the reason all these people are moving here is because the place is cool. Because there's always people making art," Dahm said. "And now there is so much money coming in and that art is getting squeezed out."

While there is a lack of affordable rent prices in the area, Kevin Jackson believes the proposed Haw Creek development would help to ease the shortage.

"This project seeks to alleviate that both through quantity of units and offering a variety of units and price points," Jackson said.

'Like Margaret and Gary's son'

While Miller recently found housing in Black Mountain, he is still wrapping up his time at the property, occasionally mowing the large lawn and recording other artists until a hard move-out date of May 1.

While two of the homes on the property will remain occupied until Miller, Hartzman and Lenderman leave, the Kings' house at the end of the driveway is vacant.

Miller said Gary King used to keep pop country music blaring from a radio.

Occasionally, Miller visits to make sure the dial remains tuned to 99.9 Kiss Country, just like Gary would've wanted.

"It's the last thing that me and Clint are going to take out of the property when it gets sold," Miller said. "It's still plugged in playing country music right now."

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville musicians face displacement from Haw Creek 95-home project