Thomas Wolfe Cabin

Asheville, NC

Randall Gross / Development Economics (RGDE) recently worked as part of a team led by architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent on a master plan for Azalea Park, with a particular focus on the park’s centrepiece, the working cabin of author Thomas Wolfe. Wolfe is one of America’s most renowned authors in the 20th century and his home in Asheville is preserved. The City’s Parks and Recreation department sought to also restore his working cabin to help tell a fuller story of Wolfe and his connections to Asheville. Mr. Gross identified opportunities for use of the cabin that could generate a sustainable income stream to help maintain the facilities and attract tourists to the park. He also conducted a pro forma financial analysis and made strategic recommendations for development, financing, restoration and marketing of the site as a Writer’s Retreat that would build on Asheville’s reputation as a center for the literary and visual arts.

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