Dissenters included Asheville resident and Downtown Commission member Andrew Fletcher, who said council had “ample” reasons to deny the proposal if it chose to do so. Fletcher argued that while Woollcott said the hotel would be the best solution for the Flatiron, to the city “this looks like another nail in the coffin.”
“If a project comes before council that is going to directly displace locals or existing neighborhood uses and displace them for tourists, the answer should always be a simple no,” he said.