A 1943 building that once held a Pentecostal congregation and then sat empty for years has reopened on Roberts Street in Asheville's River Arts District as six mountain-modern townhomes called The Treadway, with two-bedroom units listed around $750,000. The project, from Asheville-based Lobo Builders, lands on a block that was submerged during Hurricane Helene two years ago and is now being showcased as part of a regional home tour running this weekend and next.
The six residences, spanning 1,017 to 1,061 square feet, keep reconstructed elements of the original 1943 structure alongside custom cabinetry, Bosch appliances and Nest thermostats, according to listings on Nest Realty and Realtor.com. Each unit also comes with a primary upper deck and a Tennessee flagstone patio. Per a press release from Lobo Builders carried by WINK News, the homes were designed by Wilson Architects with interiors by Channel Designs Interiors, and each residence features 23-foot dome ceilings, modern stairwells, preserved architectural stone from the original church, native materials, sweeping French Broad River views and a private porch.
A Church's Long Vacancy Ends in Residential Reuse
The building at 4-14 Roberts Street operated as a Pentecostal church before sitting abandoned, according to details from OMB Real Estate and a January 2025 Instagram post from Lobo Builders. The property carries Asheville's RAD-NT, or River Arts District–Neighborhood Transitional, zoning designation, a classification meant to manage density and architectural transitions where the district's working creative core meets residential development, per the same listing. That framework is effectively what allowed a former institutional building to become permanent housing in a corridor long dominated by industrial buildings and artist studios.
Per the WINK News report of the Lobo Builders release, the company's co-founder and general contractor, Thomas Wolfe, said he had dreamed of renovating the building for years and felt personally and professionally fulfilled by the completed project. Wolfe, a Griffin Award winner, also said Lobo Builders' crews are master craftsmen who realized the designers' work.
Rebuilding After the River Crested at a Record Height
Hurricane Helene devastated the River Arts District. The French Broad River crested at a record 24.67 feet, surpassing the prior 1916 flood mark of 23.1 feet, according to the Smithsonian Magazine. Parts of the district flooded, and an estimated 80 percent of its buildings sustained damage. The Treadway's completion, nearly two years after that disaster, is being framed by Lobo Builders as part of the corner's physical and economic recovery.
The neighborhood's comeback has also drawn national attention. The River Arts District was named the No. 1 arts district in the country by USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards following a nationwide public vote, as reported by Mountain Xpress. Still, district leadership has cautioned that the honor has not translated into a full rebound. Tourism officials have said visitor tourism had not yet returned to pre-hurricane levels, citing regional misperceptions about the extent of ongoing flood recovery despite studios actively reopening, according to a blog post by Asheville realtor Marilyn Wright.
Debuting on the Parade of Homes Circuit
The Treadway is part of the 45th Annual WNC Parade of Homes, presented by the Builders Association of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The self-guided tour, which includes both in-person and virtual options across Western North Carolina mountain communities, runs Saturday and Sunday and again October 24–25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, according to 828newsNOW. Per the Lobo Builders release, visitors can also vote for their favorite homes in the tour through Sunday.
Buyers at The Treadway will pay a $150 monthly HOA fee to The Treadway Association LLC, which covers shared amenities including a communal fire pit, bike storage and outdoor green space, according to listing details on Stellar MLS. The district's walkable layout, where visitors can stroll from shop to shop, is central to how the Lobo Builders release describes the development's design intent of encouraging organic community engagement among residents and the neighborhood's working artists.
A Firm Rooted in Local Arts Support
Founded by Thomas and Annie Wolfe in 2012, Lobo Builders is a custom construction firm serving Western North Carolina. The company crafts custom mountain homes and renovations across Western North Carolina and says it supports the arts in the region, including River Arts District artists, the Diana Wortham Theatre and Blue Ridge Public Radio, per the Lobo Builders release. The firm has said it wanted to help the River Arts District recover after Hurricane Helene, a goal The Treadway now stands as its most visible completed example.
