Updates on 3 major construction projects in Henderson County

Dean Hensley, Hendersonville Times-News
Updated ·3 min read

Mike Morgan, the chief communications officer for Henderson County, gave an update on March 7 on three major construction projects happening in the county, and he said all three are right on schedule, with one even ahead of schedule.

Fletcher EMS Station No. 6 is expected to be completed first around mid-May. The Veterans Services Building will be finished next, according to Henderson County Business and Development Director Chris Todd, who said the project is on track to be done in July. The final major project is the Hendersonville portion of the Ecusta Trail, which is expected to be completed by December.

Fletcher EMS Station No. 6

This new station is located next to Fletcher Elementary School and is a four-bay EMS station. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners voted last year to use $3.1 million of the county's America Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.

Construction of the new Fletcher EMS Station 6 is expected to wrap up in mid-May.
Construction of the new Fletcher EMS Station 6 is expected to wrap up in mid-May.

Construction began in the fall of 2023 and was expected to be complete in the summer of 2024. Henderson County Director of Facilities Services Andrew Griffin said the goal is to have this completed about a month ahead of schedule in mid-May.

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"This is a great project that had a lot of working pieces on it between the school system and Henderson County. We're just glad to be able to bring this to the people in Fletcher," Griffin said.

Currently, the EMS team assigned to this station works during the daytime hours out of the Fletcher Fire Station. When the new station is completed, a 24-hour truck stationed in Fletcher will have access to the amenities it needs.

Veterans Services Building

Todd said crews have gutted almost everything in the old Veterans Services Building, located at North Main Street, which was the home of Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206. He said they did make one major exception.

Construction on the new Veterans Service Building, which was the old Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206 building, is expected to be completed in July.
Construction on the new Veterans Service Building, which was the old Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206 building, is expected to be completed in July.
The original dance floor was saved from the old Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206 building, which is now being renovated into the new Veterans Services Building. It's expected to be completed in July.
The original dance floor was saved from the old Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206 building, which is now being renovated into the new Veterans Services Building. It's expected to be completed in July.

"We did keep the floor, the old original dance floor on the second story, and we're thrilled, because that's going to be a part of this project to bring it back to life," he said.

The groundbreaking for the $4.7 million renovation was held in July 2023. The original structure was built in 1948 and held meals, socials and dances for World War II veterans. The county acquired the building in April 2021 for $35,635 with ARP funds.

"Other than the old floor, what we have around it is a brand-new building," Todd said. "We've got a new floor plan. We've got four offices in here for veterans services. We've got some meeting rooms for the community, and we preserved that large dance hall area as much as we can, while making the bathrooms a little bit bigger upstairs so the community has a great place to gather and come."

Crews are also putting in a new parking lot, Todd said.

"The project is on track and on budget and should be completed in July," he said.

Hendersonville portion of the Ecusta Trail

Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones said Phase 1 of the Ecusta Trail, which will run from downtown Hendersonville to Horse Shoe, should be completed by December. When the entire Ecusta Trail is finished, it will be 19.1 miles long and connect Hendersonville with Brevard.

Work continues in March on the Hendersonville portion of the Ecusta Trail.
Work continues in March on the Hendersonville portion of the Ecusta Trail.

"Currently, the contractor, NHM, is working on installing cross-drainage pipes, grading ditches so they'll have positive drainage and working on the bridge structures, the abutments for the bridges," he said. "Things are coming along nicely."

More: Answer Man: Will pedestrians be safe with oncoming traffic on the new Ecusta Trail?

Groundbreaking for this portion of the trail was held in October 2023 at the Veterans Healing Farm in Hendersonville. The first 6-mile stretch of the trail will start in downtown Hendersonville, go through the town of Laurel Park and end at Battle Creek off U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. The second phase in Henderson County is still in the planning stages, and that will take the trail to the Transylvania County line.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Henderson County's 3 major construction projects on schedule