‘A bit of an anomaly:’ Million-dollar downtown Asheville condos without power since April – WLOS

'A bit of an anomaly:' Million-dollar downtown Asheville condos without power since April

MAY 10, 2023 - Residents of million-dollar, high-rise The Arras condos on floors 10-18 of the old BB&T bank building in downtown Asheville have been without power since April 15, as there was a failure in the electrical grid system that powers that portion of the building. It could be months before electricity is restored to that portion of the building. (Photo credit: WLOS staff)

Residents of The Arras condos paid more than $1 million for 54 separate residential units that boast mountain views aplenty in the heart of downtown Asheville, but for nearly a month, those who live in the luxury downtown high-rise above the Kimpton Hotel Arras have been without power -- and could be stuck that way for months.

'A bit of an anomaly:' Million-dollar downtown Asheville condos without power since April

News 13 has confirmed the outage in what used to be the BB&T Bank building occurred on April 15th.

It is a bit of an anomaly and a freak accident, J.B. McKibbon, president of McKibbon Equities, the company that developed the building, told News 13 Wednesday, May 10.

McKibbon explained the building, like most high-rises, has an electric grid system that uses electrical grid bus bars for high-voltage equipment to run electricity through the building.

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Basically, where one of those bus ducts was bolted together, we had a failure, and the bus bar insulation was melted off, said McKibbon.

McKibbon said there is no indication there was poor installation of the system that was approved and permitted by city of Asheville inspectors throughout the construction process when the company overhauled the building for mixed-use.

The Hotel Arras on floors 1-9 has power and is on a separate bus bar grid system, but the condo units without power are on floors 10 through 18 (theres no 13th floor due to superstitions around the number). The big problem now, McKibbon said, is the huge delay in custom fabrications of needed parts.

The whole supply chain industry as a whole, specifically electrical and switch gear, has had issues," McKibbon said. "We wish we could get power on sooner.

McKibbon is a respected name in Asheville building and hotel development. McKibbons father, John, who in the past two years handed the reigns to his son, has been a well-known hotel developer who took part in the citys renaissance developing and investing in hotel properties. His son is now managing the issues at the building, though he said condo owners own the physical units outright and are responsible for taking out loss-of-use insurance when a situation like an electrical outage occurs.

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If they chose not to carry that coverage, unfortunately, theyre uninsured for that particular hazard," McKibbon said. "For those folks who live in the building full-time, obviously, its a major impact on their quality of life. Either they needed to relocate out of the building or live without power. They still have water.

McKibbon said the company has the best contractors and staff working on trying to expedite the repair and get the parts from overseas.

Obviously, we dont feel great about it. It is a major impact and hassle," he said.

News 13 reached out to the condo owners association president, Rich Wasch, but was unable to reach him for comment.

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'A bit of an anomaly:' Million-dollar downtown Asheville condos without power since April - WLOS