ASHEVILLE – A new 24/7 public restroom will open downtown on Nov. 21 at the corner of Rankin Avenue and College Street, replacing a lone portable toilet that had been there since 2020. It is the city’s only 24-hour bathroom offering in its central business district.
The Asheville City Council approved the prefabricated toilet unit made by the manufacturer of the “Portland Loo” in February. It was paid for with American Rescue Plan Act dollars, federal grants for the COVID-19 response, and included utility connections, a new irrigation system, landscaping for the small downtown park, lighting and the installation of security cameras.
A 24/7 public restroom at the corner of Rankin Avenue and College Street is pictured in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
The facility will be maintained by Asheville Parks and Recreation Department employees, who will stock and clean the bathroom twice a day. The walls are made of heavy-duty stainless steel that is graffiti-resistant, easy to clean and resistant to vandalism, the city said in a Nov. 20 news release.
It came with a price tag of about $400,000: $183,620 for site improvements and installation, and $170,760 for the purchase of the toilet itself, plus a contingency of $46,724.
It is specifically intended to help serve the city’s unhoused population, as well as visitors and residents, according to the original staff proposal, and to address downtown’s “cleanliness and safety challenges” by providing additional provide access to toilets in the city center.
A 24/7 public restroom at the corner of Rankin Avenue and College Street is pictured in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
The restroom is American with Disabilities Act accessible and built to withstand heavy use and minimize maintenance costs. A motion sensor makes it easier to see if someone is in the toilet. The interior lighting is blue, which could be mistaken for a fancy amenity, the city said, but the color is intended to discourage intravenous drug use; the blue tint makes it difficult to find blood veins.
A hand washing station is mounted on the outside of the bathroom.
It is one of seven options listed on a city map of public restroom locations downtown, and of those, it is the only option open 24/7.
The festive ribbon cutting of “toilet paper” for the Downtown Loo will take place on Thursday, November 21 at 11 a.m.
Steven Swartz with B. Allen Construction, Inc. closes the door of a 24/7 public restroom at the corner of Rankin Avenue and College Street (pictured) in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
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Sarah Honosky is a city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message us on Twitter at @slhonosky. Support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Downtown Asheville: 24/7 public bathroom opens downtown
