Hendersonville Welcome Center in temporary home until renovations are complete

HENDERSONVILLE – Visitors coming downtown usually head to the Hendersonville Welcome Center to get all the information they need for their stay in town, but for the past few months, visitors saw something they weren’t expecting.

The Hendersonville Visitors Center has been fenced off for several weeks now as it undergoes renovations, and to the side of the building is a gray trailer, which is the center’s new temporary home.

Henderson County Tourism Development Authority Executive Director Michelle Owens said renovations to the Hendersonville Welcome Center will offer a more immersive experience for visitors.

“Many people seem to think that’s the trailer for the construction workers,” Henderson County Tourism Development Authority Executive Director Michelle Owens said on Dec. 5. “But we have good signage up now so that it’s less confusing. This is just our home until all the renovations are completed.”

Visitors walk in front of the temporary home of the Hendersonville Welcome Center on Dec. 5.

Owens said the winning construction bid came in at $1.5 million by Cooper Construction.

“This includes an entire-building renovation,” she said. “We’re not actually adding to the footprint. One of the main reasons for the renovations is that when someone walks into the Welcome Center, we want them to walk in and stay as long as possible. When they walk into the renovated center, they’ll get a sense of everything there is in the county. It will be more of an immersive experience than they had before.”

Owens said each part of the new Welcome Center will be representative of different parts of Henderson County.

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An artist’s rendering of what the renovations will look like at the Hendersonville Welcome Center hangs on the wall of the temporary home of the Welcome Center.

“One wall will have brick tile on it, to be reminiscent of what’s down here in downtown. All of the elements in the space, agri-tourism and outdoor recreation and all of our lodging and restaurants and our wine will be represented with vignettes all throughout the space. It will be low-tech and high-tech, so if you want talk to a human, you can do that. There will be some touchscreens if you want to do that,” Owens said.

The purpose of the renovation was two-fold, Owen said.

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“This building serves two functions. One is the Welcome Center and the other is all of the TDA administrative offices. The renovation will also serve the purpose separating the Welcome Center space from the workspace of the TDA staff,” she said.

Owens said the renovation project isn’t funded by local tax dollars.

“Occupancy tax dollars is our sole source of funding. So, when someone stays a night in a hotel or a cabin or whatever, an occupancy tax is collected. That’s what’s funding this project,” she said.

Owens said the expected completion is by July 2024. Until then, the Welcome Center’s staff will be at the gray trailer next to the building, she said. The hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, except the center is closed on Sundays.

The holiday hours are slightly different. It will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On Dec. 26-27 the hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Dec. 28-29 the hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. It’s open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 30 and on New Year’s Eve, the hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

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: Hendersonville Welcome Center renovations to enhance experience