ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — An industrial building slated to become the new home of the Salvage Station music venue was heavily damaged in a fire late Thursday, marking another setback for the River Arts District staple already displaced by flooding and a major highway project.
The blaze was reported around 11:10 p.m. April 23 at the former Asheville Waste Paper building on Lyman Street, according to the Asheville Fire Department. Crews arrived to find a large structure fire with flames visible on the second floor and quickly shifted to a defensive strategy, deploying aerial apparatus to contain the fire.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze by 4:52 a.m. Friday. No injuries were reported, but officials said the building sustained significant damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Crews returned to the site around 8:15 a.m. Friday, after reports of smoke rising from the building. Firefighters used a drone to survey the roof and upper levels, where smoke was visible from multiple areas.
A bystander who stopped near the scene Friday morning said he initially thought the smell in the area was from a brush fire.
“I parked down by the apartments, and when I got out, I thought it smelled like a brush fire,” the man said. “Then, when I got closer, I could see the smoke coming from the building.”
The building had been identified in November 2025 as the future home of the Salvage Station, a popular Asheville music venue that was forced to relocate because of the Interstate 26 Connector project. Plans had called for the venue to operate through the 2024 season at its original Riverside Drive location, but flooding from Tropical Storm Helene disrupted those plans.
The Lyman Street site, known locally for its graffiti and murals, including artwork depicting cartoon characters Homer Simpson and Bender sharing a doughnut, was being prepared as the venue’s new location before the fire.