Downtown Asheville: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the City of Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan and neighborhood plans, Buncombe County’s school district map layer, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data, the U.S. Census Bureau’s geocoder, OpenStreetMap and Zillow Research.

Downtown Asheville is the city’s center, inside the loop formed by I-240 on the north and west. The city’s 2009 Downtown Master Plan says that “in addition to the traditional core, basically the National Register Historic District,” downtown “includes the Eagle/Market, Beaucatcher Gateway, South Slope and Patton/River Gateway districts.” Homes downtown are mostly apartments and condominiums above and between businesses. All of it is in ZIP code 28801.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Asheville High, 65.4% of state tests at grade level in 2025-26. Asheville City Schools families choose among the district’s schools; call enrollment at 828-350-6111.
• Home value: $551,288 in ZIP code 28801 in August 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate exit: I-240 Exit 5B at Charlotte Street, about half a mile by road from Pack Square.

Part of our Asheville neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The master plan’s traditional core runs from Pack Square and the courthouse and City Hall along Patton Avenue, Haywood Street, Lexington Avenue and Biltmore Avenue. The South Slope falls away south of the core toward Mission Hospital; its own neighborhood association’s plan on a page says it “is within the Central Business District” and overlaps the area of the Asheville Downtown Association and DARN, the Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors. The master plan names I-240 on the north and South Charlotte Street on the east as the edges where downtown “needs better connections and transitions to adjacent neighborhoods.”

The city groups downtown with Kenilworth, the South Slope and the neighborhoods around it in its Central planning area, on the neighborhood plans page. All five downtown points we checked (Pack Square, the South Slope at Banks Avenue, College Street, Woodfin Street and O. Henry Avenue) were inside the city limits on the Census Bureau’s geocoder.

One extra tax. Downtown property pays the county rate of 61.54 cents and the city rate of 50.78 cents per $100, plus the Asheville City Schools supplement of 11.75 cents, and, inside the business improvement district, 8.77 cents more, according to the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s August 2026 rate table. More in our property tax guide.

Schools

Downtown is in Asheville City Schools. All five downtown points fell in the city district on Buncombe County’s school district map layer. The district offers school choice at every grade level to families who live in it, within its enrollment policies and a federal desegregation order, according to its enrollment office, so there is no single zoned elementary school.

Scores are the share of state tests at grade level or above in 2025-26 and the state’s growth rating, from the accountability data.

The district’s other elementary schools, Claxton, Ira B. Jones and Lucy S. Herring, are compared in our schools guide. Asheville High’s four-year graduation rate was 90.2%.

Home values

Zillow publishes no figure for downtown alone. The Zillow Home Value Index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.

ZIP code 28801 also takes in Montford and the River Arts District. Trends are on our home prices page.

Parks and trails

From the city’s park finder:

• Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza, with performance spaces, restrooms and the Splasheville splash pad.
• Pritchard Park, 67 Patton Ave., with a small amphitheater and the weekly drum circle.
• Aston Park, 300 Hilliard Ave., where the South Slope meets the South French Broad neighborhood, beside the Aston Park Tennis Center; it holds one of the city’s temporary dog parks.
• Triangle Park, 58 S. Market St., in The Block, with murals.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 50 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, where downtown meets the East End/Valley Street neighborhood.

More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• I-240: Exit 5B at Charlotte Street is about half a mile by road from Pack Square, Exit 4C at Montford Avenue and Haywood Street about 0.6 mile and Exit 5A at Merrimon Avenue about 0.8 mile.
• Asheville Regional Airport: about 15 miles by road.
• Buses: every Asheville Rides Transit route starts at the ART Station, 49 Coxe Ave., on the city’s maps and schedules page. The S3 runs to the airport.

Distances were measured with the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads from Pack Square. They are distances, not drive times. Parking rules are in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap lists the French Broad Food Co-op at 90 Biltmore Ave. on the South Slope. North of I-240, Whole Foods Market (70 Merrimon Ave.), Trader Joe’s (120 Merrimon Ave.) and Harris Teeter (136 Merrimon Ave.) sit together on Merrimon Avenue, about a mile from Pack Square.

Frequently asked questions

What school district is downtown Asheville in?

Asheville City Schools. Every downtown point we checked on Buncombe County’s school district map was in the city district, whose high school is Asheville High, 419 McDowell St. Families in the district can choose among its schools at every grade level.

What ZIP code is downtown Asheville?

28801. Zillow’s typical home value for ZIP code 28801 was $551,288 in August 2026, down 2.5% from August 2025.

What are the neighborhoods inside downtown Asheville?

The city’s 2009 Downtown Master Plan describes five downtown districts: the traditional core, Eagle/Market, Beaucatcher Gateway, South Slope and Patton/River Gateway.

Do downtown Asheville properties pay an extra tax?

Yes. Property in the downtown business improvement district pays 8.77 cents per $100 on top of the county and city rates, according to the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s August 2026 rate table.