City officials in Asheville, North Carolina, are turning the devastation of Hurricane Helene into an opportunity to rethink its public spaces.
With a community-driven vision to connect five parks along five miles of the French Broad River, the city is moving into the design phase of a $60 million, multi-year effort to create spaces that work with the forces of nature while bringing amenities residents would like to see.
City officials say the goal is to create a unified park system designed to withstand heavy storms and floodwaters so that, after future events, restoring the spaces could be as simple as washing them down and reopening them.
Of the estimated $1 billion in damage to city-owned properties from the 2024 storm, at least $25 million occurred within the municipal parks area along the French Broad River. The redesign brings continuity to Carrier Park, French Broad River Park, Amboy Riverfront Park, Jean Webb Park and Craven Street Trailhead Park, while also encompassing other city-owned properties, including Craven Street Bridge Boating Access Area, 327 and 314 Riverside Drive Office and Storage Facility, Wilma Dykeman Greenway and French Broad River Greenway.
The proposal for the more than 200-acre space includes sports courts for pickleball, basketball, volleyball and hockey, more open spaces, art areas and a nature playground. Officials say additional community input will help shape specific design elements going forward.
The city has secured about a third of the anticipated project funding, about $21 million, through HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, with additional recovery funding expected through programs including FEMA Public Assistance.
The design phase is expected to continue into early 2027, with construction planned in phases afterward. The full construction timeline has not been announced.
Photo by Gary Millar from Townsend TN, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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