by Taylor Thompson
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — After six months of community collaboration following Helene, the City of Asheville has unveiled a unified design concept for the French Broad Riverfront Parks project, shaped by feedback from thousands of residents.
A five-mile recovery vision
The project spans five miles along the French Broad River, from downstream of Hominy Creek to just below the I-240 bridge.
It includes Carrier Park, Amboy Riverfront Park, French Broad River Park, the Wilma Dykeman Greenway, Craven Street Boat Launch Area and Jean Webb Park.
The plans focus on nature-based design and multi-use spaces that balance recreation with the river’s natural systems.
Asheville unveils 5-mile French Broad Riverfront Parks project, $60M rebuild planned
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Some of the proposed amenities include expanded greenways, a grove plaza, an exercise loop, a hockey rink, volleyball, basketball and pickleball courts, a nature playground, and an art meadow.
Planning and timeline
The city is currently in the design development phase, which will continue through spring 2027 as planners refine concepts based on public feedback and coordinate with consulting teams.
Additional public input opportunities are planned for September, focusing on specific design elements rather than major changes to the overall layout.
The project is primarily funded through FEMA public assistance and Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding.
“A unified design” after Helene
“Helene caused a lot of damage to the city, including our parks,” Dustin Clemens, Asheville division manager, said.
Since then, he explained that the focus has been on rebuilding with resilience in mind.
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“We’ve heard a lot of really good feedback from the community, and we’ve taken that and incorporated it into what we’re calling a unified design for all of the riverfront parks along the French Broad,” he explained.
Clemens said the goal is to bring multiple isolated parks together into one system.
“So we have one cohesive park system that’s going to be much more resilient than what we’ve had,” he added.
He said the vision is to build with nature first and recreation within, designed to withstand future storms.
“The way we’re hoping to design those elements is so they can withstand the waters and simply need to be cleaned off after the next storm event that we have,” he explained.
Funding and long-term buildout
The project is expected to cost about $60 million. Clemens said funding opportunities are stronger than in past projects.
About $21 million is currently secured through Community Development Block Grants, with FEMA expected to provide the majority of the remaining funding.
“We have a high level of confidence that our FEMA partners will also come through and provide a great deal of funding for this restoration,” he said.
Officials added that there have been no funding delays, but the process remains lengthy and detailed.
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“Our federal partners and FEMA have a very long, thorough process, understandably, to ensure that the funding provided is sufficient and being spent on the right things,” he said.
Community perspective
For longtime Asheville resident Deborah Robinson, the project represents a long road ahead, but it’s one she’s hopeful about.
“There’s lots of work to do, but we know it’s going to take time and money,” she said.
She said she’s focused on how the parks will serve families.
“As long as they take care of the kids and they have enough to accommodate the amount of children that come to the parks, that to me is the most important thing,” she explained.
Robinson said she hopes the rebuild prioritizes access for the next generation.
“I think they’re going to bring the parks back for the kids, all this other stuff maybe not, but at least bring the park back for the kids so they’ll have somewhere to go,” she said.