The City of Asheville is slowly moving forward on repairs to several major parks that were destroyed by Hurricane Helene, including Azalea Park and a collection of parks along the French Broad River.
On Wednesday, city staff will host an open house at Asheville Middle School from 6-8 p.m, where residents can provide initial input on what they’d like to see as the city starts to rebuild the parks. There’s also a survey that is open through Dec. 19.
D. Tyrell McGirt, the city’s parks and recreation director, said these projects are moving more slowly than other park repairs, like Richmond Hill Park, due to their cost and complexity. Helene caused $25 million in damage to the parks system in total.
The projects will have to rely on federal funding, including FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the $225 million CBDG-DR grant the city received from HUD.
“It's going to take a while to get all the public engagement and get all the design elements incorporated in these really expensive build back projects,” McGirt said. “We’re talking several years.”
The city is breaking the projects into two major slices: the Azalea Parks, situated along the Swannanoa River in East Asheville, and the French Broad Riverfront, which includes Carrier Park, French Broad River Park, the Amboy Riverfront Park and Jean Webb Park, along with the attached greenways and trails. The city is working with contractors, OLIN and Sasaki, respectively to complete the projects.
Both projects are currently at the first phase of design. Once initial public input ends, the city will enter the design phase through 2026 and into early 2027. Construction on Azalea Park is slated for 2028, according to the city’s website. There is no construction date yet for the French Broad River parks.
