Asheville unveils unified French Broad Riverfront Parks design concept

Asheville’s French Broad Riverfront parks are headed for a rebuild that stretches five linear miles and covers more than 200 acres, after Helene caused at least $25 million in destruction along the corridor. The city unveiled a unified design concept on June 24 and said the work is meant to restore damaged parks, greenways and river access while making the riverfront more resilient.

The project runs from downstream of Hominy Creek to just below the Jeff Bowen Bridge on I-240 and includes Carrier Park, French Broad River Park, Amboy Riverfront Park, Jean Webb Park, Craven Street Trailhead Park, the Craven Street Bridge Boating Access Area, Wilma Dykeman Greenway, French Broad River Greenway and the 327 Riverside Drive storage facility. City officials have framed the effort as both a recovery project and a resilience project, a signal that the rebuild is intended to do more than replace what Helene damaged.

The design concept follows six months of community collaboration after the storm, with the city saying thousands of residents weighed in through surveys, open houses and other outreach. That public input also shaped the march toward this stage of the project, which began with an April 24, 2025 request for qualifications for design services and continued with Asheville’s selection of Sasaki in September 2025 to help redesign the riverfront parks and greenways.

A December 10, 2025 open house at Asheville Middle School’s cafeteria gave residents another chance to comment on the French Broad and Azalea riverfront recovery projects. The new concept reflects three themes Sasaki had already laid out in March: respecting the river, balancing recreation with nature, and celebrating arts and community. The city says the plan is still evolving, with more ways for residents to see the design and give feedback.

Funding is expected to come primarily through FEMA Public Assistance, with supplemental Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery money. The riverfront concept was presented June 23 to the joint People and Environment Recovery Board, Infrastructure Recovery Board and the Policy Finance & Infrastructure Council Committee, part of Asheville’s Helene recovery structure built to increase transparency and public input.

For Buncombe County residents who walk, bike, boat, play sports or attend events along the river, the stakes are practical: how quickly the corridor reopens, how well it handles future flooding and whether neighborhoods on either side of the French Broad are better connected to usable public space. City staff have also warned that some riverfront sites remain impacted by Helene, and visitors are being urged to use caution around posted barriers and closures while recovery continues.