Buncombe County advances Owen Park design after community input

Buncombe County is putting the future of Charles D. Owen Park back in residents’ hands after Tropical Storm Helene left the Swannanoa park with the worst storm damage of any county park. The next step comes June 16, when the county will host a workshop at the Bee Tree Fire Substation in Swannanoa from 4 to 7 p.m. so residents can review conceptual design alternatives.

The park’s damage was severe. County materials say the Swannanoa River breached its banks, flooded and destroyed the fishing ponds, and cut a new path through Owen Park. Fields, buildings, equipment and the land itself also sustained extensive damage, turning the project into more than a basic repair job.

Buncombe County hired Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architecture in November 2025 to lead phase one of the project. That phase includes public input, engineering studies, grading and drainage planning, stormwater management, accessibility standards, and sustainability and resilience measures. County schedule materials say phase one runs from fall 2025 to summer 2026, with phase two expected from fall 2026 to spring 2028. Once phase two begins, construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

The design process has already drawn substantial participation. At a March 30 community meeting at the Owen Middle School gym, residents shared ideas about their history with the park, current recreation needs and priorities for its next chapter. Spanish-language interpretation was available, and the event was co-sponsored by the Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance. County officials later said nearly 1,000 community members gave input in March through the in-person workshop and a virtual survey.

That feedback is now shaping the alternatives residents will see on June 16. For Swannanoa, the stakes are practical: how Owen Park functions for children, neighbors and families, and how it fits into a community still rebuilding after Helene. The county has said the park’s final design should reflect local priorities, whether those lean toward recreation, accessibility, safety or storm resilience.

Owen Park is also part of a wider planning effort in the Swannanoa corridor. The Buncombe County 2043 Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2023, identified the corridor as an area needing more detailed planning, and after Helene the county prioritized Swannanoa for a Small Area, Recovery and Resilience Plan covering housing, transportation, health, recreation and disaster mitigation. A December 2025 workshop on that broader plan drew more than 100 people, underscoring how closely the park’s future is tied to the larger shape of Swannanoa’s recovery.