48frenchbroadriver.pdf

The

French

Broad

River:

Revitalizing

Asheville's

Riverfront

Karen

Cragnolin

The

FrenchBroadRiver passesthrough Asheville and has been the historic site of

numerous

activities,froman entertainmentcentertoa

home

for

industry. This is the story ofthe effort to turn the

depressedindustrialareaalongtheriver intoavitalpart

oftheCityofAsheville.Itisthe storyofthe

American

riverinmicrocosm,fullofparadiseandparadox.

History

of the

French

Broad

River

At

the turnofthe century, theFrenchBroad River

was

largely undeveloped, although it had been the

preferredtransportationoptionuntilthe railroad

came

toAshevilleinthe 1880s.Then,in 1905,theAsheville

Electric

Company

createdasmall diversion offofthe

French BroadRiver. Called RiversidePark,itincluded

a carousel, aboat house,andanoutdoor

movie

screen

that could only be viewed from the river.

Many

of today'svisionsof

what

the rivershould bearebased

onthe

memory

ofRiversideParkand

how

integral it

was

tothe life ofthe

community.

Much

ofRiverside Park

was

destroyedbyfirein 1915,andwhat remained

was wiped

out bythe greatflood of 1916. Riverside Park

was

never rebuilt.

The

floodof1916had graveconsequencesforlife inurbanAsheville.Beforethe flood

many

peoplelived

on or near the river, next to large cotton mills and

tanneries.Afterthe flood,the factoriesstayed but the residents

moved.

The

1920s and 1930s were the

KarenCragnolinistheDirectorofRiverLink,Inc., a

not-for-profit corporation spearheading the economic and

environmental revitalization _ofthe French BroadRiver

and its watershed. She is also an attorney licensedto practice law in the state of

New

Yorkandthe District of

Columbia.

heydayforthe factoriesalongthe riverwhichprovided

much

neededjobs for the people ofthe region. Ice

houses,distilleries,andcoalandgrainstoragefacilities

complemented

the thriving trade in cotton andhide tanningwhichflourishedalongtheurbanriverfront.

Eventually, the thriving factories ofthe 1920s and

1930sclosed,leaving

abandoned

industrialbuildings

along Asheville's urban river corridor. Years of ne-glectcoupledwithno long-term planning turnedthe

banks oftheFrenchBroadRiverintoautograveyards

and landfills.

The

views ofthe river from the

many

bridges passingover itwereanything butattractive.

Discarded tires, abandoned automobiles, and bone

distillationplantslinedthebanks ofthe urbanriverfront.

During the era ofurban renewal, Asheville, like

manycities,builtpublichousingprojects. Asheville's

publichousingprojectswereplacedoutofsightandout

of

mind

—

alongtheFrench Broad River.

New

roads

were builtthat dividedthe river andthe

downtown,

further isolating the riverand

making

access nearly impossible.

The

French Broad River in Asheville

became

a no-man's-land.

Public

Support

forthe

River

In 1950,a

young

woman

named

Wilma Dykeman

publisheda

book

entitled The

French

Broad.

Today

she regales audiences with tales of her difficulty gettingthe

book

published. Publisherslookedatthe title and

assumed

that atitillatingtale awaited

them

regardinga foreign

woman.

Even

more

difficultwere herefforts toincludeachapteraboutpollutioninthe

book.

The

riverhad endured decades of

m

isusewithno

state, local, or federal regulations to protect it.

To

£="

OldRiversidePark(1905-1916).

anticipation,sheentitledherchapteronpollution,

"Who

KilledtheFrenchBroad." Inspiteofherpublisher's reservations,sheconvinced

them

that pollutionofthe river

was

a storyinneedoftelling.

Once

the

book was

published,

"Who

Killed

The

French Broad"

became

the

most

talkedabout chapterandattractedthe most

media

attention.

Intheyearsthatfollowed,publicinterestinthe river

helped to stave off another challenge. During the

1970s,theTennessee ValleyAuthority

(TV

A)

looked atthe French Broad and determined thatthey could

controlfloodingandgeneratehydro-electric

power

if

they

dammed

the river.

Almost

overnight,agroupof

citizensbandedtogetherfromallacrosswesternNorth

Carolina.

They

called themselvesthe

Upper

French BroadRiverDefense

League

and begana legalbattle

to keep the French Broad flowing free.

They

won.

Today

theFrench Broad remainsa freeflowingriver

without

dams

thatissubject toperiodicflooding.

Having

lost the battle to

dam

the French Broad,

TVA

changedcourseandappropriatedfundsthrough

the local Council of Governments, the Land-of-Sky

Regional Council (LOS), to create a series ofriver

accessparksalongthe 117milesoftheFrenchBroad

River.

Once

the riveraccess parkswereestablished, the

LOS

wantedtokeeplocalattentionfocusedonthe

French Broad River.

To

accomplishthis,theyhelped

create

The

French BroadRiverFoundation (FBRF).

The

mission ofthe

FBRF

was

to create

more

river

access points for recreation while increasingpublic

awareness about clean water.

The

FBRF

became

a

non-profitorganizationchampioningthe FrenchBroad throughout its 117 mile watershed. Jean

Webb,

an

Ashevillenativeandlongtimecitizenactivist,

became

the

FBRF's

firstchairperson.

As

the directorof QualityForward,agroup

which

ledtheAshevillebicentennialeffort,Jeanunderstood

the importance ofclean streets,recycling, andclean

water.Duringthe 1980s,QualityForward,the

FBRF,

andothercitizenledgroupssponsoredriverclean-up

efforts.Simultaneouswith theseevents,policymakers

determined that the only reliable source for local

drinking water

was

the FrenchBroadRiver.

A

series

of

management

studiesandevaluationsconcerningthe

FrenchBroadastheprimarydrinkingwatersourcefor

Buncombe

County

wereinitiated.Iftheregion

were

to

grow

it

would

need anabundantsourceofwater,and

theFrench BroadRiver

was

the onlyoption.

Concurrentwiththese studies,onelocal politician

recognized the potential for developing the French Broadas a recreationalandtouristdestination.

Funds

forstudieswereappropriatedthrough

LOS

and

TVA

tolookat

ways

ofdevelopingtheriver.

The

Asheville Area

Chamber

of

Commerce

hired a consultant to

determine

how

to keep people in the area for "one

more

day." Asheville'spremiertouristdestination, the

Biltmore Estate, attracts750,000 visitorsa yearand

pumps

millionsofdollars intothe

economy.

The

con-sultant

recommended

developingthe French Broad Riverasthe best

way

tokeepthetouristsinAsheville "one

more

day." It

seemed

logical that ifanother

tourist destination spot were developed along the

riverfront,thetourists

would

multiplyandextendtheir

visits.

Alsoduringthe 1980s,theCityofAshevillebegan

"Alter-50

CAROLINA

PLANNING

natives forAsheville"toaskcitizenswhattheywanted

their city tolooklikeintheyear2010.

A

seriesofpublic

hearings held acrossthecityattractedcitizens

clamor-ing for the revitalization ofthe French Broad as a

mixed-use area withgreenways, walking and biking

paths, and a reduction in the

number

of polluting industriesalongthe river'sedge.

The

cityadoptedthe

"Alternatives for Asheville" recommendations and incorporated

them

into the award-winning City of Asheville2010Plan.

RiverLinkand

the

Riverfront

Plan

InApril1989, RiverLink, thenaloosely knitgroupof

volunteers

known

as the French Broad Riverfront PlanningCommittee,

was

createdundertheauspices ofthe Asheville

Chamber ofCommerce

andthe

FBRF

to develop a plan forthe Asheville Riverfront.

The

Chamber

was

primarily interested in the

economic

developmentopportunitiesthatthe river offered.

The

French Broad River Foundation's primary concern

was

better riveraccess and improved waterquality.

One

thing

was

cleartoboth organizations

—

amarriage had to occur. Neither the environmental nor the

economic

developmentgoalscouldbe reached without

the participationandinputofboth groups.

Wider

participation

was

alsosoughtfromthe

gen-eral

community.

Numerous

contests for

Boy

Scouts andGirlScouts

were

heldinanefforttogaininput into

what

children wanted along the river.

The

kids

respondedingreat

numbers

withpostersand dioramas depicting a user-friendly river peopled with bikers,

runners,restaurants,and canoeists.

A

second contest

focusedongaininginputfromthe region'sburgeoning retirement

community.

The

adults were concerned with

good

lighting,security, residentialopportunities, stableasphaltsurfacesfor leisurelywalking,andthe

opportunitytoenjoyamealorbuyaspecialtyitemat aboutiquealongtheriver.

Not

everyone

was

supportive, however. Initially,

severaloftheriver'sindustrialistsfeared a revitalized riverfront

would

putthemoutofbusiness.Additionally,

downtown

enthusiastsexpressedconcernthat focus-ingonthe riverfront

would

detractfundsandattention

fromtheongoing

downtown

revitalizationeffort.This

fear has been allayed. Asheville is emerging as the

regional

hub

forwesternNorthCarolina.

The

concept of

"downtown"

hasrecentlybeen expandedtoinclude westAsheville, BiltmoreVillage, Montford,andthe

French

Broad

River.

The

Riverfront Plan Charette

The

Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and a North

Carolinacivilplanninggranthelpedfundacharettefor

Asheville'sriverfront inApril of1989. Becausethis

areapresented

many

complex

problemsinvolving both

the natural and the built environment, a joint

AIA/

A SLA

charette team

was

formed.

Resource teams ofexperts

were

assembled from

the University of North Carolina at Asheville and

Warren

Wilson College. Cityand county employees wererecruitedalong withrepresentativesfromstate,

local, andfederalregulatory agencies. Inputintothe

charette

would

include expertsrangingfromthe

Army

Corps ofEngineerstozoologists.

The

resourceteam

members

agreedto beavailabletwenty-four hoursa

dayforthe fourday charette.

RiverLinkcontracted with Peter Batchelor,

Chair-man

oftheNorthCarolina chapterofthe

AIA, Urban

DesignAssistant

Team,

tochair thejoin

AIA/ASLA

charette. Peterhadgaineda nationalreputationasan urban designerandcharetteteam leader.

He

divided

the charetteteamsintothreegroups: one

team

tofocus onreestablishing thelinkagesbetweenthe

downtown

and the river,the second team to focus on the river

withinthe citylimitsofAsheville,andthethirdteamto

focusonthe river as theregion's

most

salient

charac-teristic. Sinceallofthecharetteteam

members

were out-of-towners, each

team

member

was

assigned a

localassistantfromthe

same

discipline. Inadditionto

architects and landscape architects,there

was

alsoa healthy

mixof

sociologists,economists,andhistorians to

augment

the team'sefforts.

A

valuable resourceandplanningtoolforthe charette

was

preparedbythePreservationSocietyofAsheville and

Buncombe

County

intheform ofan inventoryof

historicallysignificantstructuresalongtheAsheville

riverfront.

The

buildinginventoryprovided

many

in-sightsintothe

number

ofhistoricbuildings availablefor

adaptive reuseandtheir surprisingly

good

condition.

The

sheer

number

andsizeofthe oldindustrial build-ings presented opportunitiesforfuture development whichcouldpotentiallybefunded throughhistorictax

credits.

In order to involve the entire

community

in the

planningeffort,RiverLinksponsored aseriesof public

input sessions during the charette, and the public response

was

overwhelming.

The

public hearings were aired live over the area's public radio station,

WCQS.

All day andallnightcitizensapproachedthe

microphonestoexpresstheirideas, hopes,andfears.

The

real challenge lay ahead, however:

how

to

entire

community

in revitalizing tiie Frencii Broad

River.

Typicalof mostcharettes, theheavybrainstorming occurred in the

wee

hours ofthe

morning

and

more

than one resource team

member

was

called at 3:00 a.m. to discuss the issue at hand.

The

walls ofthe

temporary headquarters for the charette team were covered with

maps

and diagrams.

Reams

of paper

litteredthe floorandthecoffeepotperkedaroundthe

clock,keepingthe charetteteam

members

alert.Local

restaurants and garden clubs donated food, and a

constant streamofinterested citizensparticipated in theon-goingdiscussions.

On

the

morning

of the fourth day, a tired but exhilarated charetteteam

emerged

witha plan.

As

the

TV

cameras and radio microphones reported the

resultsofthe charetteteam's findings, a

new

eraand

image begantoemergefor Asheville'sailingriverfront.

National

Geographic

magazinedispatcheda photog-raphertocoverthe entireproceedingforinclusion in theJune 1990 issueon

Greenways

Across America.

The

Asheville RiverfrontPlan,completewithmaps, diagrams,and text, laidoutamixed-use planforthe revitalizationoftheFrenchBroad's urbancorridorthat

satisfiedtheneedsofthe business,environmental,and

recreationcommunities.

The

Riverfront Plan

was

presentedtoelected

offi-cialsinthecityandthecounty.

The

plan

was

immedi-atelyacceptedastheofficialvision for the rehabilita-tion oftheFrenchBroad River.

The

cityadoptedthe

planasan

addendum

toitsaward winning 201

Long

Range Comprehensive

Plan.

The

Riverfront Plan

was

awardedtheNorthCarolina

American

Planning

Asso-ciation award for "Large

Community

Outstanding Planning" in 1990. It

was

also awarded the 1989

PICA,

a printers award forthe most beautifully

de-signed nothardboundbook.

Althoughthe citizensofAshevilleviewedthe river asamixed-useopportunityand werewilling tohelp

restore it,they werenot interested indrinking water fromit.in

May

1989,a publicreferendum

was

heldto

providethefunds necessarytobuild awater treatment

plantontheFrenchBroadRiver.

The

referendum

was

soundlydefeated.

The

citizensdidnot believethatthe rivercould betreatedtoprovidesafedrinkingwater.

The

Next

Steps

The

French BroadRiverfrontPlanning

Committee

incorporated as RiverLink in ordertocarry the plan

forward.

The

new name

helpedidentifythemission

relinking the riverbacktothecommunity. RiverLink

became

acontract agencywith both thecityand the

county. Everysixmonths, written reports

were

pre-sented to local

government

officials detailing the riverfrontrevitalizationeffort.

1nordertogetpeopleontheriver,orrather to

show

them

how

togettotheriver,RiverLink beganleading

monthlybustours.Atleastoncea

month

overthelast threeyears a mixtureof

community

leaders,elected

officials, retirees,garden club

members,

andinterested citizensboardabusinfrontofCity Hallandbeginthe

Ashevilleriverfronttour.

The

busroute traces theold

trolleycarroutethatcarriedpeopletoRiversidePark.

RiverLinkcalls this pivotal connection betweenthe

downtown

and the river"the Patton

Avenue

spine."

Duringthetwo hourbusride,peopleeat theirlunches andvisitAshevilie'soldestneighborhoods,thesiteof Asheville'sfirstairport,theold RiversidePark

loca-tion,driedup lakebeds, theBiltmoreEstate,and

The

Richmond

Hilllnn.

The

touralso helpspeople envision linkagesfromthe river to theNorthCarolina

Arbore-tum

andtheBlueRidge

Parkway

Headquarters

Build-ingthatisyettobebuilt.

The

tourshave been RiverLink's mostsuccessfulmarketingtool.

RiverLink's

work

included

more

thangivingtours,

though.

When

RiverLink presented

The

Riverfront PlantotheAshevilieTreeandGreen

way

Commission

forapproval, theywere instructed to take it further.

They

began to reinterpret a county-wide

greenway

master plan that had been developed in the 1920s.

Once

the

greenway

plan

was

conceptualized, the

Buncombe

County

planningstaff

mapped

itby

com-puter.Publichearingsonthe

greenway

planwereheld

ineverycounty

community

center,

where

thecrowds have been small but receptive.

The

idea ofusingthe naturaltopography oftheareaas a

greenway

corridor

to tie into the Mountain to the Sea Trail that

criss-crosses

Buncombe

County

has

mass

appeal.

The

specifics of implementation, however, remain

unre-solved.Inordertogetitsmessageacrosstothegeneral

publicandtoelectedofficials,RiverLinkwillsponsor

a National

Greenways

Conference in Asheville in

Septemberof 1995.Inadditiontoan afternoon work-shop devotedtothe riverfront project, theconference

will focuson the

economic

development impactsof

greenway

development.

The

firststepinimplementingtheplanoccurredin early 1991

when

Carolina

Power

andLight

Company

(CP&L)

agreedtodonatea 1.9milesectionofriverfront

propertyonthewest bank ofthe river toRiverLinkfor

useas thefirst link in theurbanriverfrontgreenway.

The

propertyhad been purchased by

CP&L

asautility right of

way

and had been used as an "unofficial"

landfill for years. Construction companies and

52

CAROLINA

PLANNING

cleaned their trucks along the banks ofthe French Broad River.

Kudzu

andpoison ivychokedthe trees

andobliteratedthe view ofthe river. RiverLink suc-cessfully petitioned the citytoacceptthedonationof

land from

CP&L

and entered into a public-private

partnership with

them

todevelop it. RiverLink also

created the concept of

'The

Mayor's

Greenway

Award"

to encourage citizens and corporations to

donateland for publicaccessalongidentifiedgreenway

routes.

The

first

"Mayor's Greenway

Award"

was

presented to

CP&L

during a

ceremony

at City Hall

with

many

handshakesand

much

goodwill.

RiverLink

was

veryinterested increating adesign

framework

for the revitalization to guide

new

con-struction and adaptive reuse projects. In September 1991. RiverLink sponsored its second charette to

develop

The

AshevilieRiverfront

Open

Space Design Guidelines. This charette

was

funded through the

NorthCarolina Arts Council, undera regrantprovision oftheNational

Endowment

fortheArtsdesign initia-tiveprogram.

Once

again, a charetteteamof profes-sionals

was

assembled. This timetheteam

was

com-prised ofarchitects, planners, landscape architects,

sculptors,studioartists,printmakers,publicart

advo-cates, and art educators.

The

charette chairman, Luther Smith,

ASLA,

APA,

and RiverLink board

member,

dividedtheteams intothree groups.

Group

one focused on access and landscape issues, group

two

focusedonstructuresandfacilities,andthe third

groupfocusedon graphics.

The

overwhelming message fromthedesigncharette

was

tokeepthe projectfocusedon

what

isessentially

Asheville. Indigenous materials, native plants, and

historicalcontextshould be usedastheguiding

princi-palsforthedesignofAsheville'srivercorridor.Itwas

clear that neither the public nor the professionals

wanteda riverfront thatlookedorfeltlikeBaltimoreor

Boston. Instead, the development of Asheville's

riverfrontshould beacelebrationofAsheville's

his-tory. Architecturally, structures should reflect the

feelingofold RiversidePark,withsteeprooflinesand gracefuldetails.Landscapematerialscouldshowcase

the

wondrous

botanical diversity of western North Carolina

—

no Japanesegardens alongthebanks ofthe

FrenchBroad. Publicart

was

discussedindetail.

The

charette

team

members

agreed that Asheville's

riverfrontshould beviewedas acanvas. Everyitem,

nomatter

how

mundane,

should bechosentofurther the

theme

ofcelebratingAsheville.

Attempting

to

Rezone

the

Riverfront

Duringthis

same

timeperiodthecity

embarked

on

apublicprocesstocodifythe201 Plan.Althoughthe

2010

Plan had been adopted in principlebythe City Council,ithadneverbeentranslatedintoordinancesto carry forth the vision.

The

CityCouncilappointedsix

subcommitteesfocusedonissuesrangingfrom

manu-facturedhousingto riverfront revitalization.

The

six

subcommittees

were

charged with

making

recom-mendations to be included in a proposed Unified

Development

Ordinance

(UDO).

The

riverfront sub-committee

was composed

ofriverfrontproperty

own-ers,developers,realestateagents,andthe directorof RiverLink.

The

subcommittee

met

biweekly over a two year period to

hammer

out the details of

how

Asheville's riverfront could be transformed from a

heavy industrial district into a mixed-use area that

would

allowresidential, commercial, industrial,and

recreationaluserstocoexist.

The

Asheville Riverfront

Open

Space Design Guidelines and

The

Riverfront

Plan,coupledwiththeAsheville201 Plan,provided

powerful, thoughtful guidance.

The

committee

under-took

many

field inspections and bus tours of the

riverfront area which had

now

been redefined to

includeone oftheFrenchBroad's

main

tributaries,the

Swannanoa

River.

When

theAshevilleCityCouncilandthePlanning andZoning

Commission

calledthesixsubcommittees togethertoreport theirfinalrecommendationstothe public,onlyone hadreachedconsensus—theriverfront

districtsubcommittee.

The

committee hadagreedthat

allriverbusinesses shouldbe grandfatheredandthat

no

new

junkyardsshould be allowed. Italso

recom-mended

thatspeculativegradingshouldbe

discontin-uedinthe riverdistrictbecauseofthe fragilecondition ofthe riverandtheneedtoprotectitasa sensitiveand valuable resource.

The

UDO

riverfront committee envisioneda rivercorridorwitha

greenway

alongthe riverforwalkersandbikersdotted with

new

industries

andresidentialopportunities.This vegetativecorridor

would

alsoslowrun-offand filterpollutantsrushing

intotheriver. This

was

especiallyimportantbecause

for all practical purposesthere

was

no storm-water runoffsystem. Increased use ofvegetation

would

also

serve to buffer and screen any incompatible uses whichresultedfromthemixed-use development.

The

committeealso

recommended

thatanyindustry

dam-agingtotheairorthewatershould be prohibited along Asheville'surbancorridor.

The

meeting todiscussthe

UDO

subcommittees' recommendations

was

punctuated with dissension

re-garding the recommendations ofthe other five

committees.

The

process

was

stalled.

Many

thought

thatthe fiercelyindependentmountainfolksof

west-em

NorthCarolinadidnotwant anyregulations related toorlimiting land use.Severalpeoplethoughtthatthe

UDO

subcommittee composition

was

not

representa-tiveofthecommunity-at-large.

The

environmentalists claimedthattoo

many

developershad been includedin the discussion.

The

developersclaimedthatthe

envi-ronmentalistshad dominatedtheprocess.

A

small but vocalgroupthoughtthatanyregulation relatingtoland

use

was

unconstitutional.

It had been

more

than fourteen years since

Asheville'szoningcode had been reviewed and

many

ofthe lawsonthebooks werecontradictory.Asheville's

boardofadjustmentgreetsasteadyflowof customers seeking variancesfromthelawsonthebooks.

Adding

totheconfusionare theon-goingdebates regardingthe regulationofoutdoorsignsand"privatepropertyrights."

Followingthe publicmeetingtohearthesix

subcom-mittees' recommendations, city planning staff

was

directed to take the

UDO

recommendations and to

beginto writeanordinancethat

would

addressallthe

needs ofthe

community

andtheconflictingdemandsof

itscitizens.Today,the

UDO

isstill in committee and

remainshotlydebated.

Most

recently,thecityhiredits

formerinterim city

manager

toreviewthe entire

UDO

and

make

recommendations regarding its passage. Despitethe delay enactingthe

UDO,

it is

commonly

agreedthatmixed-use developmentisthe

wave

ofthe

future forAsheville's FrenchBroad River.

Riverlink

Continues

Nineteen ninety-two

was

a pivotal year for

RiverLink.RiverLinkneededapermanentbaseonthe

FrenchBroadRiver.

The

JanirveFoundationprovided

agrant for the

down

payment

and RiverLinkacquired

The Warehouse

StudiosonOctober1, 1992.Financing

was

providedbyPublicInterestProjects.

The

building

was

perfect—itprovidedofficespace, a large

confer-enceroom,andeightartiststudios.Rentalofthestudio

space coveredthe costs ofthe mortgage,taxes, and

utilities, allowing RiverLink to locate on the river virtually rent free. Studiotenants reflected the

new

craftsindustrythat

was

emergingalongthe riverfront

toreplacethecottonmillsandtanneriesthathadonce provided jobs for Asheville's workers. Today, the riverfront's industrialbuildingsprovidethe largeopen spaces and inexpensive rents that artists want and need. Potters and glass blowers, sculptors, welders andironworkers,bookmakers, furnituremakers,

stu-dioartists,andgraphicartistsareproducingtheircrafts

and creating their art along Asheville's riverfront

corridors.Recyclingoperationsare also flourishing.

After

moving

toits

new

office,RiverLinkfocused on where to start the development ofthe riverfront

project.It

was

soonagreedthatthefirstprojectshould beon thewest bank atthe confluence ofthe French Broad and

Swannanoa

Rivers. RiverLink receiveda grantfromthe Z.

Sm

ithReynolds Foundationtohire a

landscapearchitecttodevelopafour-milemasterplan

forAsheville's urban rivercorridor. RiverLink

pro-ceededtosell

"Deeds

of Support"foronefoot sections

of

greenway

and sponsoreda

number

offund-raising events to matchthe Reynolds Foundation grant.

Fi-nally,arequestforproposals

was

sentthroughoutthe

southeastregion.

In keeping with the traditionofmulti-disciplined

teams to design the Asheville riverfront, RiverLink sought tohire notonly landscape architectsbutalso architects and engineers to

work

together with the

city'sverytalentedlandscapearchitect,Al Kopf, and

theParksandRecreationDepartment.

The

designhad

to ensure that Asheville's riverfront

greenway

was

lowmaintenance,secure,andfilledwith magic.Italso

hadtobedesignedtowithstandflooding.Everpresent

was

theperceptionthatthe river

was

thedividingline

betweenthe havesand the havenot.

Maybe,

instead

ofdividingthecity,theFrenchBroadcould helpknitthe

community

together.

The

planhadtoexceedeveryone's expectations tobe successful.

RiverLinkcontractedwiththefirms of

Edward

D.

Stone,Jr.,

ASLA

and

Mathews

andGlazer Architects

aswellas

two

localengineering firmstoprovideinput

into thestructural, electrical, and mechanical needs

andlimitationsoftheriverfrontgreenway.

The

West-ernNorthCarolina Surveyor's Associationprovided

allthesurveysfortheplanninganddesignprocessas

anin-kinddonation.

The

surveysconfirmedalong held suspicion

—

the FrenchBroad had

numerous

wetland

areas. These wetlands have been incorporated as a distinctivedesignfeatureoftheriverfrontgreenway.

Over

the years, thecityhadaccumulatedfundsinits

capital

improvement

project fund (CIP) for the riverfront effort. These funds

were

augmented

by a Federal

Land

and

Water

Conservation

Fund

grant.

RiverLinkreceived "bricksand mortar"grantsfrom

tneJanirve Foundation,theAshevilleCouncilof Gar-denClubs,areaRotary Clubs,individualgardenclubs,

Robinson-Humphries, andnumerousspecial fund-rais-ingevents.

On

December

23, 1993, a contract

was

signedto

begin construction on the first link ofthe riverfront

greenway. French Broad River Park

was

designed

withtheentirewatershedinmind.It

was

conceivedas

54

CAROLINA

PLANNING

and pace for all future river park development.

The

park

would

haveitall, including 1 footwideasphalt trails,thefirstpublicrestroom inthe river corridor,a picnic shelter reminiscent ofold Riverside Park, an observation deck, a lighted parking lot, vvildflower

gardens, native plants, fishing areas, and

wooden

boardwalksoverenhanced wetlandareas. Inkeeping withtheguidelinesoftheAmericans

w

ithDisabilities

Act,the park

was

designed to be completely handi-capped accessible.

The

park

was

dedicated on Sep-tember 25, 1994 and has been used non-stop ever

since.

The

winter, spring, and

summer

of 1994 werethe

wettest in

memory.

FrenchBroadRiverPark flooded

twice duringconstruction.It

was

completely inundated

on

August

17, 1994,but sufferednodamage. Infact, thefloodwaters leftbehind

two

inchesofrich French BroadRiversiltwhichis

now

coveredwithnicegreen

grass.

As

anotherstepintheriverfront revitalization project,

theCityCouncildirected planningstaff todevelopa

neighborhoodplanforChickenHillin

November

1994.

ChickenHillistheriver'soldestneighborhoodandisin serious decline. Petitionstodirect

Community

Devel-opment

Block Grant

(CDBG)

fundstowardsChicken

Hill had been denied for three consecutive years.

Community

inputsessionswereplannedforFebruary

1995,anddiscussionsare

underway

on

how

to attract

fundsfromtheAppalachianRegional

Commission

and

the

Economic Development

Administration,as well as

CDBG

monies.

The

Chicken Hill area has dramatic

elevations,

which

could provide an entrance with sweeping mountain and river views. It could also

become

the pivotalconnectionbetweenthe

dow

ntown

andtheriver.Gentrificationanddisplacementofthe

residents are issuesRiverLink andthecitywillwrestle withastheneighborhoodplan

moves

forward.

Two

other eventsaffected the riverfront projectin

December

of1993.

The

French BroadRiver

Founda-tion decided toclose its doors andturn overits

geo-graphic and program responsibilities to RiverLink. RiverLink

was

charged with spearheading the

eco-nomic

and environmentalrevitalizationoftheFrench

Broad

River,not justinAsheville, butthroughoutthe

watershed.

As

a result, RiverLink

now

sponsorsthe

Volunteer

Water

Information

Network

(

VWIN)

pro-gram.Thisprogram has70monitoringsitesalongthe

French Broad River.

On

the first Saturday ofeach month,70 volunteersdiptheir testkitbeakersintothe

cool waters of the French Broad at precisely 12 o'clock.

The

samplesaretakentoa varietyof

refrig-eration points ranging from pizzaparlors to funeral parlors.

The

followingTuesday,internsfromthe

Uni-versity of North Carolina at Asheville gather the

samplesand bringthemtotheuniversity labforaseries

oftests. Every six months, a report card is issued describingtheconditionofthf FrenchBroad.

Also in

December

1993, RiverLinkformalized its

on-goingpartnership withthePreservation Societyof Ashevilleand

Buncombe

County.Asheville'shistoric

cotton mill

was

transferredtothePreservation Society by Clyde Savings Bank.

The

mill, built in 1887, had been identified by RiverLink and the Preservation Societyasthe key historic propertyalong the urban

riverfront.

A

bankruptcyfollowedbyabank

foreclo-surethreatenedthe mill's existence. Today,the millis

avallableforrestorationandisbeingmarketed nation-ally.Despiteitsdeteriorated condition, thecottonmill

is

home

toa glassblower, acraftcooperative, and a

construction

company.

It produces

enough income

each

month

to meet expenses.

The

roofleaks and a demolitionballhas

wreaked

havoc on one ofthe oldest sections, yet Asheville's historic cotton mill

thumps

with lifeandpromisefor the future.

Conclusion

The

cotton mill's water tower has always been

the signature for the Asheville riverfront project and the riverfront trademark. It projects into the

Asheville skylineand greets travelerscrossingthe river as anAsheville landmark. Itisrustyand old.

This spring, thanks to well

known

wildlife artist

SallieMiddleton,thewatertowerwillbestabilized

and painted. Raffle tickets are being sold for a

Middletonoriginal

framed

painting. Allofthe pro-ceeds

from

the raffle willbeusedtorehabilitatethis

distinctiveriverfrontlandmark. Discussionsare on-goingas to

whether

the riverfrontmascot,theblue heron, should be paintedas a

symbol

on thewater tower.

The

herons

have

returned tothe riversince

the water quality has improved. Last year, the

Western

North Carolina Nature Center introduced

river otter into the French

Broad

and

Swannanoa

Rivers.

They

are thriving. Last

week

we

hadacall

from

theoldest craftcooperative inwestern North

Carolina, asking if

we

had space for seventeen professional artists in the Asheville Cotton Mill.

Hope

springseternalonAsheville'shistoric river

—