River Arts District
In the late 19th century, the Western North Carolina Railroad expanded along the French Broad River and the banks' land value increased.
[11] By the very early 20th century, Asheville's portion of French Broad riverfront had become a prime destination point for travelers and a pivotal recreational and leisure space for residents.
The many local industry and business owners – who for years had thrived along the French Broad River – abandoned their buildings and relocated to higher ground.
Soon after, Asheville's traffic system experienced rapid growth, and new highways and roads cut off access points to the river.
[12] This wouldn't change until the 1970s, when the federal government attended to the deteriorating state of the nation's river systems and passed the Clean Water Act.
[2] Due to advocacy of regional policy analysts, politicians and local agencies, conservation groups and economists reset the agenda to develop and redevelop the French Broad's riverfront.
Also, through a series of management studies and evaluations by the LOS and local government agencies, it was determined that for the region to grow, the French Broad would have to be Buncombe County's primary potable water source.
[2] If the French Broad River was to be successfully revitalized, the final plan had to truly represent and incorporate the wants and needs of the entire community.
Peter Batchelor, the Chairman of the NC AIA, then divided the joint charette into three primary groups: The first team focused on how to effectively reestablish a connection between downtown Asheville and the riverfront.
The design included a detailed layout of the riverfront, complete with diagrams of the urban corridor, maps of future greenway space and descriptions of the charrette’s findings and suggestions.
More importantly, the plan's mixed use for revitalizing the French Broad River satisfied the needs of all the community – environmental, recreation and business constituents.
[15] During September 1991, with strong support from local government authorities and the public, RiverLink received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop what is now known as The Asheville Riverfront Open Space Design Guidelines.
Through public forums constituents came to agree that all open space development should accentuate the unique geographical op aspects of Asheville and Western North Carolina.
In 1991 Carolina Power & Light Company offered RiverLink a two-mile-long donation of property which became the first link in the urban riverfront greenway.
Once the donation of land from CP&L was accepted, RiverLink and The City of Asheville entered into a public-private partnership to develop it as the French Broad River Park & Greenway System.
[14] With the city's help, RiverLink received a grant from The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation to hire a landscape architecture firm to develop the master plan and construction drawings.
[14] On September 21, 1994, the first part of the project was completed and the French Broad River Park became the first greenway (or watershed) built within the City of Asheville.
In 1999, RiverLink received funding from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to implement the final phase, extending the greenway trail even further along the river next to Amboy Road.
[18] The greenway system would run along the French Broad River from Broadway Avenue through the central riverfront, along the WECAN neighborhood, through the recreational areas to the Amboy Road Exit of I-240.
[12] Similar to the original Riverfront Plan, though in significantly richer detail, the new design centered on three diverse concepts: First, with a road alignment study, it addressed specific development zones within the seventeen miles.
Lastly, market analysis demonstrated how the revitalization of the river could further reinforce traditional industries such as health/wellness, recreation, arts, crafts and entrepreneurship.
[19] As of 2010, by championing thousands of supporters and working with local government, RiverLink had contributed several popular parks and greenway extensions to The Wilma Dykeman Riverway Plan.
[1] RiverLink started the process of revitalizing the neighborhood in 1992 with the purchase of Warehouse Studios, which became a textile museum with small retail stores.
[21] 12 Bones Smokehouse, started in 2005,[22] is a restaurant visited three times by President Barack Obama,[21][23] though it has moved since then due to road improvements.
[27] Funding included a TIGER grant of $14.6 million announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a visit to Asheville on September 12, 2014.
