A new bike park at the site of the former Beacon Blanket factory in Swannanoa is on track for a soft launch by the end of the year.
Many residents are hailing the project, Beacon Park, as transformative for the Buncombe County community, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. But some are worried about whether Swannanoa is ready for the influx of visitors the park is expected to bring.
On a recent morning, the gravel crunched underfoot as Daniel Sapp, chief marketing officer for Beacon Park, made his way across the sprawling construction site in the heart of Swannanoa’s Beacon Village.
“So yeah, right here in this corner, there’s going to be a little pocket pavilion — you know, a ton of shade and everything,” Sapp said. “And so, the greenway’s right here. Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa can come hang out right there while the kids are on the trails.”
Walking at a leisurely pace, it takes about 15 minutes to get from one side to the other. Along the way are bulldozers, huge piles of dirt and ribbons of asphalt rippling through a meadow.
The asphalt will form one of the most unique aspects of Beacon Park: a paved bike track, known as a pumptrack, that’s expected to be the largest in North and South America. The track, designed by international bike park company Velosolutions, will also be open to skateboarders, rollerbladers and cyclists with disabilities using adaptive bikes.
It’s anticipated to draw national and international competitions — and thousands of visitors.
“We've obviously had a ton of interest from people all over the country and even all over the world with what's happening here,” Sapp said.
The project was launched in early 2024, but a $4.5 million grant last year from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority allowed construction to take place on a faster timeline. Money for TDA grants comes from the taxes that visitors pay when they stay at local hotels and vacation rentals. According to state law, the funds can only be spent on projects that will bring more tourism to the area.
Sapp said the pumptrack is only part of what’s in store for the site. The park will also include a mile-long walking path, world-class bouldering walls, green space, playgrounds and an event lawn that can hold 4,000 people.
“So the bike park's just one component,” Sapp said. “And it just happened to be built first, and so, you know, people naturally are like, ‘Oh, it's just a bike park.’ No, it's not just a bike park. First and foremost, it is a community park.”
Constructing one park, rebuilding another
The tension between the interests of locals and visitors is nothing new in Buncombe County, where announcements of tourism-related projects often bring calls for more attention to affordable housing and cost-of-living issues.
In Swannanoa, though, there’s the added complexity of the slow recovery from Hurricane Helene.
The community still doesn’t have a post office or a major supermarket, both of which were destroyed by the storm and are just starting to be rebuilt in new locations. Beacon Village, the neighborhood surrounding the park site, was among the hardest hit by Helene. And piles of debris are still visible along major roads — something often cited by residents as an obstacle to moving on from the trauma inflicted by the storm.
Swannanoa resident Lisa Fields said it’s “like a slap in the face” every time she drives down Old U.S.-70.
“I think it’s still visually disturbing to see the rubble,” Fields told BPR in an interview.
She was among those present at a recent event about the county’s plans to rebuild Charles D. Owen Park. It’s in a different part of town and sits right on the Swannanoa River. It experienced the worst storm damage of any park in Buncombe County.
Fields said she hopes Beacon Park’s leaders are prepared for all the infrastructure that’s needed when a major cycling competition happens. The mother of an Olympic gold medalist in the sport of BMX racing, she said she has years of experience visiting bike parks.
“I think it’s going to be really important to have the foresight. I hope they go to some places that have these national events and actually attend them and look at what’s required,” Fields said. “But yes, I’m thrilled that there’s going to be a place that families can hang out together and kids can take up a new sport. All ages. So I’m very excited about that.”
BPR spoke with nearly a dozen Swannanoa residents at the event. They overwhelmingly voiced excitement about both Owen Park’s redesign and the Beacon Park project, even as they acknowledged Swannanoa still has a long way to go in its recovery.
Some, like Jim Friedrichs, said they don’t know much about the project but expect it will draw a lot of people to visit — and perhaps even move to — Swannanoa.
“I think it’s great,” Friedrichs said. “Change is always good. We need new blood, and we need families. And that’s a family thing, like parks. So yeah, bring it on.”
Doug Lebbon, who’s lived in Swannanoa for 27 years, said he’s excited about Beacon Park’s walking paths and event space — even though some fellow residents may have concerns about the changes it will bring.
“I think it’s just going to be a wonderful addition,” Lebbon said. “It may drive more development that may or may not be what some of us want in Swannanoa. But some of it’s like, well, progress — you don’t get to control what progress is going to be, always.”
‘Finding some normalcy’ amid the recovery
As he made his way across the Beacon Park site, Daniel Sapp said he understands the concerns about moving forward with the park’s construction at a time when Swannanoa is still struggling.
He said the small team leading the project asked themselves the same question in the weeks after Helene, when they were focused on helping their neighbors get back on their feet.
“So it was, you know, a big pivot to the community,” he said. “I think at one point it was even a question of like, ‘Do we need to build this park? You know, what's important right now?’”
Ultimately, he said, the team concluded that outdoor recreation and the physical, mental and community health benefits it brings are an essential part of recovery.
“Finding some normalcy — finding a way to take a break from just the incredible mental load and emotional attacks and everything else that's going on and just have a little bit of normalcy — is really important,” Sapp said. “And you know, that's one of those things that green spaces provide.”
As for the concerns about parking, traffic and change, he said the venue’s plan is to host large-scale events infrequently, starting next year, using the revenue from visitors as a way to fund the park’s year-round amenities for locals.
“Being that we don't have just a stream of funding coming in all the time, we do have to support the park to keep it open. And how we do that is through the bike park and bouldering and then special events,” Sapp said.
He also noted that the project isn’t just local in name only. It’s being led by the Beacon Foundation, a nonprofit whose co-founder and board chair, Casey Watkins, grew up in Swannanoa and is the grandson of former Beacon Blanket factory workers.
And while the park is still under construction, there’s already been a surge of small businesses coming to the neighborhood. Short Sleeves Coffee opened just a few weeks after Helene. Town Hardware opened this spring.
And the latest addition — Daymakers Slider Bar — is opening later this month.
“You know, one of the coolest things is just seeing the businesses come into Swannanoa because of the park,” Sapp said. “Swannanoa is coming back to life a little bit, and it's exciting.”
After this year’s preview for the community, Beacon Park’s grand opening is expected next spring.
