Karen Cragnolin Park Master Plan
Location: Asheville, NC
Type: Master Planning, Design
Altura Architects collaborated with an exceptional design team, led by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, along with local firms Equinox Environmental and Anchor QEA, to develop plans for RiverLink’s Karen Cragnolin Park. This master plan, years in the making, seamlessly integrates recreation and education into a cohesive experience along the banks of the French Broad River.
Project Team
Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Woltz
Environmental Consultant: Equinox Environmental
Environmental Engineer: Anchor QEA
The Trellis: a curving, open-air structure that wraps the south end of the oval lawn.
The Pavilion: protrudes out over the riverbank so park goers can “get up and out” over the French Broad.
The site of this park is located on a 5.3 acre lot on Amboy Road and butts up to the French Broad River. This lot has been dubbed the “missing link” in a chain of riverfront parks, and spend many years behind a chain-link fence. When open, the park will finally connect French Broad River Park to Carrier Park, something many Asheville residents have been waiting for.
The lot used to be the site of a junkyard in operation for many years, covering the land in scrap metal, concrete and soaking the ground with volatile compounds. When RiverLink was able to purchase the property in 2010, they began a years-long soil remediation process. 100,000 tons of concrete was removed and phytoremediation was utilized to clean contaminants from the earth.
Community Engagement
The “field day” was an opportunity for us to engage with the public and to celebrate this long-awaited project. The property has been hidden behind a fence since 2006, so opening up the gates to our community was an exciting step in this project. Guided tours were lead by members of the design team and gave visitors a sense of the land and the vision for the park. Everyone was encouraged to give feedback – even those who couldn’t make it via an online survey
Design Process
For our part of the project, we have designed two structures to be integrated into the park. The first, The Pavilion, a covered walkway that will extend out of the landscape, overlooking the water that also serves as an outdoor classroom. The other, dubbed The Trellis, is a curved and trellised structure that surrounds a lawn and has concrete tables and benches.
The park is named after Karen Cragnolin, founder of RiverLink and long-time advocate for the French Broad River. The goal for the master plan is to create a unique park for Asheville that incorporates the ideas of recreation and education into one experience. The park will include pedestrian and bike paths, a pollinator garden, a large lawn with landform seating and a sitting area right at the water’s edge called “The Get Down.”
2025: Current views of the progress at Karen Cragnolin Park.