A place to connect with nature just steps away from “big box” retailers, Riverbend Park has plenty of open areas, mature trees, and a completed section of Swannanoa River Greenway.
APR partnered with HCA Healthcare’s Mission Health to fulfill their shared commitment of supporting the community with a temporary dog park at this location after Tropical Storm Helene’s floodwaters severely damaged and all other public dog parks in the city.
Note: This dog park will remain open while APR works to rebuild permanent dog parks destroyed by floodwaters, a process that may take multiple years.
Features
- Benches
- Dog Park (temporary)
- Greenway access
- Open space
- Wheelchair accessible
Parties and Rentals
History
Several waterways feed into the French Broad including the Swannanoa River, a major tributary. With headwaters in Black Mountain, the river is 22 miles long and meets the French Broad near Amboy Riverfront Park. Like the French Broad, the Swannanoa attracted both recreation and industry near its banks in the early 20th century.
Textile factory Sayles Biltmore Bleacheries opened in 1927 and went out of business in 1991. After attempts to convert the vacant buildings into a business park proved unsuccessful, Walmart opened its first supercenter in Asheville on the site. In order to mitigate runoff from the store’s massive parking lot, developers agreed to create a park out of 11 acres along the river and donate it to the City of Asheville.
Riverbend Park includes a completed section of Swannanoa Greenway, benches and picnic tables, a temporary dog park, and original some industrial equipment from the bleachery repurposed as public art. When the park was accepted into the APR system, it was dedicated to the memory of Sgt. Jeff Hewitt, a Marine Corps veteran and Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office deputy killed in the line of duty.