Happening Now
Construction is complete on a new community picnic shelter and restroom facility at Richmond Hill Park. Key features of this project include a covered picnic shelter, winterized restrooms, an updated water fountain with bottle fillers and a pet dish, a new disc golf tee box at hole one, an expanded green space, and new walkways connecting park features.
In 2016, this project was included in the City’s $17 million bond referendum to support park and recreation facilities improvements. The bond referendum was approved by Asheville voters resulting in an allocation of $520,000 for this project.
In addition, a new bike skills trail is being built at Richmond Hill Park in collaboration with Pisgah Area Southern Offroad Biking Association (Pisgah Area SORBA). This addition to the park is a natural surface trail approximately 2500’ long that includes portions of the existing purple trail, user-created trails, and new construction. It includes features designed to build specific skills needed for mountain biking with options for beginner to advanced riders, including young children on balance bikes.
The City is contributing $10,000 toward the project from the Capital Improvements budget and provides the land. Pisgah Area SORBA is providing approximately $30,000 to fund the majority of the project and has contracted with Nature Trails LLC based in Charlotte to provide construction. Pisgah Area SORBA has also agreed to help maintain the trail for three years.
Background
Richmond Hill Park is a major passive and active park resource in West Asheville. The City has developed the parking lot and joined with volunteers to create a disc golf course and mountain biking trails. The park is highly utilized by the community and has lacked supporting amenities such as restroom facilities, a shelter, and updated site furnishings which have recently been added. This project, still being completed, was funded by the citizen approved General Obligation Bond designated for parks projects, with an allocated budget of $520,000. This project supports the City of Asheville’s values of continuous improvement and excellent service.
Timeline
Construction of the bike skills trail is scheduled to begin summer, 2020 and take approximately 4 weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions.
Supporting Documents
Photo of New Restroom/Picnic Shelter Facility
Contact Information
Christine Elyseev, Outdoor Program Coordinator
828-251-4080
