ASHEVILLE — About 15 minutes outside of downtown Asheville, a 342-acre mountaintop is poised to become Buncombe County's largest public park.
At the 3,118-foot mountain peak, a grassy bald opens into a 180-degree view of the French Broad River Valley. There is little in the way of infrastructure, only a winding gravel road, graduating to dirt nearer to the summit. A rope swing hangs from the branches of a tree.
On April 13, county staff, elected officials, conservationists and other stakeholders held a press conference at the bald, celebrating the future park.
Deaverview Mountain will be preserved in perpetuity in partnership with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, an Asheville-based nonprofit land trust.
"This really is the 'Land of the Sky,'" said Carl Silverstein, the conservancy's executive director, in reference to the mountain's ridgeline, the backdrop of decades-old area postcards. "Saving it enables it to be saved for future generations."
He noted it as a "sanctuary" for wildlife and rare plants. It is largely forested and home to 16 headwater streams with more than 31,000 linear feet of stream buffer protected through a conservation easement. Almost three miles of streams flow through the property, including Smith Mill Creek, and tributaries of Canie and Ragsdale creeks.
The peak can be seen from "every corner" of Asheville, Silverstein said. From its summit, through a late morning haze, there was a view of downtown Asheville's buildings, taller than its surrounding sprawl, of the Biltmore Estate, Mission Hospital and the roof of the Grove Park Inn. To the south is Mount Pisgah, to the east: Hickory Nut Gorge.
"I think this is going to be the place when people come to Buncombe County, and come visit Asheville, people are going to say, 'You can't leave without going to Deaverview Mountain,'" said Michelle Pugliese, the conservancy's land protection director.
Standing alongside Buncombe Parks and Recreation Director Allison Dains, the two were "ecstatic."
Beyond the excitement, Dains said she found herself "at peace" and "humbled."
"To say that it is a legacy project is an understatement," she said. "It's just amazing."
'A park for everyone'
The county closed on the property in March for $8 million, funded primarily through two grants: a $4.5-million Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program grant awarded to the county through the National Park Service and a $4.3-million North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant awarded to the conservancy.
Grant dollars also went toward transaction costs.
An additional $7.7 million from the county's open space bond has been set aside for project costs.
The property was listed for sale in March 2023, with plans on file for a 21-estatelot development. But before any other sale could go through, the property was purchased by a "conservation-minded buyer" for $7.3 million and signed a three-year option agreement with the conservancy that allowed time to find a permanent conservation solution.
Dains said the property is notable for its location and accessibility.
"This is meant to be a park for everyone, for all Buncombe County residents. It's meant to be in a place that is prominent. That allows you, no matter who you are and where you are in Buncombe County, that you can come here and you can experience just the overwhelming magnificence of this place," she said.
"There's nowhere else you could go in Buncombe County to experience it in this way."
The property can be used for passive recreation. That's things like hiking, mountain biking and birding. It is not yet open to the public.
The county issued a request of qualifications for the mountain park's master plan in March. It will be completed in phases, with the first design phase expected to begin in the summer.
Dains said the master planning process is anticipated to take six to nine months. She told the Citizen Times previously that it must be open to the public within three years of purchase.
Reporting by Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
