Haw Creek Park Greenway
The neighborhood association that brought you Haw Creek Park and Masters Park is well on our way to bringing a public greenway to the Haw Creek valley, right across the street from PennyCup and Creekside Taphouse. This natural-surface, mostly-flat trail will meander through woods and a meadow alongside Haw Creek, offering the first public access to our namesake creek.
The greenway will link treasured community attractions – the East Asheville Public Library, Haw Creek Park, our charming commercial area – with the surrounding residential area and the nearby elementary school. Imagine the joy of walking along the creek to access these, or just stopping by for a relaxing creek side picnic.
HCCA has made good progress on securing the funding. Our fundraising campaign raised over $10,000 from generous Haw Creek residents. In addition, we were awarded a $5,000 grant from respected greenway advocates Connect Buncombe.
For the remainder of the funds needed – the biggest piece – we submitted a grant application for Buncombe County's Open Space Passive Recreation Bond.
Throughout the summer and fall our proposal made it through every stage of review, including a panel interview and a site visit. By September the grant subcommittee emailed us with fantastic news – they recommended us for full funding! We were one of the very few proposals that was slated for such an honor. The last step was for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to approve our proposal. That meeting was scheduled for early October but was canceled due to Hurricane Helene in late September.
The county has since paused funding for all of the bond grants but they expect to resume the process in July. They will likely ask us to update and resubmit our proposal. Whatever happens, we recognize this greenway is needed more than ever and we’ll get it done.
We’re happy to say that the damage to the greenway site is manageable, so the site is still viable. We also have confirmation from Connect Buncombe that they’ll stand behind us and will honor our grant award from them.
The timeline is temporarily out of our hands; however, we have every confidence this project will move forward. Once the timeline becomes clearer, we'll update this page and reach out for your input and involvement.
HCCA has a track record of success on community-driven projects. By working in partnership with local and state government, foundations, and our neighbors, we have been able to accomplish valued and lasting improvements for the Haw Creek community. We believe this greenway will provide these same long-lasting benefits.
Photos from last summer of the future site of the Haw Creek Park Greenway.
