Building on decades of environmental recovery and community advocacy begun by RiverLink’s founding executive director, Karen Cragnolin, Karen Cragnolin Park transforms a former junkyard, remediated through the EPA’s Brownfields Program, into a restored public landscape along the French Broad River in Asheville, North Carolina.
The site lies within a river corridor shaped by deep geology, Indigenous presence, and Asheville’s evolving mix of industry, arts, and outdoor life. The French Broad now supports a growing constellation of parks and trails. The design strengthens this continuity by completing a key link in the 17-mile Wilma Dykeman Greenway and by creating a landscape that brings forward the ecological and cultural stories held in the land.
NBW developed a phased master plan and an interpretive strategy rooted in the site’s natural cycles and histories. Colors draw from local prairie blooms, and forms echo the river’s sinuous movement. Along a meandering greenway path, interpretive elements introduce visitors to Indigenous lifeways, the site’s industrial legacy, and ongoing ecological renewal. Future phases will add an educational pavilion, universal river access, pollinator gardens, and additional community amenities.
Through restored ecology, thoughtful interpretation, and strengthened connections to the river, Karen Cragnolin Park offers recreation, learning, and a deeper understanding of a landscape whose layered stories continue to shape Asheville’s identity.
