Could a whitewater park come to River Arts District?

Don't cry too long over possibly losing out on a giant slip-and-slide.

What might soon be splashing down the French Broad River will be something even bigger, better and splashier, supporters say. And it has the attention of everyone from Asheville's mayor to business and environmental leaders, to recreational kayakers, as an idea to permanently cement Asheville as the outdoor recreation hub of the Southeast.

Floated as an idea more than 20 years as part of the 1994 Wilma Dykeman Waterway Plan and adopted then by the city, plans to build an "in-stream" whitewater park in the French Broad River in downtown Asheville never really held water. But with an Olympic kayaker and professional whitewater park project consultant on board, the idea finally looks like it is on stable ground.

Scott Shipley, a three-time Olympic whitewater slalom kayaker and World Cup Champion who spent several years living and training in Bryson City and on the Nantahala River in the 1980s and '90s, is a civil engineer who builds whitewater parks and lives in Boulder, Colorado.

He and his firm, S2O Design and Engineering, built the artificial whitewater park at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte and the course for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as many parks, such as the one proposed for Asheville, in Durango, Colorado; San Marcos, Texas, and Wanaka, New Zealand.

S2O has completed a 60-page study, "Site Visit and Conceptual Design Study, Asheville Whitewater Park," on building a whitewater feature on the French Broad in Asheville's River Arts District.

POLL: Should a whitewater park be built in the RAD?

"The feasibility study that Scott did was really important in understanding what the practicality was of building a park like this. There is FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer permitting, and structural fit in the riverbed, whether there is enough gradient or enough water," said Vice Mayor Marc Hunt. "It's all a matter of complex science and permitting. We didn't want to create a big public discussion about something that might not happen."

But the study clearly shows Asheville and the French Broad can accommodate an "in-stream" feature that would simulate a surfing wave and provide for year-round whitewater in the burgeoning River Arts District.

Now that the study is available, the city will be looking to the public and as many interested voices as possible to move forward, offer input, and raise needed funds, Hunt said.

The study calls for an estimated $1.78 million to build the park, which would most likely take about four years. The study outlines three potential river sites, including an access near the New Belgium Brewery under construction, and under the Jeff Bowen Bridge, the study's preferred alternative, as well as sites near Jean Webb Park and near the Pearson Street Bridge.

"It would be quick walking distance from New Belgium Brewery. If you go just north, a very large parking area under construction, it's part of the whole redevelopment of RAD. If the park were built in the preferred location, it would be the main place where river users would go, and it would be steps away from New Belgium and the Wedge and the Smoky Mountain Supper Club going up," Hunt said.

Rick Lutovsky, who retired in 2012 as the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, has been one of the drivers in keeping the whitewater park idea alive.

"Asheville's culture and identity is very much tied to outdoor recreation and the environment, and that is what this project represents. Until now, there was uncertainty about whether such a project could even be feasible," he said. "Now we know there is real potential."

The study cost of $13,000 was raised under the auspices of the Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation, and local businesses and outfitters, including Harry Pilos, of Delphi Management Group, who is developing the 209-unit mixed-use RAD Lofts in the River District. The actual cost of building the whitewater park would be about $1.78 million, and it would be funded partially by grants and other partnerships, said Mayor Esther Manheimer.

"Right now we need to do a lot of fact-finding. I've appreciated the approach so far. It's been very much bringing in stakeholders in terms of championing and fundraising and showing up and looking at a feasibility study," Manheimer said. "This is kind of a perfect opportunity for a public-private partnership, with city-owned land and possibly the Buncombe Tourism and Development Authority and other partners."

What is a whitewater park?

The Asheville "surf wave," as Shipley calls it, is not a slip-and-slide, and it's not Disney World. Whitewater parks are river parks in which the whitewater has been designed to create a regional attraction. In some cases whitewater parks are built in natural rivers and consist of natural rock "drop structures."

The plan suggests a low dam-like structure, using natural rocks, concrete, and mechanical metal gates to direct water through multiple side-by-side drops to create whitewater of a quality that does not exist near town.

The project could feature at least one "primary" wave that would provide a splashy thrill for people passing through on their river trips and also a surfing or "whitewater play" experience for more advanced users.

A separate channel with a milder but still-fun rapid could be available for people not interested in the primary channels. The mechanical gate elements of the project would ensure mitigation of flood impacts, allow for flow management at various water levels in the river, and ensure a pathway for migration up and downstream for fish and other aquatic life.

It is the use of the mechanical gates in recent years that has helped drive the feasibility and success of many of the projects, Shipley said.

"The feasibility process is important to understand the river, but also to understand the culture and the future plans of the city," Shipley said. "Charlotte has a very different objective from Asheville."

He said it was clear locals want to protect fishing, tubing, beginning kayaking and paddling, and to also improve on what's going on at the river and create something more challenging.

"Asheville is very much an outdoors destination town. Charlotte is great, but it's a mechanical thing — very much a synthetic river. In Asheville, it will be built with native stone, bank restoration, greenway-style river access and egress; an outdoor mountain destination culture that is already there," he said. "We also wanted to have the ability to have an expert feature. We want to make sure Asheville is the No. 1 brand in being an outdoor destination."

Although Asheville does not have a steep gradient, which causes natural waterfalls, it has better flow of water, Shipley said. "Better waves come from more water. The Nantahala flows at about 600-900 cfs (cubic feet per second), but the French Broad flows from 1,500 up to 3,000 cfs. Those types of flow are more conducive to surf waves."

Economic impact

Jay Curwen, vice president of retail for the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County, is an Asheville native and longtime director of the three-day Mountain Sports Festival in May and is all for the idea.

"I think it would be a great asset to downtown. I think Asheville has lagged a little in developing the outdoor resources we have," Curwen said. "I can see it being a huge part of the Mountain Sports Festival. I've seen it in Fort Collins (Colorado), and Boise (Idaho) and Reno (Nevada). This has been the catalyst that has brought a lot of fun change. It was a huge benefit to us at NOC and we were able to bring the World Championships."

The 2013 worlds was a huge success, he said. NOC hosted more than 200 athletes from 30 countries and attracted almost 50,000 visitors to Swain County, plus a national and international television audience.

Since the championship event, Curwen said "the park has become a centerpiece of the Nantahala paddling experience, with on-shore spectators being the biggest part of that."

Whitewater parks that have been built in similar cities in the United States have become significant attractions, according to the report. They bring enthusiasts and spectators who spend money at restaurants, shops and businesses. In‐stream whitewater parks in Colorado have had impacts as high as $7‐9 million per year, according to the report.

A recent AdvantageWest study found WNC is home to more than 25 outdoor products manufacturers, many focused on whitewater sports, said Matt Raker, vice president at the regional economic development agency and an organizer of the Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC.

"The suggested whitewater park could certainly help us further brand our region and support quality jobs in the fast-growing outdoor industry," Raker said.

The Asheville region is home to several prominent outdoor industry manufacturers, including Legacy Paddlesports and its Liqidlogic kayaks brand; Astral Designs, which manufacturers life jackets and clothing; Pyrhana Mouldings, a British company with North American distribution headquarters here; and Watershed, which manufactures waterproof bags for river use.

Derek Turno, owner of Asheville Adventure Rentals, one of the groups that funded the feasibility study, is one of the four outfitting companies established along the river in Asheville. Just down from the Bywater, Turno sells and rents tubes, paddleboards and other boats.

"Estimates are that about 50,000 floated the river through town in 2014 — mostly locals — and that is up from only a few hundred annually just a few years ago," he said. "Peak days this past summer saw about 2,000 users. Our business is doubling each year. A whitewater park would add to the experience and get more people out and in touch with the river."

Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper, who works for environmental nonprofit MountainTrue, said his first thought when hearing about the whitewater park was what effects it would have on the river.

"Everything I've read and the research I've done, I can't find any negatives," said Carson, who is also an avid paddler.

"But the positives look great," he said. "Getting people down to the river and paddling it and using it and caring about it, that just makes it more of an economic driver. It makes it hard, no matter your political or your environmental stripes; if it's a big money maker, it's hard to turn down."

Carson and others think having actual whitewater in the downtown of outdoorsy Asheville would help cement it as the outdoor recreation meccas of the Southeast. While there is plenty of whitewater in Western North Carolina, such as the Green River, the upper stretches of the French Broad, and the Nantahala and Chattooga, they are all a drive from downtown Asheville.

New flood mapping and permitting would be required from FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under federal regulations, a routine but sometimes challenging step for whitewater park projects.

The next steps would be to work with local governments, including the city, to see how planning and further design might fit into the river district redevelopment effort, Lutovsky said.

"Assuming a fit there, we'd need to gather initial funding to get detailed designing and permitting accomplished over the next couple years, with major fundraising and construction to follow that," Lutovsky said. "With luck, we could have the park available in a four-year time frame."