Beacon Park gears up to 'make fast friends' with spring opening
Former Swannanoa mill site to feature bike tracks, walking trails, pocket parks and SPacious event lawn
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 9, 2026
Casey Watkins, center, and representatives from the Beacon Foundation lead a Nov. 9 tour of Beacon Park, which is anticipated to open in spring of 2027. The facility will feature bike tracks, a walking trail, pocket parks and food truck court. Photo by Fred McCormick
For nearly 80 years, while Swannanoa was home to the world’s largest blanket manufacturer, much of the work and social life within the small unincorporated community between Asheville and Black Mountain centered around an expansive piece of property in the center of the rural settlement.
Before its closing in 2002, followed by a massive fire the following year, Beacon Manufacturing and the thousands of area residents it employed, prided themselves on the folksy motto: “make warm friends.” When the long-vacant lot begins to welcome visitors in the spring of 2027, Beacon Park will gear up to “make fast friends,” as it debuts an $11.8 million bike park, walking trails, community green space and spacious event lawn.
The 8-acre development, situated on the 42-acre property once home to the mill where his grandparents worked, is more than a bike park, according to Casey Watkins, founder and chair of the Beacon Foundation, which announced plans to redevelop the site in February of 2024. Watkins was joined by his brother Colby, Beacon Foundation executive director Nick Scheuer and other representatives from the nonprofit organization, Nov. 9, for a press conference providing updates on the progress of the development.
Plans for the park include a paved pump track, designed and constructed by Velosolutions, which is poised to become the largest of its kind in North or South America. Dirt tracks and jump lines, built by Pisgah Trail Co., are positioned near the east side of the development, with a bike skills zone on the north end. Covered bouldering walls will offer climbing opportunities for all skill levels, according to developers.
The turf lawn, which will face a mobile stage, can accommodate approximately 6,000 people, according to Watkins, while a nearly one-mile walking trail winds around the perimeter of the park. The paved path will lead to several pocket parks, three pavilions and a playground. The landscape will also feature approximately 170 trees, rain gardens and bioswales, while amenities include restrooms, a food truck court and tap house.
Once completed, a public art initiative will install metal sculptures throughout the facility, which will display signs detailing the history of the former Beacon Manufacturing site.
“One of the things that’s been hard about telling the story of this park is that it will offer so much,” Watkins said. “It will host programming, events, music and serve as a gathering place for residents and visitors. It will be a nice park, but it’s more like an outdoor community and cultural center for Swannanoa.”
The funding model utilized by the nonprofit organization has been nicknamed “Beaconomics,” according to the chair.
“Ultimately, this isn’t about recreation, it’s about belonging,” Watkins said. “Revenues from concerts, paid recreation and other activities are intended to cover the costs of operating, maintaining and improving the park, while keeping it accessible. As the park generates a surplus beyond those needs, those resources can support the Beacon Foundation’s broader work.”
Casey Watkins stands above a paved pump track at Beacon Park, which is expected to open in spring of 2027. The track, designed by Velosolutions, is poised the be the largest of its kind in the Americas. Photo by Fred McCormick
Bike rentals will be available at the park, which will implement a “zero barrier model” for visitors.
“We believe access to outdoor recreation, healthy lifestyles and healthy activities in community spaces shouldn’t depend on how much disposable income someone has,” Watkins said. “We’re utilizing a ‘pay what you can’ or ‘pay it forward’ approach, designed to reduce financial barriers and give people the opportunity to participate. We want kids growing up in Swannanoa to have access to the same kinds of incredible outdoor experiences that people travel across the country to enjoy.”
The goal is to create a sustainable facility that will bring visitors and residents back to the Swannanoa business district, which has experienced a revival since Helene. Short Sleeves Coffee, Rite Buy Grocery, Town Hardware Swannanoa and Daymakers Slider Bar have all opened nearby since the natural disaster.
Beacon Park will help reestablish the surrounding village as a community gathering place, according to Watkins.
“We envision a place where parents can bring their kids for an afternoon, or friends can meet up after work,” he said. “People can just talk a walk and visitors can experience a different side of Western N.C. It’s a place where you don’t really need an agenda.”
The project was awarded $4.5 million through the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority Tourism Product Development Fund in October of 2025.
“This is money that is generated by people visiting from somewhere else, to improve the daily lives of our citizens and create more ways for visitors to recreate,” said Kyle McCurry, director of public relations for Explore Asheville. “We’re proud to be here to celebrate this project with you today. Beacon Park is exactly the kind of project our Tourism Product Development Fund is supposed to support… We’re proud to support this project because of what it means to the Swannanoa community and the recovery from Helene.”
The Beacon Foundation anticipates approximately 150,000 annual visitors to the park, which, will staff an estimated 30 employees.
“We understand the impact of what it takes to build a park, and a $12 million investment in the community is massive,” Watkins said. “But, I would say 90% of that money is going to local contractors, so that’s an important component.”
Beacon Park is anticipated to open in the spring of 2027, representatives from the Beacon Foundation announced, Nov. 9. The facility, on the former site of Beacon Manufacturing, will feature bike trails, a paved walking path and expansive event lawn. Photo by Fred McCormick
The project represents the nonprofit organization’s commitment to the future of Swannanoa, the founder added.
“We’re not trying to recreate what was here before. Our aim is to honor that legacy by giving this property a new purpose,” Watkins said. “One that conserves Swannanoa for generations to come. A place where people can gather, kids can play, neighbors can reconnect and where the community can once again feel a sense of ownership and pride right in something right here in the heart of our town.”
Bringing people back to the center of his hometown is an appropriate way to redevelop the property that once housed the mill, which provided employment, social and recreational resources for generations of Swannanoa residents, said Watkins, who purchased the property in 2019.
“I can probably speak for Colby, too, because we both remember being young kids and playing in this village when there was a factory. We remember hanging out up here with our grandparents, and we know how much pride there was in this community for Beacon blankets,” he said. “Seeing it sit for so long with no real clarity on what it might become, to play even a small part in what the future is going to be feels really good.”