Former Beacon Manufacturing site set for redevelopment
Project breathes new life into empty 42-acre Swannanoa lot
Jason Sandford/Ashevegas
Fred McCormick
Special to The Valley Echo
February 28, 2024
A new development that includes a multi-use park in the center of Swannanoa, as the owners of the former site of Beacon Manufacturing announce plans to develop the 42-acre property. Photo courtesy of Stephen Pruitt Photography
A barren, 42-acre site of the Swannanoa community’s once-famous blanket manufacturer will begin to see new life later this year as a multi-use park that could, in years to come, form the heart of new commercial and residential development, say a group of local entrepreneurs who shared their vision with residents Wednesday.
The entrepreneurs say their goal is to revitalize the former location, and surroundings, of the sprawling Beacon Manufacturing Company plant that burned in a massive 2003 blaze, Buncombe County’s largest structure fire. At its peak, some 2,300 mill workers wove, folded and shipped so many blankets that it ranked as the world’s largest blanket manufacturer and the area’s largest employer. (With about 1,200 looms, it was home to the world's largest weave room.)
From its arrival in 1933 until it closed in 2002, the mill helped generations of local residents pay bills, feed families and build homes and businesses nearby. Community pride in Beacon ran deep, and remains embedded in the place that’s been a mostly forgotten, abandoned brownfield site for the past two decades. Still, there have been other makeover plans for the site that have come and gone over the years have included an industrial park and a large affordable housing development.
Now, all those memories form the foundation and impetus for redevelopment that will start with the construction of a nearly 5-acre bike park and event lawn surrounded by a walking path. Casey Watkins, co-founder of the new Beacon Village and a Swannanoa-based insurtech company named Quility, whose grandparents were Beacon employees, says “Our goal is to bring this old mill village back to life” and build a physical manifestation of the pride so many people still have in the place.
Jon Sarver, who is part of the project team and and has deep ties to the community, sees the project honoring personal and collective histories. “We really want to honor the past, give back to the community and build a legacy project,” he says.
Sarver is a graduate of nearby Warren Wilson College and a former BMX racer who started his own bicycle messenger company in Asheville before becoming a real estate broker. He met Watkins, another avid mountain biker, on a bike ride.
“This is a purpose-driven project,” Sarver emphasizes.
A rendering of Phase 1 of a proposed development on the former Beacon Manufacturing site in Swannanoa depicts a 4.7-acre bike park with a paved surface. A natural surface pedestrian trail to accommodate walkers, runners and bikers, will encircle the park. Image courtesy of Beacon Village
Initial plans
Watkins says the plan is to start with a 4.7-acre bike park designed and built by Velosolutions, a global company respected for its accessible playgrounds. The Beacon Village paved-surface bike park will have slopestyle, jumpline, and pumptrack lines. It will be open the public and designed for a variety of skill levels and user groups to include push bikes, mountain bikes, skate boards, inline skates, one-wheels and adaptive wheelchairs.
Watkins says the entrepreneurial group has been thinking through how to make sure the park is financially viable, including charging some type of user fee, but no decisions have been made yet. A natural surface pedestrian trail encircling the park will accommodate walkers, runners and bikers.
Beacon Foundation, a nonprofit entity, in cooperation with Beacon Brothers LLC, plans to invest $4.5 million in the first phase of redevelopment, Watkins says. Other initial elements will likely include: low-impact gravel parking with stormwater runoff; bioswales and rain gardens; a bike park pavilion and temporary bike shop/park office; event lawn for movie and music events and picnicking; a food truck staging area; and sustainable landscaping.
The community gathering spot could then catalyze the commercial and residential rebirth of a 20-block town that was once a bustling hub of vitality, the entrepreneurs say. Today, the area is a mix of old and new: dilapidated buildings, parking lots of junked vehicles, a wholesale bakery and a brand new brewery/restaurant.
Brandon Ellison, co-founder of Beacon Village and CEO and co-founder of Quility, says the Beacon group is working with the Asheville-Buncombe Economic Development Coalition to identify like-minded business partners who may want to be a part of the redevelopment as it evolves.
“The village will be a great place for outdoor industry businesses to thrive and hit the pump track with their employees at lunch and their kids after work,” Ellison adds.
Building a legacy
It makes sense to Watkins now to start an ambitious redevelopment project with a park and green space, but that wasn’t always the plan.
In a July 2019 press release, Watkins announced that it had purchased the 42-acre mill site along Whitson Avenue, with plans to build a new office for his company. (A limited liability corporation formed by top Ingles Markets executives had purchased the former Beacon Manufacturing site in 2005 for $1 million.) The announcement noted ongoing discussions about the possible construction of a family-friendly indoor sports complex, as well as the potential for other eventual retail, commercial and recreational development.
That calculus completely changed after the Covid pandemic hit in 2020. “We started re-envisioning the project,” and the priority became the outdoor space, Watkins says.
“We’d heard over and over that neighbors wanted a park,” he says. So the first goal became creating more outdoor space for the area.
That idea fit with the Quility company mission, which “is to enrich the lives of our clients and those in our communities through connection, kindness, and action,” says Meredith Ellison, co-founder of Beacon Village and Quility co-founder and leader of its corporate well being and philanthropic efforts.
“We believe that for-profit businesses have an opportunity to enrich our communities,” Ellison says, “and this project is how we are doing just that in our own neighborhood.”
Beacon Village, a proposed outdoor development on the former site of Beacon Manufacturing, hosted Swannanoa residents, Feb. 28, as owners announced plans to the public. Photo by Fred McCormick
Swannanoa residents react
Members of the Beacon Village project team, in a series of Feb. 28 public information meetings at the former Swannanoa United Methodist Church, shared the plans publicly for the first time. They were greeted by a standing room-only crowd.
“What Beacon represented us was community, because it was the huge heartbeat of this place for such a long time,” said Meredith Ellison. “It was a the place where people could work, live, have friends and make connections. That’s truly what we want to do with this land: bring back that community piece.”
The group, which intends to begin construction on the first phase of the project in the coming weeks, presented plans and took questions from residents in three consecutive meetings. The bike track and walking trails could be completed in early summer, according to Colby Watkins.
The revival of the property has been needed for decades, said Swannanoa native and local historian Bill Alexander, who said the plans could be “very positive” for the community.
“It’s been sitting here for more than 20 years and nothing has happened,” he said. “There have been a lot of promises and nothing has come through, so if they do what they say hey will do, it will be an asset for this place.”
Matt Ahoe, a resident of Swannanoa since 1996 and one of countless residents who watched as the factory burned, 20 years ago, expressed gratitude for the proposal.
“They’re taking this land that we’ve all watched grow fallow for this long and turning it into something awesome,” he said. “Seeing people who are from this community come in and do something special with it is a fantastic thing.”
Jim and Allie Bourdy, who have lived next door to the proposed site for seven years, welcome the development.
“It’s so exciting because it’s going to bring the community together, and it’s a place we can all enjoy nature in our backyard,” Allie said.
The park, Jim added, will bring a unique entertainment option to Swannanoa.
“We walked around downtown Swannanoa a lot during the pandemic, but there are no sidewalks,” he said. “This is a safe option to get out in the community, and I enjoy bikes so a pump track sounds exciting. But, the fact that it’s a community space, with a green and a pavilion, is huge.”
Beacon Village is encouraging feedback from the community as the project develops, Katy Post told attendees on Wednesday. The organization has launched a website — atthebeacon.com — with information and a contact page.
This article was produced in collaboration with the Ashevegas Hot Sheet newsletter, available on Substack. To subscribe to the Ashevegas Hot Sheet, which covers growth and development in and around Asheville, click here.
