NC parks division completes land acquisition for Pisgah View State Park
ASHEVILLE – A yearslong process to acquire land for Buncombe County’s first state park has come to a close. The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation agreed to the final purchase of land for Pisgah View State Park, state parks spokesperson Michele Walker confirmed.
North Carolina acquired 170 acres of land from the Cogburn family, costing $4.9 million, Walker wrote in a Nov. 17 email. The state has acquired 1,559 acres of land from the Cogburn family. The land the state recently acquired was more expensive because it was flat and included structures, Walker wrote. Wooded land on slopes without structures is typically cheaper.
The acquisition is the product of years of coordination between the state, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, which is a local land trust, and the Cogburn family, who owned most of the land.
The sale will further cement the Cogburn family’s legacy in Western North Carolina. Max Cogburn is a U.S. district judge. His brother Steve Cogburn recently retired from his post as Buncombe County clerk of superior court.
The Citizen Times reached out to Max Cogburn's chambers for comment.
SAHC facilitated the negotiation between the state and the Cogburn family, Jay Leutze, a senior adviser for the land trust, told the Citizen Times Nov. 17.
The land trust raised $1 million in private money for the park, Leutze said, which unlocked state and federal dollars to contribute to the project. More than $17 million in public money poured into this project. Congressman and former State Sen. Chuck Edwards helped secure $12.2 million of the funding in the fiscal year 2022 budget.
The multiphase acquisition process was necessary because of the size and cost of the project, Leutze said.
PVSP by Mitchell Black on Scribd
The park is anticipated to open in 2025.
While the purchase from the Cogburn family completed the largest land acquisition, the park is not complete yet, Leutze said. Multiple landowners have contacted SAHC about exploring opportunities to transfer their land over to state property.
The small additions would be strategic, acquired to make currently disjointed parts of the park contiguous, or create a buffer between the park and nearby neighborhoods, Leutze said.
What the park will look like is not yet clear. The state is working with Asheville-based Equinox Environmental, a planning and design firm consulting on the project. Equinox is tasked with developing a master plan for the park, which acts as a roadmap for future infrastructure projects and improvements. The state is paying Equinox $181,662 to assess the park, develop the plan and solicit public input for it, according to the contract the Citizen Times obtained.
Equinox recently held a drop-in style event for participants to learn about the vision and goals for the park and give their input for what amenities it should have. People could also submit their opinions in a survey Equinox held.
Foy told the Citizen Times Nov. 17 that the survey garnered 1,700 responses. She said that there was a large interest in preserving the area’s historical equestrian uses as well as requests for trails and hiking.
More: Pisgah View State Park takes step forward; public hearings set for Candler
More: Pisgah View park closes on 230 acres of land for $2 million, gears up for master plan
Equinox will unveil a draft plan for the park in mid-January, Foy said. It will hold a public meeting to solicit feedback on the plan in mid-February.
Foy would not disclose any of the ideas Equinox has developed. It is hoping to deliver a final plan by late spring or early summer 2024.
She emphasized, however, that people are excited to check out the area.
"A lot of people wanted to know when they could get out there," Foy said.
Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at mblack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC parks department completes Pisgah View State Park land acquisition
