Project Name: Valley Hope Church Conceptual Site Plan
Location: Swannanoa, NC
Type: Conceptual Site Plan
Status: Design complete, awaiting final stakeholder feedback
Community Host: Valley Hope Church
Timeline: April – July 2027
Why This Project Matters
Since Hurricane Helene devastated Swannanoa in September 2024, Valley Hope Church emerged as a critical community hub for disaster relief and recovery. The church mobilized volunteers, served community meals, supported home repairs and completed home rebuilds, and provided funding in assistance to local small businesses affected by the storm.
As Valley Hope transitions from emergency response to long-term rebuilding, the church remains committed to serving as a gathering place and support center for all Swannanoa residents regardless of race, religion, or background. Thoughtful site planning has become essential to accommodate ongoing recovery operations while building permanent community infrastructure that will serve the neighborhood for generations.
Project Goals
The Appalachian Design Center worked with a volunteer design team to help Valley Hope Church develop a conceptual site plan that would transform the property into a resilient community asset. The plan aimed to:
Improve and increase the parking area
Provide safe recreational spaces for families and children
Create outdoor gathering areas that supported community connection
Improve site circulation and accessibility
Strengthen physical connections to the surrounding neighborhood
Community Engagement
2026-04-16 16.58.08
Design Team
Thank you to our volunteer design team for their time and expertise!
Guiding Principles, Key Themes & Desired Site Elements
Principles: Core, actionable standards that create a framework for decision-making and align team behaviors with strategic goals.
Safety and Well-being: Centering safety means recognizing that bodily well-being is an essential foundation to human thriving. From identifying opportunities to leverage the site for safe walking paths, to considering flood and heat resilience in site design, to recognizing the precarity of certain identities that deserve to feel safe gathering at the site, the team will consider public safety in our approach to engagement and design.
Community Gathering: Prioritizing space where members of the community and congregation can gather to connect with one another will be an essential element of a successful site plan. Leverage available space and resources to support connectivity and social resilience.
Build momentum for recovery and resilience: Develop a site plan with clear opportunities for short term wins, as well as long term potential. This will offer flexibility for implementation over time, based on what resources, particularly funding, are available when.
Recreation and Play: Maintaining and growing the green and recreational space will ensure that the Valley Hope Church can remain a space where young people can play, learn, and grow.
Stewardship of Creation: Valley Hope Church sits in an ecologically unique place. As the site plan seeks to prioritize many aims, one of those aims will be to be stewards of creation and care for the earth and ecological well-being of the site where possible.
The feedback collected across the engagement efforts revealed several distinct priority areas for the final site plan:
Youth Recreation & Play: A prominent theme was maintaining a safe space for youth to play outside of active traffic zones. Desired elements included a dedicated full-sized basketball court (not shared with a parking lot), a soccer field, a “boundless” playground, and water elements like a splash pad for heat resilience.
Community Gathering Spaces: Strong interest was expressed in informal, outdoor connection areas such as a covered pavilion, swinging benches, a permanent barbecue pit, a fireplace or firepit, and an outdoor amphitheater for group meetings, education, or outdoor services.
Connection to Nature: Participants highlighted using the natural features of the site, including a nature trail or walking path through the wooded area, benches near the creek for prayer and reflection, and a nature worship area.
Sustainability & Climate Resilience: Input emphasized building an off-grid (power, water, food) prototype structure that could act as a classroom or stormproof/floodproof disaster shelter during future climate events.
Broader Community Connections: Conversations extended beyond recreation to local infrastructure needs, highlighting the addition of temporary or affordable housing on-site, a community garden, and expanded, well-lit parking areas to safely handle neighborhood traffic.
Conceptual Site Design: Valley Hope Church Board for Community Feedback
