After years of neighborhood input, planning, and construction, Asheville’s Southside neighborhood has a brand new gymnasium, outdoor swimming pool, more community rooms for meetings and classes, outdoor basketball court, and spacious open areas to study and socialize at Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, located on 285 Livingston Street.

Southside families and community members are invited to celebrate this $8.3 million neighborhood investment at a block party and ribbon cutting hosted by Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) on Friday, August 4, from 5:30-8 p.m. The schedule features music, food, tours, games, remarks from community leaders, and more.

Grant Southside Center’s expansive enhancements are a major piece of APR’s investments in Southside’s legacy of community recreation. Herb Watts Park’s playground has been completely rebuilt and additional picnic tables and seating areas added. Historic Walton Street Park is also in the midst of a significant revitalization with neighborhood requests including a new playground, basketball courts, lighted and paved walking loop, and multipurpose recreation field. Walton Street Park’s playground is APR’s eighth complete playground replacement since 2019.

Expanding on this work, Asheville City Council designated Walton Street Park and Pool as a local historic landmark in 2022. Multiple City of Asheville departments and commissions continue to work closely with longtime Southside residents on ways to honor the legacy of the pool and preserve the space through adaptive reuse. Nasty Branch Greenway aims to be a museum without walls, relating the heritage of Southside prior to urban renewal projects through first-hand history along the banks of the creek that borders Grant Southside Center and flows through Choctaw Street Park to Southside Avenue.