In collaboration with the Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority, the Village originally created a vision in DbD’s Rutherford Bound Tourism Master Plan. We are now partnering with Chimney Rock Village and the Rutherford TDA to implement that vision.
Chimney Rock Village is uniquely positioned to facilitate connections for area visitors between Rutherford County’s rural downtown atmosphere and the natural environment.
Village
Square
The redeveloped village square serves as a vibrant gathering place, enhancing visibility and enjoyment of the Broad River, which meanders through downtown. Building on the original riverwalk infrastructure, the new shaded deck area provides a relaxing space and seamlessly connects previously disjointed downtown businesses.
Streetscape
Redesign
The streetscape redesign focuses on pedestrian-friendly improvements, and elevating underused assets. The project necessitated a nuanced approach that sought to enhance commerce for the Village, while still maintaining its authenticity. By allowing downtown merchants to guide the process and create a shared vision for the community, we were able to achieve those dual goals.
Destination by Design partnered with the Village of Chimney Rock to design a new streetscape and village square that increases pedestrian mobility and improves access from street-level businesses to the Broad River Riverwalk. The redeveloped square added a shaded deck area that enhances visibility of the river winding through downtown, seamlessly connecting previously disjointed businesses along the corridor.
In North Carolina, downtown revitalization and tourism planning come together especially well in small mountain villages looking to strengthen the link between their commercial core and a natural attraction. Chimney Rock’s streetscape project reflects that pairing, growing directly out of DbD’s Rutherford Bound Tourism Master Plan and implemented in ongoing partnership with the Village and the Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority.
Revitalizing a downtown doesn’t have to mean sacrificing what makes it distinctive. Chimney Rock’s streetscape redesign took a nuanced approach to that balance, allowing downtown merchants to guide the process and shape a shared community vision, resulting in pedestrian-friendly improvements that boost commerce while preserving the Village’s authentic character.
Downtown revitalization planning is the process of designing streetscapes, public plazas, and pedestrian improvements that strengthen a town’s commercial core while connecting it to its natural or cultural assets. For Chimney Rock Village, that meant engineering and construction documents for a new village square and streetscape, all built to elevate underused riverfront space into a vibrant public gathering area.
Chimney Rock Village sits within Hickory Nut Gorge in western North Carolina, a rural downtown built along the Broad River. Its position between Rutherford County’s small-town atmosphere and the surrounding natural landscape made it a strategic focus of the Rutherford Bound Tourism Master Plan, connecting area visitors to both downtown commerce and the river environment.
