The 2022 Parks Bond Referendum allocates funding for site remediation, park design and permitting, and construction of the future Smoky Hollow Park.
In November 2022, Raleigh City Council approved and adopted the Concept Design Plan for Smoky Hollow Park (formerly called Devereux Meadow Park). Per the bond referendum and the Concept Design, the project focuses on environmental remediation, stream restoration, flood and stormwater management, greenway trail implementation, and park improvements for passive recreation.
The future Smoky Hollow Park will offer walking paths, gathering spaces, and extensive landscaped and naturalized areas. The centerpiece of the park is the restoration of Pigeon House Branch, realigned to flow through the middle of the park. Constructed wetlands will work with the stream to improve water quality. There will be multiple viewing areas for the stream and wetlands along the pathways and from the plazas.
Project Updates
The project is currently in the Schematic Design Phase.
The project site, known informally for many years as "Devereux Meadow, is a 14-acre City of Raleigh-owned property currently used as a city maintenance yard and vehicle fleet facility. In November 2022, Raleigh City Council approved renaming the future park to “Smoky Hollow Park.”
Project Timeline
- Park planning started in 2017 when Raleigh Parks initiated an analysis of site environmental characteristics, issues, and limitations.
- In 2021, using feedback from multiple stakeholders and engagement with the public, three concept alternatives were developed.
- In 2022, additional rounds of public engagement along with an improved understanding of site constraints resulted in the development of a final concept plan.
Concept Plan
Key features of the concept plan include:
- Complete removal of existing buildings and pavement
- Site remediation to address contaminated groundwater and soil
- Restoration of Pigeon House Branch
- Daylighting of the culverted sections of the stream
- Relocating a portion of the stream into a natural alignment
- Development of a natural and passive park
- Pathways and plaza areas
- Flexible gathering spaces in open lawns or wooded areas
- Various landscape areas including mowed lawns, meadows, ornamental beds, riparian and wooded areas, landscaped buffers, and preservation of an existing oak tree line
- Graded landforms
- Stormwater management practices to address on-site and off-site stormwater runoff
See the Resources section at the bottom of this page to download the Concept Plan Report.
Project Details
- Type:
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Parks
- Budget:
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$13,500,000 (2014 and 2022 Parks Bonds funding)
- Project Lead:
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Gary Claiborne, Capital Projects Manager
- Contractors:
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Tetra Tech Engineering (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Consulting), Design Workshop (Landscape Architecture), and Ecosystems Planning and Restoration (Stream and Wetland Restoration Consultants)