Sylva takes advantage of 'a generational chance'

Like many towns in western North Carolina, Sylva, nestled between the Balsam Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains, regularly plays host to far more than its 3,000 permanent residents. That much becomes clear the moment you step foot downtown and take in the energy of the bustling shops, breweries, and restaurants. From the historic hilltop Jackson County Courthouse to beloved annual festivals, it is a tourist destination whose appeal is actively growing.

Sylva and the surrounding Jackson County enjoyed $437.4 million in visitor spending in 2021 – a record-setting total for the area and a 49% jump from 2020.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP), which provides direct support to cities and towns, allowed Sylva the opportunity to rebound from the pandemic and take advantage of that momentum. However, it’s only the full-time residents that count for ARP funding totals, leaving Sylva with a relatively small appropriation to serve an often-inflated population.

The goal for Sylva leaders became to use those dollars as efficiently as possible. They narrowed their sights on a single major project, upgrades to Bridge Park, one of the town’s most well-used public spaces. The park is not only home to festivals and gatherings, like the summer music series, "Concert on the Creek," it is also the central tool that Sylva uses to approach its stormwater regulation.

The project is two-fold, strategically addressing both the improvement of a community asset and the needed investment into local infrastructure.

First, in regards to the community asset, the Bridge Park project will concentrate on a largely unused gravel lot that lies adjacent to the park. Sylva bought the property in 2014. This project will renovate that area to double the parking availability, create greenspace, introduce landscaping, add a walkway, and construct a pier over Scotts Creek, which runs through downtown. It will be a total makeover of Sylva’s flagship park.

"It gives us another feather in our cap to attract visitors, but it’s a plus for our residents," said Mayor Lynda Sossamon. "It makes them feel proud of our downtown."

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the project will substantially build out Sylva’s stormwater infrastructure. In 2016, Sylva received a grant from North Carolina’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund to study Scotts Creek. Sylva used those funds to hire an engineering firm, which evaluated the area and drew up the plans Sylva is now pursuing, including building a bio-retention pond and creating greenspace.

Through completing these and all aspects of the proposed plan, Sylva isn’t just making the area more attractive – it’s also increasing its stormwater capacity to better protect downtown and the local watershed.

Because of Sylva’s years-long preparation for this plan, this project is shovel ready.

"The park is an asset to our town, but it’s really the stormwater aspect that’s going to have a long-term impact," said Mayor Sossamon. "This helps the community."

With the remaining ARP funding, Sylva made several investments to directly address the ongoing risks of the pandemic, including upgraded ventilation systems in all public buildings and investments into audio-visual capabilities to allow public meetings to be streamed virtually. The town also made a modest investment into a skate park to serve the local appetite for outdoor activities and to further attract tourists.

"This is a generational chance to do something really good for our town," said Mayor Sossamon.