Friends for Our Riverfront

Read-up on our 1st Library

2008-10-02T22:29:00.000-07:00

We asked if you had stories about our landmark library, and a “friend” sent this anecdote connecting the library, the Cossitt family, and two LaGranges – one in TN and the other in IL.

The Memphis library was the dream of Frederick H. Cossitt and the result of a $75,000 gift by his children to see that it was built. But the connection between the Cossitts and this area doesn’t end there.

Frederick Cossitt wasn’t the only member of his family who headed to TN from CT. One of his relatives moved to LaGrange, TN. During the Civil War he was identified as a "Yankee sympathizer" and run out of town. Franklin Dwight Cossitt migrated to the Chicago area and established a new town – LaGrange, Il (now a Chicago suburb). The homes there look very much like those in LaGrange, TN with white clapboard and green shutters.

Cossitt Library opened in 1888 as the Cossitt-Goodwyn Institute, the first public library in Memphis. On April 23, 1893, the original sandstone structure was constructed at 33 Front Street on the Downtown Memphis Promenade, and the Cossitt Library began service.

If you have a story about our fabulous landmark, let us know.

1937 Flood

2008-10-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

Local historian Jimmy Ogle sent this photo of high water at Beale Street during the1937 flood. Click here to see the photo of the river gauge at Beale Street.

Commissioner Ritz Comments on Bass Pro/Pyramid Deal

2008-10-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

County Commissioner Mike Ritz sees flaws in the Bass Pro/Pyramid Deal and sent the following article. FfOR has not been involved in the City's search for ways to reuse the Pyramid and has not taken a position on the current Bass Pro/Pyramid Plan. We are posting Mr. Ritz's comments for educational purposes.

For information about Commissioner Ritz’s background and experience, click here.

The Bass Pro Deal Is Deficient
by Mike Ritz

The current proposal for Bass Pro to control and become the primary tenant of the Pyramid has many deficiencies. These deficiencies have been known and identified for months and have been ignored or glossed over by the City staff and others working on this matter.

First my opinion is that Bass Pro is a great company with a very good retail concept but the company is privately owned and thus their financial conditions and trends and management are invisible to the public. I have no problems with Bass Pro as a business, retailer or user of the Pyramid IF the public’s risk is low and the public gain is maximized.

An initial letter of intent was signed by the Mayors and Bass Pro in late 2005 with a 2nd letter signed in June 2007. Finally in February of this year a third letter was revealed to the County Commission containing conditions for a possible lease. This was the first time the County Commission, sworn in September 2006, was asked to review or consent on any matter related to Bass Pro. The proposal now in front of the Commission is essentially identical to the February letter.

The Deal’s major deficiencies as I see them:

1. RKG Associates, the City’s consultant, says that Shelby County will receive annually $10,448,787 from the County’s 7% sales tax. If this were only the case?! The County does not have a 7% sales tax rate. That is the State rate! This error has been in their report since 2005. We must assume there may be similar RKG errors.

2. Bass Pro will lease the Pyramid from a to-be-formed non-profit entity. This will assure Bass pro will not ever pay any property taxes for the 55-year lease term with options. Nor will any of the ancillary uses like a hotel or restaurants on the 31-Acre Pyramid site pay property taxes. The rent is limited to 2% of sales. If retail sales average $90,000,000 a year over the first 20 years, annual rent will be $1.8 million. On the other hand if we sold the Pyramid, or even gave it to Bass Pro, the current City, County, and CBID property tax rates would annually produce respectively $1,950,000, $2,424,000, and $390,000 on a realistic $150 million property valuation after improvements for the store, hotel and restaurants. This annual total tax of $4.764 million is 2.65 TIMES the rent Bass Pro will pay. If the tax rates go up the property tax receipts would go up. What is fair about a no tax deal? We have PILOTs to handle issues like this. Center City PILOTs are limited to 15
years.

3. Bass Pro expects a gift of $30,000,000 from the City and County when they sign the lease. The money is a gift because they do not have to pay it back.
(a) Based on some personal inquiries with experts in this subject area, only about $10.0 million of federal funds (Brownfield and New Market Tax Credits) are reasonably available to backstop this gift.
(b) If we borrow $20,000,000 to give Bass Pro, over 25 years we will pay $35 million in principal and interest. That is 1 cent annually on the County tax rate.
(c) The City proposed another source of money for this gift to be incremental property tax growth in the Uptown Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. However, the property tax increments in that District are already committed to the Uptown Development, not the Pyramid.
(d) The best place for backstopping the $20 million will be State Sales Tax revenues (See # 1 Above!) from the downtown Tourist Development Zone (TDZ) subject to State consent. Some parts of the current TDZ state sales tax are committed to the Convention Center bonds and another portion is committed to the FEDEX Forum bonds. We do not need to put at further risk our ability to repay either of these bond issues which is why I asked County Attorney Brian Kuhn and our County Finance office during the Bass Pro presentation to identify our risk of using TDZ funds for the Bass Pro gift.

Is it any wonder why Bass Pro proposed this rent, tax and gift arrangement and why the president of Bass Pro was here asking for our approval? The question on these most obvious points is why did our representatives on this matter agree to this deal and ask us to concur. Why have the benefits to the County been so grossly misstated? Why didn’t someone from the County catch these mistakes?

At our February meeting in joint session with our City Council colleagues, I suggested, with some general agreement (we could not vote in that setting), that we employ real estate expertise and legal counsel experienced in deals of this type and complexity to negotiate on our behalf. We did not and here we are!

Bass Pro/Pyramid Plan

2008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

Critics call it the world’s largest bait and ammo shop. Supporters see it as tourism attraction, downtown asset, and economic generator all rolled into one.

Presented to the City Council and County Commission on Aug. 25, the project report says,

this project isn’t just about Bass Pro Shops. It’s about a new vision for the future of Memphis as landmark project after landmark project gets underway with completion in the next three to five years. In this way, The Pyramid project is a harbinger of equally great things to come.

To read the 156-page report, click here. For information about finances and proposed government programs that could provide funding, go to page 22.
The deal includes leasing more than the Pyramid itself --30.73 acres around the Pyramid, 4.23 acres of added parking land to be leased from the State of Tn,, an additional 4.77 acres of parking land across the railroad tracks along Front Street, and a perpetual access easement from Lonestar Industries. The proposed redevelopment includes 729,904 square feet -- 150,235 for the anchor retail, 42,416 for dining and drinking, 287,100for a hotel complex, 180,164 for an Aviary and museum, and 70,000 for 500 parking spaces.

For news coverage of the issue, click here.

To read Memphis Watchdog, Joe Saino’s thoughts, click here.

Sustainable Saturday

2008-09-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

The focus nationwide is on sustainability, and Sat. Sept. 27, Memphis will be showing off a new pocket park and the proposed rail/trail greenline.

GreenForAll Event-Tour the Greater Memphis Greenline
There will be two “show & tell” chances to see the proposed rail/trail greenline project and to discuss the plans and benefits a greenway can mean in jobs, business and recreational opportunities.
When and where:
* 11:30 am where the trail intersects with Shelby Farms Park. ( Meet in the parking lot where Mullins Station crosses the railroad tracks (slightly west of Farm Road))
* 1 pm High Point Terrace neighborhood. (Meet at High Point Pizza (477 High Point Terrace at Philwood near Summer).
For more information, call Steven Sondheim at 761-1793.

Be at the Triangle or Be Square
Midtown is celebrating our city’s newest revitalized park, the Belvedere Triangle at Madison and S. Belvedere (across from Zinnie’s). There will be music, food, beverages, and family activities at the Belvedere Block Park Sat. Sept. 27 10 am – 6 pm.

Cooper Young "takes back the street"

2008-09-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) tells communities, "take back the streets" -- get rid of cars for a day or a weekend, let restaurants and shops spill outside, and let people use and enjoy the street for special festivals.

That's exactly what Cooper Young is doing this Saturday (9/13) for the annual Cooper Young Festival.

FfOR will be on Cooper in booth 169, so be sure to stop by for a visit. For more info. on the festival, click here.

To read the PPS report on the Memphis riverfront, click here.

NY Times article on restored Bryant Park gives some ideas for future of Memphis Promenade

2008-09-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Aug. 18, the Commercial Appeal looked at the Downtown Promenade – the public parkland up on the riverfront’s high bluff between Union and the monorail station -- and called for doing something great.
Here’s a travel article from Sunday’s New York Times , "Splendor on the Grass (and Near It)," that has lots of good ideas about what we could do.

New York’s Bryant Park and Memphis’s Public Promenade are about the same size, both hold a public library, and both were neglected and fell on hard times. Bryant Park has now been lovingly restored. It is full of activity; not just in the park, but all around it things are booming. Read this article and think Memphis -- Promenade, nearby hotels, restaurants, the Cannon Center,... and economic prosperity for downtown.

Splendor on the Grass (and Near It)
Bryant Park is a popular spot for lunch, which can be bought in or near the park.
By SETH KUGEL
Published: September 7, 2008

FASHION WEEK kicked off this weekend, and even visitors who couldn’t care less about what the hot look for next spring might be will surely notice at least two changes around town. Thanks to the models, average female thigh circumference has been reduced by about half; and thanks to the media you’ll hear endless mentions of Bryant Park, that seven-acre swath of green nestled between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas between 40th and 42nd Streets and that for a few days is the city’s tented center of couture.

Bryant Park is behind the main branch of the New York Public Library.
It has come far since it was rescued from urban decay in the 1980s. There's the vast green lawn, the shade of London plane trees, plentiful green chairs and tables you can move as you’d like (try that in the ’80s), an outdoor Reading Room, a carousel playing French music and the Manhattan equivalent of a Saharan oasis: public bathrooms so clean and attractive that you’ll think they must be a mirage. (The private organization that runs the public park, the Bryant Park Corporation, should give classes on urban bathroom management.)

The park is mostly known as a place of respite for lunching Midtown workers and for its Monday night outdoor movies in the summer — and come winter, holiday shops and an ice skating rink set up shop. But it makes for a great base of weekend operations, either at the (nearby) Bryant Park Hotel if you can afford the $400-plus room rates, or at one of the other, cheaper hotels in surrounding blocks. Tucked as it is between Broadway theaters and Fifth Avenue’s department stores, it’s missing the oppressive bustle of either. Should you hit town on a sunny weekend, you might be tempted to avoid both shows and shopping and spend a good chunk of your weekend in the park and taking in the attractions and eating places of its immediate surroundings.

O.K., maybe not its immediate surroundings. With some exception, the businesses right across from the park are a nightmare web of nationwide chains — Chipotle, Verizon Wireless, Staples, Starbucks, Jamba Juice — that threaten to turn any Weekend in New York into a Weekend in Wherever.

But stretch out in one block in every direction — south to 39th Street, north to 43rd Street, and out toward Seventh and Madison Avenues, and you’re back in New York.

One block away is a spot that even regular visitors who consider themselves avid museumgoers may have inadvertently left off the list: the International Center of Photography. An exciting series of exhibitions starts on Sept. 19, with works from Susan Meiselas (known for her work in Central America in the 1970s and 1980s), Cornell Capa (who established and directed the center for years and died in May) and W. Eugene Smith (who photographed World War II for Life Magazine).

The other main cultural attraction is staring you down at the eastern end of the park: the main branch of the New York Public Library. The library is as much museum as repository of knowledge these days, and in the next two weeks, two exhibitions open: “Art Deco Design: Rhythm and Verve” on Sept. 12, and, on Sept. 19, “The Stadium: Daily News Photographs of the House that Ruth Built,” which coincides nicely with the final games being played at Yankee Stadium and provides a counterpoint to the Mets Clubhouse Shop across the street on the north side of the park.

When it comes time to eat, you’ll notice that unless you count the Bryant Park Grill, which looks out over the park but generally gets mediocre reviews, or Koi, the pan-Asian palace attached to the Bryant Park Hotel, which couldn’t muster even a star in a 2005 review by The Times’s restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, the area does not lend itself to higher-end sit-down dining. So make the park your permanent picnic spot.

You can pick up a good sandwich or salad at the ’Wichcraft stand in the park, but that’s hardly the end of your choices. Tucked just south of the park on the gritty block of West 39th Street between Fifth and Sixth is the beginnings of one heck of a multiethnic picnic. The Kati Roll Company, which also has a branch in Greenwich Village, serves its Indian flatbread wraps — from mutton to paneer cheese to chicken and eggs, all under $6 — to Midtown-worker mobs during weekday lunch hours, but is calm on weekends. And just down the block is Szechuan Gourmet, which won an unlikely two stars from Frank Bruni in July.

Just south of the park is an odd choice for Italian: Simply Pasta. Even the most barely honed Manhattan restaurant instinct will tell you to shy away from this place, which has an awful name and a worse slogan (“A nice place to mangia”). But the place is surprisingly popular at pretheater time, and with careful take-out ordering, you’ve got the makings of a great picnic. (The $11.95 orecchiette pasta with chicken, sausage and broccoli rabe comes with plenty of Parmesan and a big chunk of bread.)

And here’s something that might come as a bit of surprise to wanderers: a virtual Little Tokyo in the area. The block of East 41st Street just across from the famous lions has several informal Japanese spots that attract little hoopla and a solid Japanese customer base. They’re all satisfactory and cheap — and the food counter at the currently signless Yagura Japanese Market is particularly charming in its cafeterialike charmlessness. While you’re waiting, entertain yourself in the food aisles by trying to guess what the Japanese-only labels mean; for the answer, turn over the can or box to reveal the English-language nutrition facts stickers that name the product. (“Seasoning sauce!” I knew it!)

THERE are also a few Japanese shopping stops. On that block is the Japanese chain bookstore Book-Off, specializing in used books. But more entertaining is the Kinokuniya store across the street on the other side the park, which carries everything from a book of Chinese propaganda posters, a 3-D eyeball jigsaw puzzle, a guide to Creepy Cute Crochet (Zombies, Ninjas, Robots and More) and a 2009 Welsh corgis calendar — and that’s just the window display.

There are even night-life options. For partying types, the Cellar Bar at the Bryant Park Hotel caters to a young, energetic, occasionally good-looking crowd. If you’re just in the mood for an early-evening drink, you can stop by the outdoor Bryant Park Cafe at the northeast corner of the park. In the warm weather it’s always buzzing, but that’s the buzz of a homogeneous after-work crowd on weekdays, and a touristy bunch on weekends. The crowd in the park itself is much more interesting, which might explain the number of couples drinking glasses of variously red and white beverages, which obviously must not be wine because that would be illegal.

A FEW GREEN ACRES

Bryant Park Hotel, 40 West 40th Street; (212) 869-0100; www.bryantparkhotel.com.

New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street; (917) 275-6975; www.nypl.org

International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas (43rd Street); (212) 857-0000; www.icp.org.

Kati Roll Company, 49 West 39th Street; (212) 730-4280; www.thekatirollcompany.com.

Szechuan Gourmet, 21 West 39th Street; (212) 921-0233.

Simply Pasta, 120 West 41st Street; (212) 391-0805; www.simplypastanyc.com.

Yagura Japanese Market, 24 East 41st Street; (212) 679-3777.

Kinokuniya Book Store, 1073 Avenue of the Americas (40th and 41st Streets); (212) 869-1700; www.kinokuniya.com.

Intriguing Piece of History

2008-09-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

Gates of Memphis has made a fascinating riverfront discovery. We've spent a lot of time on the riverfront, but never spotted this. Click here to learn more, and bookmark the blog to visit often.

Out of Hiding

2008-09-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Historic Cossitt Library
1st Public Library in Memphis, dedicated 1893
Red sandstone Romanesque style with rounded wings, turrets, and gables
Monroe between Riverside Drive and Front Street
North side of The Customs House, now University of Memphis Law School

Recently, Memphis City Council cleared the way to unveil a remaining section of this historic landmark, a vintage architectural treasure on our riverfront, by
clearing overgrowth and debris from its Monroe and Riverside boundaries. One downtowner of several years said, “What an exciting building! I didn’t even realize it was there.” We’re off to a great start! Can FfOR members tell us more about this fabulous landmark? Any favorite stories about it? E-mail info@friendsforourriverfront.org

Architecture Month - National Trust for Historic Preservation veep to speak in Memphis

2008-09-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

September is Architecture Month in Memphis, and one of this year’s highlights is a lecture by David Brown, executive vice-president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Mr. Brown’s will speak Wednesday, Sept. 24th at 6 pm at Brooks Museum of Art on America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and how historic preservation is affecting communities nationally and globally. Admission is $5; free for museum members.

Architecture Month is sponsored by the American Institute of Architecture and Memphis Heritage. For more info. about this event and the other exciting month long activities, click here.
For more info. about David Brown, click here.

Memphis Heritage has a new website. Take a look, check-out upcoming events, and join Memphis Heritage to help protect our rich cultural heritage.

Mississippi River Fugues

2008-09-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

The relationship between the Mississippi River and the history and culture of our area are inextricably linked and the subject of a new multimedia sculpture, Mississippi River Fugues, by artist Margaret Cogswell. The work, which will be on display at the University of Memphis Art Museum from Sept. 6 – Nov. 1, uses sculpture, film, and audio to explore and record people at work on the river, on the land, and telling their stories. The exhibit opens with a free public reception Friday, September 5, from 5 to 7:30.

A chance to learn from Pittsburgh - 2008 International Urban Parks Conference

2008-08-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh is a world leader in economic development based around parks and clean recreational spaces, and they’re going to show-off their success at the 2008 International Urban Parks Conference, Sept. 21-23. It's a great opportunity to see what they did, the results, and how we can do it in Memphis.

Over the past 20 years, Pittsburgh reinvented itself from post-industrial blight to a city now known as a leader in higher education, green-building technology, and medicine. Ecological restoration of Pittsburgh's once foul Three Rivers played a major role and returned the waterways to the people, who enjoy them from wonderful riverfront parks. The historic fabric of the city, its cultural amenities, neighborhoods, and downtown redevelopment are all part of the rebirth in a city now known as the "Greenest City in America" and "America's Most Livable City."

As we consider stewardship and revitalization opportunities for our waterfront and historic downtown, Memphis's need for hiking and biking trails, and plans for a Sustainable Shelby, Shelby Farms Park, and the Wolf River Greenway -- Pittsburgh’s story is a shining light.

Click here for information about the conference: its schedule, speakers, programs, activities, where to stay, cost, and how to register.

Help set TN Sustainability Policy

2008-08-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

A statewide sustainability plan is being drafted, and you can participate. The goal is a plan that promotes economic development, equitable prosperity and responsible environmental stewardship.

On Sept. 19 & 20, the West TN forum will be held at the Fogelman Center at the University of Memphis. The program includes presentations and interactive seminars and culminates with participants ranking the 10 most pressing regional priorities.

At the Friday session, Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism, will lead a seminar that involves participants evaluating 5 regional real estate development projects selected by the Memphis Regional Design Center that represent small urban development, large-scale urban development, urban redevelopment, greenfield development and rural development. The projects will be evaluated according to LEED-ND standards.

The Saturday morning session will include a series of speakers presenting examples of sustainability plans from national, state, regional and county perspectives. Saturday afternoon will feature breakout sessions on the 4 Sustainable Tennessee topics, and participants will vote to rank the 10 most pressing regional priorities.

Outcomes from this Forum and those held in East and Middle Tennessee will contribute to a state-wide sustainability plan.

For more information and to register to participate in the forum, click here.

Celebrate Labor Day Memphis-style

2008-08-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been wondering how to celebrate Labor Day weekend – wonder no more. The Center for Southern Folklore has made all the plans for a Memphis-style celebration, and it's all family friendly and free.

What? The Center for Southern Folklore’s annual Memphis Music and Heritage Festival
When? Aug. 30 & 31, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Where? In the center of downtown, running along Main Str. from Peabody Place to Gayoso.

Memphis is a special place where music is not played in the background. It's a place where music, dance, food, and crafts tell us who we are and tell visitors about our home and community. So get ready to enjoy being yourself this weekend, and plan to
* boogie, strut, jitterbug, and sway to your heart's content
* learn recipes from cooks who learned from their parents how to make the best peach cobbler or Chinese salads,
* join the talkers corners to hear from storytellers, quilters, baseball players and musicians,
* learn, watch, and shop for crafts from folk artists.

To learn more and/or to offer to help out, click here.

Fresh opportunities on the horizon!

2008-08-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday’s Commercial Appeal (8/17/08) cites the easement protecting public use for the Public Promenade, and points out how the 4 blufftop blocks are pivotal to downtown’s redevelopment. It encourages all of us to talk together, as a community, about how The Promenade can become a vital part of a vibrant Memphis Riverfront.

The editorial and article are pasted below.

Editorial:
Time to move on Promenade
If the area isn't properly redeveloped, everyone who cares about the Downtown riverfront will lose
Sunday, August 17, 2008

It's time to do something with the Downtown Promenade. Check that. It's time to do something great with the Downtown Promenade.

The Promenade is made up of four blocks west of Front Street, stretching between Union and Adams avenues.

It's located between the Mississippi River, one of the city's greatest amenities, and Main Street, which the Center City Commission hopes to revitalize as a center for shops and restaurants.

The Promenade property includes the historic Post Office and U.S. Customs House building, which is being converted into a new law school for the University of Memphis.

The Promenade is also a couple of blocks north of the site of Beale Street Landing, a boat dock and public gathering place that's under construction. And it's just a few blocks south of The Pyramid, which may at long last be getting a new anchor tenant soon.

In short, the property is right in the middle of everything. And, best of all, it's legally required to be dedicated for the public's use.

Yet, the law school plans aside, not much has been happening with the Promenade the last few years.

In 2004, the Riverfront Development Corp. suggested putting high-rise office or condominium towers on the property. That was a bad idea, for at least a couple of reasons.

For one, Downtown already seems to have more vacant office space and unsold condominiums than it needs. Also -- and much more important -- tall buildings would put up another barrier that would further discourage people from getting closer to our magnificent river.

On the other hand, Benny Lendermon, the RDC's president, makes a good point when he talks about how some commercial development on the Promenade could help cover the city's expected costs of improving the property.

Friends for Our Riverfront, a citizens group, has done a very effective job of raising questions about various aspects of the RDC's plans for the waterfront.

Yet if anything positive is going to happen on the Promenade, the RDC, Friends and others interested in the riverfront are going to have to recognize the value of compromise. Because in its current state, the Promenade property is badly underutilized.

Citizens' access to the river is blocked by the law school building, two parking garages, a fire station and the Cossitt Branch Library. Only from Confederate Park or the spaces between the buildings can motorists and pedestrians catch fleeting glimpses of the river as they travel along Front.

Preserving the status quo isn't to anyone's benefit. If the RDC and Friends could put aside their history of animosity, they might discover they're really not so far apart in their thinking.

If both sides were willing to give a little ground, the property could support some commercial development -- a restaurant, cafe or outdoor market are all possibilities -- while remaining a true public gathering place.

City Councilman Shea Flinn has expressed interest in trying to bring the two sides together.

For the sake of all who love the river, let's hope that happens. And sooner rather than later.

Viewpoint article:
Prom-e-not? Plans for Downtown Promenade limping
Property's legal status, slow economy present chicken-and-egg quandary

By Blake Fontenay (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Sunday, August 17, 2008

After years of planning, a groundbreaking ceremony was held last month to mark the start of construction of Beale Street Landing, a $27 million-plus boat dock and public gathering space.

The landing is one of the key components of the Riverfront Development Corporation's master plan to draw more people to the Downtown riverfront.

Meanwhile, though, not much has been happening with another major element of the RDC's plan -- the development of a four-block area between Union and Adams avenues that is known as the Promenade.

In this 2004 photo, the Cossitt branch library (center) and the historic Post Office and U.S. Customs House building (right) that is being given new life as the University of Memphis law school anchor the four-block stretch west of Front Street known as the Promenade.

A city fire station, and a parking garage reflected in a mirror outside, occupy the riverbluff property where opposition to intensive commercial development, and the economic slowdown, have stalled revitalization plans.

More Analysis
In 2004, the Memphis City Council approved a concept that envisioned allowing construction of skyscrapers as tall as 150 feet on the strip of property west of Front Street. That proposal grew out of a report that included input from a consultant and a series of public meetings on the future of the riverfront.

But the council decision drew strong opposition from some in the community, including a citizens group called Friends for Our Riverfront.

The council's decision also touched off a debate about whether the property could legally be used for such major commercial development.

When Memphis was established in the early 1800s, a group of the city's founding settlers granted the city an easement to preserve the Promenade for public use. However, the heirs of those founding families retain ownership of the property.

And their feelings about allowing a massive private development, such as an office building or condominium complex, on the site have been mixed.

"Taking (the land) from the city and giving it to private developers to build something on it -- that's not a public use," said Bruce Kramer, an attorney who has represented Friends for Our Riverfront, a group that includes some of the property's heirs.

Economy stalls plan
The disagreement has led to a virtual stalemate over the future of the Promenade.

But RDC officials and other riverfront advocates generally agree that the property could be put to better use than it is now.

The site currently is home to a city fire station, the Cossitt branch library, the old Post Office and U.S. Customs House building, two parking garages and Confederate Park.

A plan announced in 2006 to renovate the historic granite and Tennessee marble Post Office building into a new home for the University of Memphis law school is under way.

But Benny Lendermon, the RDC's president, said not much can be done with the rest of the property until the city's lawyers clear up any ambiguity about what can and can't be done on the Promenade.

"We're getting the sense that may be happening in the not-too-distant future," Lendermon said. "But there's certainly nothing happening now."

With the dismal state of the economy, Lendermon said, it is unlikely the city would put out a request for redevelopment proposals right now even if the legal issues were resolved.

But, he added, "Now would be a good time to clean up those issues before things turn around."

The property's legal status presents sort of a chicken-and-egg quandary, though:

If city officials want to resolve those issues before a development project can proceed, they might need a case in court testing the legal boundaries for public use of the Promenade.

However, in order to get such a test case before a judge, they might need a developer who is ready to move forward.

And many developers would probably shy away from the idea of investing time and money in a project that might be a nonstarter.

Library site draws interest
Not that there's a shortage of ideas about what could be built on the four-block parcel overlooking the Mississippi River.

Local developer Henry Turley believes the Cossitt library site at Front and Monroe Avenue, next door to the new law school, would make a prime location for a mixed-use development in a building no more than 60 feet tall, to keep the project in scale with the former Post Office and Customs House building.

Turley favors tearing down the current library, which was built in the 1950s, and replacing it with a multistory building that would include a restaurant, coffee bar or other "public house" on the ground floor, along with perhaps a smaller branch library or a bookstore. The upper floors could be used for residential or office space, Turley said.

"That property is unique," Turley said of the library site, once home to a Romanesque red sandstone structure that was Memphis' first public library when it opened in 1893. "It's valuable to us as a city. We've squandered it heretofore."

Andy Kitsinger, the Center City Commission's vice president of planning and development, said several projects are planned for the area east of Front Street that could support whatever happens along the Promenade.

Those projects include a luxury hotel planned for 52 S. Front, former home of the Prince Mongo's Planet nightclub, and apartments with ground-floor shops planned for a building at 67 Madison Avenue, Kitsinger said.

Private projects are key
Even without the legal questions and the opposition to skyline-altering commercial development that has been expressed by Friends for Our Riverfront and others, a high-rise office or condominium complex doesn't seem likely for the Promenade, though.

According to a market study issued by the Center City Commission last month, Downtown already has a relatively high office vacancy rate of 19.3 percent for top quality space.

The same study showed that Downtown condominium sales have been on the decline since a big spike in 2005 and 2006.

Lendermon of the RDC said the riverfront master plan didn't specifically call for skyscrapers on the Promenade. However, Lendermon said the RDC's position was, and still is, that some type of private development is necessary to generate money needed to cover the costs of tearing down the buildings and parking garages on the site.

"We're not locked into what the maximum amount of development should be," Lendermon said. "We're just saying there needs to be some to help pay for the amenities."

There's a big disagreement between the RDC and the Friends for Our Riverfront about what it would actually cost to clear the site.

The RDC estimated the cost three years ago at $30 million to $50 million. Friends counters that the work could be done for $7 million, a figure that assumes part of the Cossitt building would be saved and renovated.

Friends members say they're willing to consider other alternatives besides simply turning the Promenade into a giant grass field.

The group's Web site lists a number of possible amenities, including a drawbridge to connect the property to Mud Island, places for artists to display their work, stands where vendors could sell vegetables, an outdoor movie viewing area and a platform for speakers, musicians and playwrights.

Hite McLean, one of the group's members, said some type of nonintensive commercial development, such as a small restaurant or cafe, might also be considered a permissible public use.

City Councilman Shea Flinn said he's hoping to bring representatives from the RDC and Friends together soon to see if they can reach some areas of common ground regarding the riverfront in general, and the Promenade in particular.

"Both sides just need to talk," Flinn said. "The issue with the Promenade is not going to go away."

Pike Place a model?
In searching for a possible compromise, both sides might do well to study the Pike Place Market, which, according to its Web site, opened in Seattle exactly 101 years ago today.

The market, originally established to combat price-gouging by middlemen selling produce, is a major gathering place overlooking the Puget Sound.

According to the Web site, about 200 businesses, 190 craftspeople and 120 farmers rent table space at Pike Place by day. At night they give way to about 240 street performers and musicians.

The site boasts that 10 million people visit the market each year -- a number that tourists who've been there on a busy weekday can easily believe.

So what does McLean, one of the Friends members, think about using Pike Place as a model for developing the Promenade?

"I think it would be a great thing if they had a farmer's market there," he said.

Blake Fontenay is an editorial writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at 529-2386.

If you'd like to comment on these articles, you may do so on the Commercial Appeal website.
Click here to comment on the editorial.
Click here to comment on the article.

Beale Street Landing Underway

2008-07-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

by Lynda Ireland

Over 200 Memphians gathered at the river under two large shade trees at the groundbreaking ceremony, highlighted by Reverend Benjamin Hooks’ blessing and Middle Baptist Church gospel choir’s lively rendition of “O Happy Day.” Mayor Willie W. Herenton mentioned a visit years ago by Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson who pointed out that Memphis has something Atlanta is missing: the Memphis riverfront.

Other speakers included RDC chairman Greg Duckett, City Councilor Barbara Ware whose 7th district includes the riverfront, and Captain William Lozier of Memphis Riverboats whose brief remarks concluded with a friendly horn blast from the Memphis Queen out in the channel. Speakers recognized Pat Kerr Tigrett as a pioneer in riverfront enhancement with the lighting of our Hernando DeSoto Bridge. A diverse audience was very enthusiastic, so perhaps other riverfront projects in which FfOR has strong interest, such as the Historic Cobblestone Landing, the Public Promenade, extending the Bluffwalk, and Mud Island River Park, may benefit from a groundswell of public awareness.

Maurice Cox at Center City Commission

2008-07-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

As Maurice Cox, NEA Director of Design, told the audience at yesterday's Center City Commission luncheon, "the goal is beautiful, livable, and integrated cities." The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) stands for excellence in art, one of which is urban design, and supports the growth and availability of art to all Americans.

He told the audience that "the collective dignity of Memphis begins at the river" and encouraged Memphians to "preserve the riverfront as a public living room of Memphis at all costs." Here are some highlights from his talk and suggestions for Memphis along with audio recordings.

Mr. Cox stressed that there is often a gap between people's values and the reality of how we are living that requires critical thinking and new learning. He gave examples from the Mayor's Institute program and from his own city, Charlottesville, VA. Faced with outward migration and strangulation by its growing suburbs, the community came together to define their values, refocused on creating an urban pedestrian downtown, and has today become one of the best places to live in America.
( Entire talk 36 mins, 6.3 MB )

Toward the end of his talk he gave some specific examples and ideas for Memphis. Three short clips for your consideration:

Louisville waterfront (2.5 mins, 425 KB)
He used Louisville as a success story. There, the Mayor held the line on development and turned the brownfield along the river into 100 green acres of public park.

Lessons for Memphis (2.5 mins. 442 KB)
Specific suggestions for Memphis.

Memphis Riverfront (1 min. 155 KB)
He closed with these words...

And then, lastly, the most memorable moment for me, visiting Memphis, was looking out at your extraordinary natural resource, and that's the river. And I would encourage you to preserve your riverfront as a public living room of Memphis - at all costs. [Applause] Because the collective dignity of Memphis begins at the river, and you should give it back to the public to whom it rightfully belongs. And with that I say to Memphis, thank you, and go out and please shape your world. Thank you.

BIO:
Maurice Cox
Director of Design, National Endowment for the Arts

In addition to his role as NEA's Director of Design, Maurice Cox is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia School of Architecture and is a 2004-05 recipient of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

He recently completed eight years on the Charlottesville (VA) City Council with the last two years as the City's mayor. As mayor, professor, and urbanist he was widely recognized as the principal urban designer of his City.

His reputation as a design leader and innovator led to his being featured in Fast Company, as one of America's "20 Masters of Design;" on CBS news magazine "60 Minutes;" in the documentary film This Black Soil; and in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Architecture Magazine -- all for his groundbreaking use of design as a catalyst for social change.

Fireworks on the 4th in Tom Lee Park

2008-07-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Red White and Blues Star Spangled Celebration, sponsored by FM 100 and the Beale Street Merchants Association, will bring fireworks, music, and family activities to Tom Lee Park on the 4th of July. Click here to learn more.

2 events, 2 great speakers - July 8 & 10

2008-07-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Shelby -- On July 8, at 2:30 pm, at the Botanic Garden, Mayor Wharton will role out the top ten sustainable goals for Shelby County – it’s the culmination of months of work by County staff and citizens to set priorities and map out a plan for future smart growth. Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism, the guidebook for this process, will be the guest speaker. Free.

Center City Commission Annual Luncheon -- On July 10 at 11:30 am in The Peabody Hotel's Grand Ballroom, the Center City Commission will host its Annual Luncheon. Keynote speaker, Maurice Cox, Director of Design with the National Endowment for the Arts, will share his experiences and take a look at trends in Memphis and downtowns across the nation. $55. To register online, click here.

Here’s some additional information about these two outstanding speakers.

Doug Farr, an architect and urban designer, is the founding principal and president of Farr Associates, which focuses on form-based codes, transportation corridors, neighborhoods, historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Mr. Farr has served as cochair of the Environmental Task Force of the Congress for the New Urbanism, chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment, and chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) Core Committee.

Unlike the original LEED program, which rates only single buildings and for which site selection is an afterthought, LEED-ND "will place the emphasis on the elements that bring the buildings together into a neighborhood, and relate the neighborhood to its larger region and landscape," says the council.

A founding principal and president of Farr Associates in Chicago, Mr. Farr’s book, Sustainable Urbanism, has served as the text book for Mayor Wharton’s Sustainable Shelby and presents ideas on how to integrate architecture, city planning, and nature for a better way of life.
For more information on Doug Farr, click here and here.

For Memphians this will be a second chance to hear Maurice Cox’s incisive and creative comments on how to equate design with quality of life issues and ways to democratize design. In addition to his role as NEA’s Dir. of Design, Cox is an Asso. Professor of Architecture at the Univ. of VA and is a 2004-5 recipient of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Univ.’s Grad. School of Design. Mr. Cox has recently served 8 years on the Charlottesville, VA City Council with the last 2 years as the city’s mayor.
For more information on Mr. Cox, click here and here.

To read Jeff Speck’s interview with Maurice Cox, click here

Want to know more about the historic Cobblestone Landing and Wetlands at the foot of Beale?

2008-06-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Click here and here to access information about the historic Cobblestone Landing.
Click here and here to access information about the wetland buffer at the foot of Beale Street.

Mayor Riley - attention to detail and a listening ear

2008-06-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Recognized as one of the most visionary and effective leaders in America, Charleston, S.C. Mayor Joe Riley spoke in Memphis in Sept. of 2005 at a program sponsored by Friends for Our Riverfront, Memphis Heritage, and the American Institute of Architects.

We've continued to follow Mayor Riley's successes. Here's an article that appeared on the Project for Public Spaces website about the role of Mayors today and how Riley's attention to detail and listening ear have made a tremendous difference in Charleston.

Joe Riley helped revive Charleston, South Carolina, by listening to people and paying attention to details
By Jay Walljasper

Bill Clinton, a man whose self-deprecating charm has carried him far in life, loves to tell a story about his appearance on a Shanghai radio show. It was a historic event: The president of the United States would field questions from everyday citizens in a nation notorious for its tight lock on information. But to Clinton’s surprise, two-thirds of the calls coming into the station were not directed at him, but to his host, the mayor of Shanghai. “People were more interested in talking to the mayor about potholes and traffic jams,” Clinton laughs.

Actually, when you reflect a moment, this shouldn’t be such a surprise. Mayors, who are representatives of the government closest to people, stand in a better position to actually get things done than the most powerful man on Earth. Mayors operate on the front lines of democracy, and when they do their jobs right with a keen understanding of the importance of place in their community, they can play a huge role in making their cities great.

Here's how Joseph Riley Jr.—who has been at the helm in Charleston, South Carolina, for 30 years, making him one of America’s longest-serving mayors—describes the job: “You have a personal relationship with people. You pick up their garbage. You make them feel safe. You try to help them when they are in trouble. It’s a chance to do things directly for people—for the poorest person in town as well as the rich.”

No one would cast Riley, a small, dignified man who speaks with a soft voice, in the role of a political powerbroker. Yet he has reshaped this city of 105,000 to such an extent that few who knew it in the 1970s— as a poor, racially torn backwater that had lost hope in the future—would recognize it today.

Riley vigorously led Charleston’s turnaround by paying careful attention to the strong sense of place that characterizes this city. He has preserved the city’s historic qualities, and even improved upon things with charming new parks, developments and attractions that blend in with the classic 18th- and 19th-century architecture everyone loves. Charleston is also known around the world for its springtime Spoleto arts festival, which Riley brought to town in partnership with the famous Italian composer and impresario Gian Carlo Menotti.

For most Charlestonians, however, these accomplishments pale in comparison to Riley’s leadership during the devastating Hurricane Hugo of 1989. After ordering an all-out evacuation, Riley and city staff helped people flee to safety and stayed behind to protect the city. Almost as soon as the winds died, he launched a full-force program to make Charleston “more beautiful and vital than ever.” The triumph of Riley’s rebuilding efforts can be seen in the delighted smiles of tourists who come from all over the U.S. to wander the city’s streets and in the envious looks of other mayors who come to learn Charleston’s secret at the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, which Riley founded in 1986.

The secret is simple: Riley’s careful attention to the details shows what distinguishes a great city from a merely okay one.

I begin to understand the magic of Riley’s leadership as we walk out of city hall, where he has patiently but stiffly answered my questions from behind his desk, and head out onto the bustling avenue outside. He seems suddenly charged with electricity. My long legs struggle to keep up with his short ones as he bounds down the street, calling hello to nearly everyone we pass—black and white, young and old, rich and poor. He’s a leader who listens to people, and welcomes their ideas about how to improve things around town.

We turn up an alley and sneak through someone’s backyard gate so I can see what Riley considers one of the finest flower gardens in town. At one point, he almost knocks me over in his excitement to point out a construction worker eating lunch on a park bench—the man is using a nearby ledge for a footrest, just the way Riley planned it. Hurrying over to investigate a couple of police cars he sees stopped behind a house, he seems visibly relieved to find that the problem is just a malfunctioning burglar alarm. He thanks each of the officers by name and we continue our stroll.

“See that building there,” he says, stopping abruptly in front of the Old Exchange Building, a historic site once visited by George Washington and now operated by the state of South Carolina. “One day I was walking past, just like we are now, and I saw the stucco was discolored, so I called up the state authorities right away to tell them about it. They seemed surprised that I noticed, but I told them, ‘that’s my job.’”

Joe Riley is one of a new breed of mayors around the world who see their jobs as nothing less than helping deliver security, opportunity and happiness to residents of their cities. Indeed, we may now be entering a new age in history when mayors play a leading role on the world’s political stage.

Mayors like Ken Livingstone of London (who defied all conventional wisdom by imposing a hefty toll on cars entering central London), Richard M. Daley of Chicago (who turned a gritty town into a top contender for title of world’s greenest city) and Bertrand Delanoë of Paris (who hopes to top Livingstone in his ambitious efforts to reclaim Paris from traffic) are already more influential and well-known internationally than many prime ministers and presidents. Indeed, Myung-bak Lee, former Mayor of Seoul, who made the city into a symbol of livability by replacing an elevated highway with a riverfront park that winds four miles through the city centre, was recently elected president of South Korea.

But even more influential may be former Bogotá mayor Enrique Penalosa, who built many new schools, libraries, parks, the world’s longest pedestrian street, 300 kilometers of bike paths, a greenway winding through the city, and a 21st-century Bus Rapid Transit system while in office. He once considered running for Colombia’s presidency, but now spends his time persuading municipal officials in Mexico City, Cape Town, Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta, Dar-es-Salaam and many other cities around the world to think differently about what’s needed to make their cities great.

This article appeared on the Project for Public Spaces website. For additional interesting articles about successful cities and public spaces, click here.

Mayor Riley, co-founder of the Mayor's Institute on City Design, has received the Presidential Award for Design Excellence for public housing, the Urban Land Institute J. C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, and the American Architectural Foundation Keystone Award for exemplary leadership in using architecture to transform a community.

Click here for a synopsis of Mayor’s Riley’s presentation in Memphis.

The Cossitt - "Investing in a Sustainable Future"

2008-05-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

"To be recognized globally as the city of choice in which to live, learn, work, and recreate" is stated as our City Vision on the cover of this year's CIP Overview booklet. It says we are "Investing in a Sustainable Future." So how does closing our libraries fit with this vision?

For years our branch libraries have been neglected, and none more so than the Cossitt, but closing the libraries to save $2M does not make Memphis a more vibrant city or a better place to live, learn, or work.

Before we close a library, its replacement should be planned and budgeted. Closing the historic downtown Cossitt will only leave us with another empty public building on the riverfront and a segment of Memphians without access to books and computers. There should be a public process to consider improvements and restoration of the Cossitt's historic addition, its use as a library or alternate public use, and, if it is to be closed, an alternate site plan for a downtown library.

Click here to read Otis Sanford's persuasive editorial on why we should save the Cossitt.
Click here to get a copy of Project for Public Spaces report. Their suggestions for ways to improve the Cossitt are on page 19.

2009 CIP budget – RDC requests

2008-05-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

The RDC is asking the City Council to approve $33.4 million dollars for their capital projects in the years 2009-2012. The projects are Beale Street Landing, the Cobblestone Landing, Mud Island Maintenance, and a new Confederate Park – Law School project.

Click here to see the RDC’s CIP budget request.

To pay for these and other capital projects and to pay for operating expenses, the Administration has said they will need to raise taxes. The City Council currently is reviewing the budget. If you would like to contact Councilmembers, contact information is given at the end of this article.

The CIP budget is how the City pays for big projects: a) the equipment or tools to do a division’s work, like a new police training station, b) rehabilitation and maintenance of facilities, like rehabing a library, and c) new construction, like Beale Street Landing. The City raises this money by issuing bonds that are paid off at a later time. The debt service on the bonds must be paid each year.

Funding for these projects is requested by the Administration and approved by the Council for a particular year. If it is not spent that year, it goes into a category called reprogram money. Each year that reprogram money must be reevaluated and a resolution passed by the Council for it to actually be spent. The Council is being asked to reconsider and approve $14.6 M in reprogram money and an additional $7.3 M this year for Beale Street Landing.

The total amount of money requested in the CIP for 2009 is $241 million. That amount plus the total requested over the next five years (including reprogram money, which has not yet been appropriated) makes up the CIP budget request. It is currently for $1.5 billion of debt financing.

According to Roland McElrath, the City’s Chief Financial Officer, the City tries not to issue more than $100 million in debt each year.
The debt is issued as commercial paper or as general obligation bonds to provide cash for the projects. It’s like borrowed money and the debt service or interest has to be paid out of the City’s operating budget. Today 20% of Memphis’ operating budget goes to pay the service on the City’s debt.

Mr. McElrath explained the process of determining which projects are included in the CIP budget requests.

Each division presents their budget requests for capital expenditures for the next 5 years to the Administration in April.
They are evaluated by a committee which looks at the necessity of each item. This committee is made up of division directors plus a few others. They look at the cost, cash flow, legal obligations, leverage of funds associated with project, operating budget impact, useful life cycles, and community service impact.

This process was started in 2007 when the City needed to pare back debt to highest priorities and those projects most critical to the City, i.e. funding for the most needed projects.

Councilman Strickland asked how Memphis’s debt compares with cities of comparable size. Mr McElrath answered that the bond rating agencies say our debt is slightly higher than comparable cities, but that it is manageable.

The City Council is currently reviewing the CIP budget division by division. Although the RDC is not a division of city government, it operates on a contract basis and its budget must be reviewed and approved by the Council.

Review of the RDC CIP budget request is scheduled for Wed., May 21 in the City Council committee hearing room on the 5th floor of City Hall. The public is not allowed to comment at the hearing, but you may send your comments to the Councilmembers by letter, e-mail, or phone call.

BILL MORRISON P O Box 281297 Memphis, TN. 38168 576-6786;576-7011; bill.morrison@memphistn.gov

BILL BOYD 125 N Main Memphis, TN 38103 576-7012; bill.boyd@memphistn.gov

HAROLD COLLINS 1314 Singing Trees Dr. Memphis, TN 38116 576-6786; 332-3691; harold.collins@memphistn.gov

WANDA M. HALBERT 3506 Barron Dr. Memphis, TN. 38111 576-6785X5; wanda.halbert@memphistn.gov

JIM STRICKLAND 267 Ridgefield Rd. Memphis, TN 38111 527-0255; 576-6786; jim.strickland@memphistn.gov

EDMUND FORD, JR. 917 Summer Shade Ln. Memphis, TN 38116 396-1555; 576-6786; edmund.ford@memphistn.gov

BARBARA SWEARENGEN WARE 1636 Sydney Rd. Memphis, TN 38108 458-9406; 576-6786; barbara.ware@memphistn.gov

JOE BROWN 1384 Jackson Memphis, TN 38107 576-6786; joe.brown@memphistn.gov

JANIS FULLILOVE 3320 Morningview Dr. Memphis, TN. 38118 205-4593; 291-1266; janis.fullilove@memphistn.gov

MYRON LOWERY 128 Harbor Isle Cir. S.Memphis, TN 38103 576-6786; 521-4300; myron.lowery@memphistn.gov

SCOTT MCCORMICK 8895 Hickory Trail Cordova, TN 38018 753-6014; 569-7127; scott.mccormick@memphistn.gov

SHEA FLINN, III 275 Goodwyn Memphis, TN 38111 324-5532; 576-6786; shea.flinn@memphistn.gov

REID HEDGEPETH 125 N Main Memphis, TN 38103 576-6784; reid.hedgepeth@memphistn.gov

ADDRESS: Councilman or Councilwoman or The Honorable--
SALUTATION: Councilman, Councilwoman, Mr., Ms., or Mrs.

Council to look at $ for Beale Street Landing

2008-05-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Beale Street Landing(BSL) started out as a $10M idea to do something special at the foot of Beale Street. Since that time it has morphed into a $29.M public project.

Its need, cost, design, and intrusion into Tom Lee Park for land and parking are questioned by many. Project designers and proponents, on the other hand, describe it as "terraced islands descending to the river" and avoid questions about whether its real purpose is to serve as a boat dock for a "water taxi" to Tunica.

Since its inception, BSL has been controversial. Construction is scheduled to begin on landfill for the project this July and funding for other phases is currently being reviewed by the City Council.

Here are some links to information about the project and the continuing debate. click on the links below

Beale Street Landing - what, where, why, who,... Do we need it? Can we afford it?

Garage Gate, Part Two? The rationale for building Beale Street Landing is slipping away. By John Branston for The Memphis Flyer

What it will look like and Where it will be - BSL to pave section of Tom Lee Park S. to Vance for parking lot and cover section of Cobblestones

4 Problems with Beale Street Landing

BSL doesn't meet guidelines - Plan raises new questions

An Update on BSL - the details including letters to SHPO and illustrations of earlier plans for "something at the foot of Beale Street"

Beale Street Landing Revisions - Project Gets 106 Approval

A Ferry to Where?

Newspaper articles and documents relating to Beale Street Landing 1997-2008.

Information on Council votes:
What's happening at Beale $treet Landing?

Beale Street Landing cut in committee

Beale $treet Landing back in the budget

Whether we want it or not - Council votes to pay for boat dock

Dec. 18, 2007 City Council passes resolution to allocate $6M for Phase 2 of BSL

Cobblestone Landing Plan Needs a Fundamental Change

2008-05-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

A small group of “stakeholders” met with the RDC to discuss a “restoration” plan for the Cobblestone Landing. It’s all preliminary we were told. The plan, however, has been sent to the TN State Historic Preservation Office for consideration and a request to approve funding is in this year’s CIP budget.

For a long time the Cobblestone Landing has been neglected and allowed to deteriorate, so it’s good news that there’s a plan in the works and $6M on hand for the project. But this plan is not what most people have been expecting. It needs careful review and a fundamental change.

Since the 1980s, Memphians have envisioned an active Cobblestone Landing with floating barges and restaurants. Instead the current plan will no longer allow boats at the Cobblestone Landing and will make the Cobblestone Landing a vast empty field of rocks with a few historic markers and walkways right in the center of the waterfront - not the way to create a vibrant riverfront.

Somehow in Memphis we have quite a track record for building new projects and simply abandoning what we already have. It looks like we may be headed down that same dead-end path on the riverfront with the new $29 million Beale Street Landing taking over all the current and historic uses of its neighbor the Cobblestone Landing. It looks like the “restoration” plan could actually have the opposite effect and instead become a “decommissioning” of the Cobblestone Landing. One of our City’s most significant landmarks, the authentic Cobblestone Landing has been continuously used for 150 years as a commercial boat landing. FfOR believes that any “restoration” plan for the landing should stabilize, restore, and improve the usability of the Cobblestone Landing both for people and boats.

Michael Cromer, FfOR board member and webmaster, has set up a new website with information on the Cobblestone Landing. A blog, the site also gives you a chance to comment and make suggestions. Click here to learn more and get involved.
If you want to be sure that the Cobblestone Landing will be able to accommodate boats in the future, let the City Council know.