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Task force architect offers ideas to energize Memphis riverfront

Commercial Appeal - 7/19/2017

July 19--Building on nearly a dozen plans drafted over the past 30 years, architects hired by a city task force Tuesday offered a menu of options that include adding trees, pavilions and playgrounds to lure more people and generate more activity along the Memphis riverfront.

The concept outlined by Studio Gang is designed to transform parks and public areas scattered along a six-mile stretch of the Mississippi River, Wolf River Harbor and McKellar Lake, from the northern tip of Mud Island to Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park, into a "signature network of spaces and opportunities," the report from the Chicago firm said.

But unlike 11 riverfront plans produced since 1987, the firm's conceptual report contains no specific set of recommended improvements or projects. Instead, it suggests beginning with modest initiatives that can be tested, such as the pop-up park now operating on Riverside Drive, and then advancing to larger-scale efforts.

"What you're getting is a set of options...," said Studio Gang's Gia Biagi. "It's an opportunity to sort of pick an option, test it out, but then also look for signature moments to invest in a grand-scale way that makes sense depending on funding sources and the will and interest of the people."

Studio Gang was commissioned by the Riverfront Task Force, a group assembled early this year by Mayor Jim Strickland to develop a vision for parks and amenities along the Mississippi that generally are considered underused. A $350,000 contribution by the Hyde Family Foundations and The Kresge Foundation was used in hiring the firm.

Officials have insisted that while Memphis will be a partner in any improvements proposed for the riverfront, any projects will be paid for by private philanthropies, business partners and other sources, but not with city general-fund revenues.

One possible public funding source would be the Tourism Development Zone, the area of Downtown where some sales tax revenues can be retained by the city. State officials are considering whether to allow TDZ funds to be used on Mud Island and other areas.

In developing its plan, Studio Gang incorporated a public survey on the riverfront that drew more than 4,500 responses. Asked what they liked most about the riverfront, 37 percent of the respondents said green spaces and the Mississippi. Questioned about what would most likely lure them to visit the river more, 58 percent said food and drink.

Nearly one-third of respondents said they visit the riverfront by walking or bicycling.

Studio Gang's report emphasized connecting the riverfront parks and open spaces with each other and with the rest of the city. It also focused on restoring natural conditions and making the riverfront a more inviting destination.

One element involved planting trees in what are now barren areas near the historic cobblestones and other locations.

"We heard it loud and clear (in the survey) -- people want shade, they want places to sit," Biagi said.

The Studio Gang report also advises "soft" improvements, such as natural-looking pavilions, additional trails, bridges and walkways. An adventure playground and pavilion could energize Tom Lee Park, while an elevated walkway provide dramatic views from Greenbelt Park, according to the report. New plantings and structures could amplify the river ecology of Mud Island River Park.

Alan Crone, special counsel to the mayor and chairman of the task force, said the group will study the Studio Gang concept over the next 60 days and work to develop individual projects based on it.

He said the report represents a "starting point" for a community discussion about the riverfront.

"This is a concept, it's not a plan," he said. "The Memphis riverfront is one of the most planned bits of real estate in the country."

The options for improving the riverfront are diverse, both in detail and in cost, Crone said.

"It's a lot like remodeling your kitchen. You can spend whatever you want to spend."

Reach Tom Charlier at thomas.charlier@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2572 and on Twitter at @thomasrcharlier.

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(c)2017 The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)

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