Columbus leaders say the city can finally proceed with downtown riverfront redevelopment.
The project has been in the works since 2016, mainly going through regulatory hoops. Erosion on both sides of the river and a century-old dam must be fixed.
But the city sees the area as a front door that’s been neglected for far too long. Plans include more greenspace, trails, beautification, and recreational opportunities.
The approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers means the city can complete the project as designed. Next steps are funding approval by the redevelopment commission and city council, then bidding and building.
“We know that a lot has changed," Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said. "We've been through the pandemic, we've been through significant inflation with respect to building materials, concrete being no exception. And there's a lot of concrete in this design.”
Original cost estimates were more than $8 million. The city hired urban economist James Lima to see if those numbers still work.
“We believed when we proposed the project originally, that it had a sound business case, that it made sense for us to do this from an economic perspective, as well as a safety perspective, and amenity perspective,” Lienhoop said.
The city has secured state READI and Next Level Trails grants and is working on others as well.
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