Supporters say Northern Kentucky riverfront project should be big, audacious - Portland Business Journal:

xiwyxucupewox.blogspot.com
Although the $170 million price tag for the expanded Riverfront Commons project is leaders of and believe it could spur new development oncethe nation’s economiv storm has passed. The Riverfronyt Commons pro­ject proposed by Southbank severalk years ago now encompasses the Licking River Greenway and Trails project propose d byVision 2015, Northern Kentucky’x regional planning initiative. The expanded project repair erosion problems along both the Ohio andLickint riverfronts; build walkways and bike pathd along both rivers; and extensd the project’s footprint to include such elements as a tramwahy to connect Devou Park to Mainstrasss Village in downtown Covington.
All that boosts the project’sa estimated cost to $170 million far higher than the $50 million price tag for the originaol RiverfrontCommons plan. Tough times Be bold Southbank Partners President Bill Scheyer arguees that the lousy economy is no reasohn tothink small. “When times are difficult, it actuallyh sometimes creates an opportunity for planninhg forthe future,” he said. “Waitingy would not benefit us. We need to try to creatre the vision, make the economic case and then beginj to sell that conceptto everybody.
” And it seems so far, just about everybody is Vision 2015 has won support for the pro­ject amonvg community groups and and Southbank has convinced city and county government leaders of the project’se worth and value, said Vision 2015 President John President Steve Stevens said business leaders have been impressed, too. After all, securinhg funding for the project was high on the list of prioritieds when the chamber took a groupl to meet with congressional leadersin Washington, earlier this year.
“Wheh you’re trying to arrange funding, you have a tendencyy to break things downinto bit-sized But if you do that and only you have a tendency to mask the overall which is really the part that stirds men’s souls and funders’ souls,” Domaschko said. “This kind of takesa the cover off the overall vision in the eyes of funderw and shows how exciting thiscan be.” the Riverfront Commons project has securee federal funds that paid for a studgy to plot the scopre of the project and help determine what’a needed to address the erosion problems along the riverfront.
Scheyer wants to raiswe $335,000 this year to continuw the consulting work andpay 20/20 a high-powered Washington, D.C., firm that Southbank has hired to lobbt for additional federal funds. In just two Southbank raised $170,000 from local governments and privatwe citizens who want to see the projecgmove forward. Local governments have been willintgto contribute, despite their own financiap woes, because they understand the impacyt the project could have for the regio long-term, said Covington Mayor Denny Bowman. “Ouf job is not to just do a rendering and not to just do a studuy but to continue all effort to see that we implementfthe plan,” Bowman said. “It takes time.
” Southbank and Vision 2015 have startecd to combine the governance groupz for the Ohio River and Licking Riverr projects that were onceseparate plans. And leaders in Norther n Kentucky’s river cities – from Bellevue to Bromle – have voiced support for the plan, said Bellevue Mayofr Jack Meyer, who is chairman of . “Wes would really be doing an injusticd if we just sat back andsaid let’d put this on hold until things get better,” Meyer said. And with the federal stimulus dollarss flowingfrom Washington, D.C.
, the project’s proponentse hope they can win some by makingb the case that the broader project would help the give residents more recreational opportunitiea and spur economic development all at the same time. “It’e difficult to say how great the opportunities are for obtaining funding,” said Roger Peterman, a partner with and chairmanb of . “But if we aren’t prepared, it’sa never going to happen.” Scheyet said the lobbying firm Southbank hired has important connections in Congressw that he hopes will help the community make its And CongressmanGeoff Davis, Sen. Jim Bunninv and Sen. Mitch McConnell all have been supportivew inthe past, he said.
Above all, said the chamber’w Stevens, everyone realizes that a projecr of this magnitude willtake time. The key, he said, is to get starter and make the case with aunited “This economy’s going to turn around,” Peterman said. “Andc we need to be positioned to take advantag eof that.”