Phenix Residents Can Hear About Development Plan
People can ask about proposed riverfront changes
Posted on Thursday, May 27, 2004
BY ERIN SIMPSON
Staff Writer
The majority of Phenix City residents haven't had a chance to see firsthand the plan for the city's riverfront development.
East Alabama Riverfront Development wants to change that. Tonight, the group is holding a public question-and-answer session for anyone interested in the development plan.
"I hope at least a couple of hundred people come," said Sammy Howard, former Phenix City mayor and chairman of the riverfront development group.
The Boulevard Group, a consulting firm hired by the private riverfront group to study the city and its opportunities, will be presenting its preliminary plan on what Phenix City's riverfront and downtown areas could look like. The final plan should be ready to present to the city this summer, Howard said.
He said people all over town are asking questions about the plans.
"Everyone wants to know, 'Is this going to happen?' There's so many times we put plans together and everything just never happened," he said. "That's the biggest question I'm asked."
But with Columbus moving along with plans for white water rapids on the Chattahoochee River, Phenix City's riverfront must be improved, he said. "White water is a reality, and we're beginning to see the urgency."
The presentation will be the first of three workshops to look at and get public input on physical conditions, development trends, white water activities and the development master plan.
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Contact Erin Simpson at (706) 571-8586 or esimpson@ledger-enquirer.com