BY ERIN SIMPSON
Staff Writer

The Phenix City Planning Commission unanimously agreed to endorse the $225 million redevelopment plan for the city's riverfront and downtown.

Doug Faust, vice president of the consulting firm The Boulevard Group, presented the plan to the commission Tuesday.

"The final plan is actually being built right now," he said. The plan should be presented to City Council at its Oct. 19 meeting for approval. "The progress has been exceptional. The community is embracing the plan."

The Boulevard Group is working with the city and the private East Alabama Riverfront Development to create a master plan for redevelopment of the city's downtown and riverfront areas, with expectations of whitewater rafting on the Chattahoochee coming soon. The plan has already been presented at three town hall meetings, with focus groups and individuals along the way.

Key pieces include extending the Phenix City riverwalk, building one or two hotels and conference centers and replacing Riverview Apartments with mixed-income housing that also provides for public housing residents.

The plan Tuesday showed price tags attached to each phase of the development, plus listed other development projects in Phenix City and Columbus to show that the plan is viable. Some projects completed or in progress:

• Completed projects in downtown totaling $229.8 million have been built in recent years, including the Phenix City Amphitheater, the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, riverwalks on both sides, Synovus Centre, MeadWestvaco, TSYS and the Coca-Cola Space Science Center.
• Current projects under way totaling $106.3 million include the Columbus State University downtown expansion, Johnston Mill Lofts, Columbus Convention & Trade Center expansion and whitewater plans.
• Planned projects worth $156.7 million include the redevelopment of the Eagle & Phenix Mill, the National Infantry Museum and the new mixed-income community at Peabody Apartments public housing, similar to the plans for Riverview. The plans for redevelopment:
• Phase I (Dillingham area): Hotel, conference center and retail developments -- $47.8 million
• Phase II (riverfront): Mixed-use residential over commercial developments and infrastructure and streetscape improvements -- $70. 4 million
• Phase III (Phenix Plaza area): Hotel, retail shops, restaurant, courthouse expansion and downtown expansions for Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Troy State University -- $71.3 million
• Phase IV (Riverview area): Revitalized public housing, new youth center, infrastructure and street improvements -- $35.3 million.

The total land area considered for redevelopment is 135 acres. The presentation suggests starting now on a hotel property, planning for whitewater industries, recruiting new businesses and seeking housing developers.