Beale Street Landing answers call for reunion of Memphis and the Mississippi
The quest for a world-class riverfront in Memphis is closer to completion than ever before. With early phases finished or currently under way and bids for Phase 4A in hand, the Riverfront Development Corporation anticipates that Beale Street Landing – the riverfront destination that Memphis so richly deserves – will be completed in summer of 2011.
Beale Street Landing is part of the Memphis Riverfront Master Plan approved by the Memphis City Council in 2002 that addressed a set of varied and visionary goals:
- create a unique public space and destination at the terminus of historic Beale Street
- provide safe and inviting pedestrian access to the water’s edge
- function as a world-class docking facility
This world-class riverfront is being made possible thanks to collaboration at all levels of government. RDC has been a diligent steward of the mix of federal, state and local funds that are being used to make this riverfront vision for Beale Street Landing a reality.
RDC has been especially prudent in managing its operating funds and careful in value-engineering various aspects of the project to reduce costs. Increases are due to a combination of delays, re-designs related to historical preservation issues, and cost escalation related to schedule delays. In addition, unexpected Congressional holdbacks have meant that federal funds designated for the project have been reduced by more than $1.4 million below what was anticipated and budgeted. Due to this nearly three-year delay, the RDC expects about $9 million in combined cost increases and funding decreases. Roughly $7 million of the cost increase is directly related to construction inflation, which was exacerbated as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
The Beale Street Landing project and the overall Memphis Riverfront Master Plan are unique examples of private-public partnerships forged for the purpose of determining and meeting a civic need. From the first-ever international design competition held to select an appropriate design for Beale Street Landing to the continued linkage of the entire Memphis riverfront, these efforts are a direct response to citizens’ desire to “Reunite the City with the River.”
RDC looks forward to Summer 2011, when this worthy vision – of making the majestic Mississippi River more accessible and usable for area residents and visitors to the Bluff City – becomes a reality.