A Case for Support
Public Identifies Access to Water as Top Priority
The Memphis Riverfront Master Plan found this to be one of the most immediate needs of the riverfront from its public meetings and the idea was strongly seconded by the Urban Land Institute during its independent review of the plan.
Successful First-Ever International Design Competition Held
The Riverfront Development Corporation, in conjunction with the Memphis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Memphis) and the UrbanArt Commission, hosted a first-ever international design competition for a major public/private capital project in Memphis’ history.
Designs for Beale Street Landing were submitted by 170 designers, architects, artists, and other professionals representing 20 countries worldwide and 28 states nationwide. A public exhibition of the submittals was covered regionally and nationally by the design trade publications and local media, including features in Architecture Record and mentions in the New York Times.
A panel of world renowned architects, urban planners and landscape architects – including two Memphians – was assembled to jury the competition, the first major piece of the riverfront master plan to be implemented.
You Can Look, but You Can’t Touch
Memphis is definitely a city on a bluff – and that works well for flood protection. It works less well for recreation and enjoyment. Citizens and visitors need a way to get safely and comfortably to the waters’ edge and that opportunity currently does not exist.
With an average 57 foot annual fluctuation in water elevation, the Mississippi is more than a stone’s throw from the riverbank the majority of the year. The terraced landscape of the Beale Street Landing project and the floating dock allow people access to the river for the first time in 50+ years.
Take Your Family on a Boat Ride
If you don’t own a boat or have a good friend who does, your access to the Mississippi River is severely limited. In a city known for its location on the river, we have a severely underutilized amenity. Beale Street Landing will provide easy access to well-maintained, regularly scheduled, daily excursion boat rides.
Because the Beale Street Landing project is under design, the former Delta Steamship Company has increased its dockings in Memphis by 40%. They are trying to build their market here in anticipation of the new docking facility, adding a strong economic development aspect to the project that benefits the City for years to come.
Significant Cost Covered by Federal & State Funds
The RDC has engaged the region’s federal legislators in meaningful discussions on the importance of the Beale Street Landing project as well as other improvements to the Memphis riverfront. As a result of these and other efforts, the RDC has secured nearly $10 million from a variety of sources including grant funds from the State of Tennessee, as well as various Federal Department of Transportation grants.
These federal funds are specifically earmarked for this project and cannot be reprogrammed. More than half these dollars will be lost by even delaying the project another year.
Additionally, the Beale Street Landing project is very high profile for our legislators. If it does not move forward, the City of Memphis looses face and will have a much more difficult time attracting funds for other future projects – even those not related to the riverfront.
Building Project Paves the Way for Historic Cobblestone Landing Improvements.
The historic cobblestones are unraveling, sinkholes have developed, and the entire landing is in need of stabilization, protection, and beautification. The Beale Street Landing project makes it possible to begin work on the cobblestone landing by removing the boating activity from the cobblestones to allow for construction that stops further loss, refills the holes, and adds appropriate pathways to the water’s edge. The RDC had secured nearly $ 6 million in federal funds for this work.
Previously Demonstrated Broad-base Support of the Project
Countless numbers of citizens have requested this kind of project in scores of public meetings. The design community played a significant role in its creation. The Memphis City Council has approved the Beale Street Landing project on three different occasions. As a result of this broad-based support and these approvals, more that $4 million dollars have been spent to date on this project, between the design competition, permitting, construction drawings, and Phase I construction.
Beale Street Landing is an important piece in the revitalization of the City of Memphis and in its attraction of new, highly recruited employees and entrepreneurs. Memphis sits on the third largest river in the world at its widest point. It needs a world-class riverfront amenity to match.
We must build Beale Street Landing.