cjsmitty posted on June 24, 2008 06:23
The first construction on the riverwalk project could start this summer or fall now that a lease with a downtown property owner has been approved.
Monday, aldermen voted to OK the 20-year deal for 265 feet of riverfront sidewalk of the National City Bank building, 120 W. State St. For $10 a year, the city can rebuild the long-dormant piece of property and connect it to West State Street on the north and the state’s path system to the south.
The deal is contingent on the City Council’s approval of the final design and cost of the project, both of which are unknown. Both the building’s owner, John Taphorn, and the state also will get their say on the designs, which should be ready in a few weeks.
Ald. Linda McNeely, D-13, questioned the city’s investment in private land.
“I would think that this business would want to be a part of (the riverwalk) and would want to pay the funding for it,” she said. “They’re going to reap the benefits, whether it’s today or 10 years from now, of us doing the construction there on the property.”
McNeely and Ald. Nancy Johnson, D-8, both voted against the lease.
Mayor Larry Morrissey, who has long pushed the riverwalk as a tool for downtown redevelopment, said deals for riverfront development are done on a case-by-case basis. He’s hopeful future deals would include private investment.
“We’re looking forward to getting a big improvement made and hopefully attracting more private-sector development along the way,” he said.
The other riverwalk section under development runs through the museum campus. Plans there call for a new set of winding paths that would connect Whitman Street on the north to Beattie Park on the south. In some places the path would follow the west bank of the river, and in other sections it would follow North Main Street.
Preliminary designs for the museum campus leg were released late last year, and more detailed plans are expected to be ready next year. After that, construction on the $3.5 million leg could begin.
As envisioned by Morrissey, the riverwalk will extend between Chestnut and Whitman streets on both sides of the Rock River.
Staff writer Sean F. Driscoll can be reached at 815-987-1410 or sdriscoll@rrstar.com.