A rendering of the proposed Columbus riverfront project as seen on columbusriverfront.org.
City officials have hired an firm to evaluate the potential economic benefits of the “Our River…Our Riverfront” project, which recently received one of its long-awaited permits.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission voted Tuesday to engage James Lima Planning + Development (JLP+D) for the study. The firm’s proposal has a not to-exceed amount of $44,010.63, redevelopment officials said. This includes $39,000 for labor costs and $5,010.63 for reimbursable expenses.
The firm previously developed a report on ways to activate the historic core of downtown Columbus.
Prior to voting on their proposal, redevelopment director Heather Pope informed the commission that the city has received its permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the project, which she said is “wonderful news.”
According to a project timeline from the department, the city filed paperwork with the agency in December of 2019, filed a draft permit in June of 2021, and formally filed a permit in September of 2021. Since then, the process has gone back and forth, with the USACE providing comments to the city and the city resubmitting multiple times based on their remarks.
“This project’s been going on since 2017,” Pope said. “I don’t have to remind you all of that. But I think a legitimate question would be what’s the economic impact, because we know this is going to be a significant project. And with large projects come large price tags.”
With that in mind, she believes it is worthwhile to seek an updated economic benefit analysis.
The project cost discussed in 2017 was $8.9 million, said Pope. She added that since then, the city has received multiple grants for the project.
In 2022, the riverfront project received a $1.72 million Next Level Trail grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and a $600,000 Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative grant. The project has also received a $100,000 grant from the Columbus Park Foundation, Pope said.
Commission member Shannon McDonald, who is an accounting manager for Taylor Bros Construction, said he expects the project cost is probably 30-40% higher than it was six years ago. This would put the price at about $11.5 million to $12.5 million.
Pope said that they’re looking at ways to manage the bidding process that can help reduce the cost, though she noted that the project is going to be expensive, regardless.
JLP+D wrote in its proposal that the firm will “assess the economic benefits to the City of Columbus of the proposed Riverfront Project relative to the proposed City contributions to its construction (capital investments), ongoing operations and maintenance, and tourism/visitation benefits.”
The firm estimated that it could complete the study in two months, subject to the city providing necessary data about the riverfront project. Its proposal included the following tasks:
- Preparing an economic benefits analysis report for the proposed project
- Conducting interviews with major stakeholders and gathering case studies to demonstrate the benefits of the projects
- Producing a policy report demonstrating the return on public investment and making the case for project implementation
The firm expects to have its work finished by the start of November, Pope said.
She hopes to schedule a joint meeting of the redevelopment commission and Columbus City Council in mid-November to hear the firm’s findings and an updated presentation from Hitchcock Design Group on the project design.
According to Columbus’s redevelopment department, plans for the riverfront project include a multi-use trail, river overlook areas, lighting, removal of the low-head dam, “improvements to increase use of the river for recreational activities”, addressing and preventing erosion, beautification and areas of public art.
“I think it’s important to also note that although the financial impact is important, it’s not the whole part of the analysis, I think,” said commission member Kyle Hendricks. “Another good question to ask along these lines is what does the city lose by not investing in the riverfront at this point? Because there are serious environmental concerns in that area that have to be addressed.”
