WEBVTT 00:05.005 --> 00:06.974  - (female announcer)   Production funding for 00:06.974 --> 00:08.742  Behind the Headlines 00:08.742 --> 00:10.244  is made possible and part by: 00:10.244 --> 00:12.079  the WKNO Production Fund, 00:12.079 --> 00:14.014  the WKNO Endowment Fund, 00:14.014 --> 00:17.251  and by viewers like you.   Thank you. 00:17.251 --> 00:19.119 - The accelerating transformation of the 00:19.119 --> 00:22.256 Riverfront, tonight on Behind the Headlines. 00:22.256 --> 00:24.992 [dramatic orchestral music] 00:38.505 --> 00:40.274 I'm Eric Barnes, President and Executive Editor 00:40.274 --> 00:41.642 of the Daily Memphian. 00:41.642 --> 00:42.943 Thanks for joining us. 00:42.943 --> 00:44.378 I'm joined tonight by Carol Coletta, 00:44.378 --> 00:46.713 president and CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership. 00:46.713 --> 00:48.048 Thanks for being here again. 00:48.048 --> 00:49.049 - Glad to be here. 00:49.049 --> 00:50.384 - So you, as we tape this is, 00:50.384 --> 00:51.885 which is basically a week ago, 00:51.885 --> 00:54.621 you are about to open a number of new features 00:54.621 --> 00:56.757 and you got big, you brought some news 00:56.757 --> 00:59.159 with a big donation from the Hyde Family Foundation 00:59.159 --> 01:01.395 which has supported so many parks and green spaces 01:01.395 --> 01:03.463 and other things in the city, but talk about 01:03.463 --> 01:06.967 maybe what has opened, this new, this first new feature 01:06.967 --> 01:09.102 and how that has set the stage for what's to come. 01:09.102 --> 01:12.005 - Yeah, if you think about what most of us 01:12.005 --> 01:16.376 think of as the Riverfront, it's the river 01:16.376 --> 01:21.381  from Jefferson to maybe Georgia   or Carolina on the south. 01:22.549 --> 01:24.918  So you know, it's a big   expanse of riverfront 01:24.918 --> 01:28.855  that neighbors the   core city, right? 01:28.855 --> 01:30.324  The core downtown. 01:30.324 --> 01:35.262  So we are opening a five-mile   trail along the riverfront 01:38.765 --> 01:42.669  that will connect finally   the Wolf River Greenway 01:42.669 --> 01:45.305  on the north end of Mud   Island all the way down 01:45.305 --> 01:46.773  to Big River crossing. 01:46.773 --> 01:48.275  We've never had that trail. 01:48.275 --> 01:50.777 It's the most obvious trail in the city, right? 01:50.777 --> 01:53.347 - It's funny that it's very significant 01:53.347 --> 01:55.849 in part. - And it's the last one. 01:55.849 --> 01:57.751 - Exactly, because it's been talked about. 01:57.751 --> 01:59.286 I've lived in Memphis 24 years and I remember 01:59.286 --> 02:02.222 debates about this when I moved here. 02:02.222 --> 02:03.457 - Right. 02:03.457 --> 02:04.725 - And over the past five and ten years. 02:04.725 --> 02:06.159 Debates about why wouldn't there be. 02:06.159 --> 02:07.928 Study after study that came forward that you know, 02:07.928 --> 02:09.830 some people sort of cynically said oh yeah 02:09.830 --> 02:12.099 we spent X thousand dollars for a study 02:12.099 --> 02:14.201 that said put a trail along a beautiful riverfront 02:14.201 --> 02:16.470 and so how did you get that done? 02:16.470 --> 02:19.072 - Well in part, the pieces were there 02:19.072 --> 02:22.609 and so part of this is just joining up the pieces, 02:22.609 --> 02:27.614 finding the connection points among those pieces. 02:28.749 --> 02:31.018 Some of it is new and it's interesting. 02:31.018 --> 02:32.953 It's a collaboration of funders. 02:32.953 --> 02:35.322 The Hyde Family Foundation provided funding 02:35.322 --> 02:39.059 for some of those connections and the signage 02:39.059 --> 02:41.161 that was very necessary to doing the trail. 02:41.161 --> 02:44.765 The city of Memphis Department of Housing and Community 02:44.765 --> 02:47.401 Development did the part on the trail that goes from 02:47.401 --> 02:50.537 the coast guard along the west side of the flood wall 02:50.537 --> 02:52.339 which a lot of people have never seen. 02:52.339 --> 02:53.607 It's really stunning. 02:53.607 --> 02:56.943 And so along that part of the trail down to the 02:56.943 --> 02:59.913 Tennessee Welcome Center to the south 02:59.913 --> 03:02.716 and then the Community Redevelopment Agency 03:02.716 --> 03:06.286 came in and did some invitations 03:06.286 --> 03:10.791 on the east end of A.W. Willis Bridge over Mud Island 03:11.792 --> 03:14.494 to connect it better to Uptown. 03:14.494 --> 03:18.498 So ultimately, what we want to have is a great connection 03:18.498 --> 03:23.503 among all of the neighborhoods along the river 03:24.671 --> 03:27.207 as well as between two of our major trails now 03:27.207 --> 03:28.909 as Wolf River Greenway, 03:28.909 --> 03:32.646 you know, sort of roars to completion 03:32.646 --> 03:34.881 and Big River Crossing now just got better 03:34.881 --> 03:38.351 with the paved trails at, you know, in Big River Trails 03:38.351 --> 03:40.120 over in Arkansas, it's just, 03:40.120 --> 03:44.057 it really is a magnificent natural resource for Memphis, 03:44.057 --> 03:47.761 not only for Memphians, but also for visitors to Memphis 03:47.761 --> 03:49.529 since there's more recreation travel. 03:49.529 --> 03:51.465 - And just to clarify for people who maybe aren't as close. 03:51.465 --> 03:53.533 We write about it a lot and you obviously are very close 03:53.533 --> 03:56.303 and have been, Big River Crossing is the Harahan Bridge, 03:56.303 --> 03:59.272 the old bridge as a lot of people refer to it 03:59.272 --> 04:01.241 and the crossing over there to Arkansas 04:01.241 --> 04:04.778 over by Church of the River and back in Martyrs Park 04:04.778 --> 04:08.148 and so on and Wolf River Greenway reaches all the way 04:08.148 --> 04:11.351 from the, eventually all the way out to what, 04:11.351 --> 04:12.953 Ghost River. - Yeah. 04:12.953 --> 04:14.421 Just imagine that. 04:14.421 --> 04:15.856 - It'll connect all along the Wolf River through 04:15.856 --> 04:18.458 parks and so on and various sections of open, 04:18.458 --> 04:20.293 but a what, a $40 million plan that we've talked about here. 04:20.293 --> 04:21.862 You're not directly involved in that. 04:21.862 --> 04:23.063 - No. 04:23.063 --> 04:24.464 - That's not on your purview. 04:24.464 --> 04:25.732 - No, but we very much support it and connect to it. 04:25.732 --> 04:27.000 - Yeah. 04:27.000 --> 04:28.535 - And I think all these connections 04:28.535 --> 04:31.171 make every single piece more valuable. 04:31.171 --> 04:32.405 - Yeah. 04:32.405 --> 04:34.674 That, this opening this green path 04:34.674 --> 04:36.610 that you just talked about, 04:36.610 --> 04:38.879 that is sort of oddly significant 04:38.879 --> 04:40.480 given how long it's been talked about 04:40.480 --> 04:43.116 and how hard it was to pull the pieces together 04:44.518 --> 04:45.785 and in part, you described that because you talked about 04:45.785 --> 04:47.888 in just talking about that five mile trail, 04:47.888 --> 04:50.090 you named four or five different entities 04:50.090 --> 04:51.958 who had to come together on that which is often 04:51.958 --> 04:54.294 seems to be the case with pulling 04:54.294 --> 04:55.829 these kinds of projects together. 04:55.829 --> 04:58.765 That is just a first very visible step 04:58.765 --> 05:00.534 and a whole lot of things are about to happen. 05:00.534 --> 05:03.904 So you have a plan of what, $50 to $70 million. 05:03.904 --> 05:06.506 Is that what you're looking for in investments 05:06.506 --> 05:08.708 in a whole range of things and maybe what we'll end up 05:08.708 --> 05:10.544 doing is kind of walk you through where you are 05:10.544 --> 05:11.945 with all the various parks 05:11.945 --> 05:14.447 from Tom Lee Park to updates on what people 05:14.447 --> 05:17.784 think of is is the Mud Island River Park and so on, 05:17.784 --> 05:21.254 but give the overall of this $50 to $70 million plan. 05:21.254 --> 05:24.558 - Well again, if you, just to say River Line is the first 05:24.558 --> 05:29.563 piece of this, of this new bit of work we're doing. 05:30.664 --> 05:31.865 I say bit of work. 05:31.865 --> 05:34.901 It really is the heart of the Riverfront 05:34.901 --> 05:36.403 and the heart of Downtown. 05:36.403 --> 05:38.238 Thus the heart of our city. 05:38.238 --> 05:42.142 So think about, we have the River Line that connects it all. 05:42.142 --> 05:44.277 We have a new what we call River Garden. 05:44.277 --> 05:46.980 It is in the old Mississippi River park, 05:46.980 --> 05:51.985 formerly Jeff Davis Park that runs to the west side 05:53.119 --> 05:56.690 of Riverside drive from Jefferson to Court. 05:56.690 --> 06:01.695  So it's at the north   end of what we think of 06:02.429 --> 06:03.663  as the Riverfront. 06:03.663 --> 06:05.131  That is, has been   transformed into 06:05.131 --> 06:07.200  what we call River Garden. 06:07.200 --> 06:10.637  That is, I will tell you,   it sets a new standard 06:10.637 --> 06:12.772  for what we think of as   public space in Memphis. 06:12.772 --> 06:15.308  It is just a beauty. 06:15.308 --> 06:16.910 It's a one block park. 06:16.910 --> 06:18.478 It's really sweet. 06:18.478 --> 06:19.713 It's right on the harbor. 06:19.713 --> 06:22.282 So from that park, you are both looking 06:22.282 --> 06:24.618 across the harbor into Mud Island, 06:24.618 --> 06:27.587 but you're also looking straight down the river. 06:27.587 --> 06:29.489 You can actually see how all of the rivers 06:29.489 --> 06:31.925 join together from that park, which I hadn't realized 06:31.925 --> 06:36.930 until we started building it, but it is an absolute beauty. 06:37.797 --> 06:40.033 It has all native plants, plants 06:40.033 --> 06:43.003 that will bloom again and again. 06:43.003 --> 06:47.240 So we have fields, we have this wonderful pavilion 06:47.240 --> 06:52.078 which leads to this observation nest that again 06:52.078 --> 06:53.680 gives you a view straight down 06:53.680 --> 06:55.382 the harbor and onto the river. 06:55.382 --> 06:57.217 You can see all the way to the dock 06:57.217 --> 06:58.852 and beyond the Tom Lee Park. 06:58.852 --> 07:01.187 We have hammocks underneath. 07:01.187 --> 07:04.024 We have a pavilion for dining. 07:04.024 --> 07:05.925 - And all this is free and open to the public. 07:05.925 --> 07:07.294 - Free and open to the public. 07:07.294 --> 07:11.464 It is really beautiful. - Right. 07:11.464 --> 07:12.299 - And we have hawk. 07:12.299 --> 07:13.767 We have our own hawk. 07:13.767 --> 07:15.769 Honestly, I saw him this week. 07:15.769 --> 07:17.003 - Was that planned or did it 07:17.003 --> 07:18.371 turn out there was a hawk there. 07:18.371 --> 07:20.240 - Apparently hawks have used, 'cause we're 07:20.240 --> 07:23.710 in the big flyway, right, the Mississippi River flyway, 07:25.145 --> 07:29.015 this hawk is ginormous and decides to sit in this tree 07:29.015 --> 07:31.618 at the south end of the park so when you see him, 07:31.618 --> 07:33.453 you cannot miss him. - Right. 07:33.453 --> 07:36.256 So you, and taking over this and people who 07:36.256 --> 07:38.591 maybe aren't, again, as close to this, 07:38.591 --> 07:39.793 there was the Riverfront Development Corporation 07:39.793 --> 07:41.695 which developed Beale Street Landing 07:41.695 --> 07:43.897 and had control I believe of Tom Lee Park 07:43.897 --> 07:46.566 and ultimately had the authority for a period of time 07:46.566 --> 07:48.168 over Mud Island River Park. 07:48.168 --> 07:50.570 Let's switch, so your organization is really 07:50.570 --> 07:52.706 the successor or the transformation of that. 07:52.706 --> 07:53.907 Is that a fair way to put that of the Riverfront, 07:53.907 --> 07:56.576 RDC as people might remember it. 07:56.576 --> 07:58.611 Let's talk about Mud Island. 07:58.611 --> 08:01.881 What, I mean, it is closed right now? 08:01.881 --> 08:02.882 Is that correct? 08:02.882 --> 08:04.117 Closed for the winter. - No. 08:04.117 --> 08:05.352 - Not Mud Island but the River Park 08:05.352 --> 08:08.288 and the museum and the amphiteater. 08:08.288 --> 08:09.789 We almost have to break it down 08:09.789 --> 08:13.059 and the monorail, the track that goes over the train, 08:13.059 --> 08:15.295 let's break down the various pieces of what's 08:15.295 --> 08:17.197 going on with what a lot of people, 08:17.197 --> 08:18.398 when they say Mud Island, 08:18.398 --> 08:19.799 they really think Mud Island River Park. 08:19.799 --> 08:22.669 - They do and Mud Island River Park, 08:22.669 --> 08:27.674 we decided this summer, that we would treat it like a park. 08:29.109 --> 08:32.345 So you can walk over to Mud Island all year round. 08:32.345 --> 08:34.781 You can walk into it, you can walk through it, 08:34.781 --> 08:37.751 but we've closed down for the season 08:37.751 --> 08:42.555 the museum and any food and-- 08:42.555 --> 08:44.391 - The big, not pool, but-- - Yeah. 08:44.391 --> 08:47.994 All that, we have to drain that or else it cracks. 08:47.994 --> 08:51.164 So we drain that for the winter, but still, 08:51.164 --> 08:53.566 what's interesting about Mud Island 08:53.566 --> 08:56.669 is you can still walk it, bike it, you know, 08:56.669 --> 08:59.406 you can use the scooter. - Model of the River, all that-- 08:59.406 --> 09:00.907 - Yeah, now it doesn't have water in it, 09:00.907 --> 09:02.342 but you can all the way to the southern tip. 09:02.342 --> 09:04.310 I saw people walking there today actually. 09:04.310 --> 09:07.914 So it still acts as a park like any other park. 09:07.914 --> 09:10.517 You can go in it freely, you can move around in it 09:10.517 --> 09:14.921 and so that is still an asset and we see runners 09:14.921 --> 09:18.558 and bikers and pedestrians use that all the time. 09:18.558 --> 09:19.793 - What is next then? 09:19.793 --> 09:21.194 Will those amenities open up in the spring 09:21.194 --> 09:24.230 or will they be renovated or? - Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. 09:24.230 --> 09:26.566 They will open up and they were freshened up. 09:26.566 --> 09:28.802 I mean the museum for instance was freshened up this summer. 09:28.802 --> 09:32.872 Closed for a couple of weeks and reopened and which felt 09:32.872 --> 09:36.543 lighter and fresher than it had felt in 40 years. 09:36.543 --> 09:38.044 It was great. 09:38.044 --> 09:42.315 So and there is more to come on Mud Island. 09:42.315 --> 09:47.320 We think that Mud Island can be, ought to be, 09:48.188 --> 09:49.689 it's a very special place. 09:49.689 --> 09:51.224 You're sitting out in the middle of Mississippi River. 09:51.224 --> 09:52.659 I mean you know, it's pretty great and with the lighting 09:52.659 --> 09:54.861 of both bridges, you've got this great view, 09:54.861 --> 09:55.795 you're really close. 09:55.795 --> 09:57.997 I mean it's in your foreground. 09:57.997 --> 10:00.066 So how. - But the facility itself, 10:00.066 --> 10:01.801 anybody out there would say it's pretty dated 10:01.801 --> 10:04.571 even from some of the areas you're talking about. 10:04.571 --> 10:07.173 When you look at it, it feels dated, it looks dated. 10:07.173 --> 10:08.875 - Well, yeah and the funny thing is, 10:08.875 --> 10:11.611 I think Mud Island from a distance, 10:11.611 --> 10:16.616 actually looks less inviting than it is once you get there. 10:17.717 --> 10:18.885 - 'Cause there's a big facing wall. 10:18.885 --> 10:20.220 - Yeah, yeah. - It seems far away. 10:20.220 --> 10:21.955 It's removed. - It feels very brutalist 10:21.955 --> 10:24.224 and so forth, but when you're over there, 10:24.224 --> 10:26.192 I think there's really some beautiful spaces. 10:26.192 --> 10:29.195 I mean for instance, the grove of trees 10:29.195 --> 10:31.364 that has grown up on the west side, the river side 10:31.364 --> 10:35.001 of the amphitheater is absolutely stunning. 10:35.001 --> 10:37.070 I mean very beautiful mature trees. 10:37.070 --> 10:41.174 So all I would say is that most people 10:41.174 --> 10:44.244 in Memphis I find have very 10:44.244 --> 10:46.379 nostalgic feelings about Mud Island. 10:46.379 --> 10:48.147 You know, we all went there at one time 10:48.147 --> 10:53.119 and so we sort of, there's something to love about it, 10:54.621 --> 10:57.156 there was a sweetness about it, but people are restless 10:57.156 --> 11:00.159 about what it oughta be for the future. 11:00.159 --> 11:01.561 - I would actually say there's this nostalgia 11:01.561 --> 11:03.563 tinged with disappointment. - Yes, I agree. 11:03.563 --> 11:05.765 - It never achieved, it was one of those things 11:05.765 --> 11:08.368 that getting kind of off-track here, 11:08.368 --> 11:11.604 but it was one of those things that went back to a feeling 11:11.604 --> 11:14.507 in Memphis that you couldn't, that big projects went wrong. 11:14.507 --> 11:16.142 People would say that about, when I moved to Memphis, 11:16.142 --> 11:18.711 people would talk about how the Pyramid was supposed 11:18.711 --> 11:21.281 to have a roller coaster and it was supposed to be 11:21.281 --> 11:22.849 all these great things and it actually was kind of okay 11:22.849 --> 11:24.284 and they would say the same about Mud Island 11:24.284 --> 11:27.687 and as other projects started up, say the green line, 11:27.687 --> 11:29.255 the transformation of Shelby Farms, 11:29.255 --> 11:31.591 Overton Park, you know, all these things 11:31.591 --> 11:33.393 that we have been talking about downtown, 11:33.393 --> 11:35.895 people would constantly on the show and in reporting 11:35.895 --> 11:38.998 we would do, they would refer to well, 11:38.998 --> 11:43.236 but, you know, Mud Island or well, but the Pyramid, right? 11:43.236 --> 11:47.373 And so what can be done to kind of, with Mud Island, 11:47.373 --> 11:50.843 to erase that history of a bit of disappointment 11:50.843 --> 11:53.446 into updated or is that just its own sort of 11:53.446 --> 11:55.982 planning process that's gonna take more time? 11:57.450 --> 12:00.553 - It's a really interesting question because you know, 12:00.553 --> 12:01.754 I don't want to get too wonky. 12:01.754 --> 12:03.723 - We can, it's Behind the Headlines. 12:03.723 --> 12:05.024 - Oh okay. - You can do it. 12:05.024 --> 12:07.060 - It's about 40 years old, right? 12:07.060 --> 12:10.063 And it was, I have to tell you, 12:10.063 --> 12:12.899 I was there when Mud Island was built. 12:12.899 --> 12:16.603 Mud Island was built to be Bicentennial Park. 12:16.603 --> 12:17.971 You know this? - I did not know that. 12:17.971 --> 12:19.172 - There you go. 12:19.172 --> 12:20.673 A bit of Memphis history. 12:20.673 --> 12:22.842 It was supposed to be a $21 million bicentennial park 12:22.842 --> 12:24.077 dedicated to the history 12:24.077 --> 12:25.578 and folklore of the Mississippi River. 12:25.578 --> 12:29.415 Can you tell I made a few speeches about it years ago? 12:29.415 --> 12:31.884 And as the expense grew, 12:31.884 --> 12:35.922 the timeline was lengthened for building, for construction. 12:35.922 --> 12:40.927 Costs went up and as it lengthened, 12:42.028 --> 12:45.932 the program didn't change architecturally, 12:45.932 --> 12:50.937 but the programming and the promotion of it changed. 12:52.138 --> 12:56.509 And so it was sold in the end as a theme park, 12:56.509 --> 12:59.145 but it was never designed as a theme park 12:59.145 --> 13:01.714 and so you have these sort of two conflicting visions 13:01.714 --> 13:04.751 of Mud Island from the get go. 13:04.751 --> 13:08.788 Now fast forward or slow forward 40 years later, 13:08.788 --> 13:11.791 you've got aging infrastructure that really 13:11.791 --> 13:15.428 has not been, I mean it's a city asset. 13:15.428 --> 13:17.730 We don't own the assets as the partnership, right? 13:17.730 --> 13:19.832 The 501c3 that we run doesn't own it, 13:19.832 --> 13:21.701 but we maintain it, we operate it. 13:21.701 --> 13:25.605 So we're operating on 40 year old, you know, infrastructure 13:27.273 --> 13:32.211 and nobody has an appetite to renew the infrastructure 13:32.211 --> 13:34.714 because of the program, right? 13:34.714 --> 13:36.616 Nobody believes in the program 13:36.616 --> 13:40.353 that the assets were built to support. 13:40.353 --> 13:42.655 Thus, you have to say is there something 13:42.655 --> 13:47.193 you can layer on to asset as it exists 13:47.193 --> 13:52.198 or at some moment, is there a reason to radically change 13:53.366 --> 13:55.868 the asset, right, alter the asset, 13:55.868 --> 13:58.237 which we know is gonna cost a whole lot of money. 13:58.237 --> 14:02.108 We think we may have an interesting 14:02.108 --> 14:07.113 three to five year holding plan for the island 14:08.247 --> 14:10.917 and we're working on that now, but we'll see. 14:10.917 --> 14:12.418 - Are you gonna talk about or that's still? 14:12.418 --> 14:14.554 - I'm not because there's still too many unknowns 14:14.554 --> 14:17.356 and last thing I want to do is promise something 14:17.356 --> 14:20.460 we can't deliver, but there are a number of people. 14:20.460 --> 14:21.994 - That's never happened about the riverfront before. 14:21.994 --> 14:23.563 - Yeah, right, well okay. 14:23.563 --> 14:28.434 But there are a number of people who have advanced ideas 14:28.434 --> 14:32.972 in the recent past and now again because the excitement 14:32.972 --> 14:35.541 of the Riverfront is growing and people who you know, 14:35.541 --> 14:39.245 have ideas are now feeling like well wait a minute, 14:39.245 --> 14:41.981 maybe we could bring this forward. 14:41.981 --> 14:43.282 Maybe now the time is right. 14:43.282 --> 14:44.917 So we're listening to those ideas, 14:44.917 --> 14:46.586 we're working with some folks. 14:46.586 --> 14:48.321 We'll see what we can come up with. 14:48.321 --> 14:50.690 - Let's shift down to to Tom Lee Park, 14:50.690 --> 14:54.160 the big park opened where Memphis in May takes place. 14:54.160 --> 14:58.197 You've got, I think you've hired architects, right? 14:58.197 --> 14:59.232 Is that correct? - Yes. 14:59.232 --> 15:00.700 - For Tom Lee Park. - Yes. 15:00.700 --> 15:03.302 - And looking at some of the plans which are on your website 15:03.302 --> 15:06.939 and some of the ideas, there's a lot of criticisms 15:06.939 --> 15:09.942 of the space that's just sort of a plain wide open space. 15:09.942 --> 15:12.612 There's not a lot of shade so in the summer it's very hot. 15:12.612 --> 15:15.515 There aren't really amenities there particularly. 15:15.515 --> 15:17.550 I mean there's a little bit, but not a lot of amenities 15:17.550 --> 15:20.353 whether it's playgrounds or a band shell or whatever 15:20.353 --> 15:22.088 could go in there so what happens 15:22.088 --> 15:24.390 next with that big expanse? 15:24.390 --> 15:26.526 - Well, let me jump back one minute. 15:26.526 --> 15:27.994 - Sure. 15:27.994 --> 15:30.396 - 'cause you skipped five blocks of Riverfront. 15:30.396 --> 15:31.631 - Yes, okay. 15:31.631 --> 15:32.565 - With a historic cobblestone landing. 15:32.565 --> 15:34.100 - Okay, sure. 15:34.100 --> 15:35.668 - And I just think it's important for people to know. 15:35.668 --> 15:37.670 - Yeah. - That project is funded. 15:37.670 --> 15:39.138 It's starting. 15:39.138 --> 15:41.274 It should start about, we think first quarter next year 15:41.274 --> 15:45.144 and all of those cobblestones will be, you know, 15:45.144 --> 15:48.414 all the holes and patches and there's no edge to it 15:48.414 --> 15:50.850 so the cobblestone keeps slipping into the water. 15:50.850 --> 15:54.253 The utility poles stick up everywhere. 15:54.253 --> 15:56.956 All those utilities will be put underground. 15:56.956 --> 16:01.060 All the cobblestones will be patched and renewed 16:01.060 --> 16:05.097 so that our, the largest, we have the largest historic 16:05.097 --> 16:07.767 cobblestone landing in the country and I think 16:07.767 --> 16:10.703 we will be, all of a sudden instead of being this 16:10.703 --> 16:14.207 kind of like really ugly five block long patch 16:14.207 --> 16:18.477 of prime real estate, all of a sudden, that gets fixed 16:18.477 --> 16:21.347 and it becomes a connector which is really exciting. 16:21.347 --> 16:23.950 - Let's stick with that for a second. 16:23.950 --> 16:25.451 It gets patched, which again is one of those things 16:25.451 --> 16:26.919 that have been talked about for as long as I can remember. 16:26.919 --> 16:28.487 - Yeah I know. 16:28.487 --> 16:30.456 - What would happen with the cobblestone. 16:30.456 --> 16:32.258 - And patch sounds bad, but I mean replacing cobblestones. 16:32.258 --> 16:33.526 - Yeah, and will there be amenities? 16:33.526 --> 16:34.927 Will there be paths, will there be trees? 16:34.927 --> 16:37.496 What, besides patching, what's going on there? 16:37.496 --> 16:40.666 - Well what it makes possible is activity at the foot 16:40.666 --> 16:43.803 of the cobblestones when we do this work. 16:43.803 --> 16:46.973 So that's really important because that begins 16:46.973 --> 16:49.141 to activate the harbor in an exciting way. 16:49.141 --> 16:50.610 I mean think about it. 16:50.610 --> 16:53.279 We've got a still water harbor that you can go out, 16:53.279 --> 16:55.514 I mean even a novice can kayak, paddleboard, 16:55.514 --> 16:59.051 do all kinds of activity on the water, 16:59.051 --> 17:01.687 but we, it just goes unused. 17:01.687 --> 17:03.756 Why would you leave a major water resource 17:03.756 --> 17:07.326 at your city's front door unused? 17:07.326 --> 17:10.596 So I think that's an exciting part. 17:10.596 --> 17:12.098 The other part that's exciting is at the top 17:12.098 --> 17:14.433 of the cobblestones today, 17:14.433 --> 17:16.269 there is a cobblestone walk way, right? 17:16.269 --> 17:17.770 There's a sidewalk. 17:17.770 --> 17:20.573 It's pretty narrow and now with the introduction 17:20.573 --> 17:24.377 of scooters and bikes, it's just simply 17:24.377 --> 17:26.812 does not accommodate that kind of traffic we're getting 17:26.812 --> 17:29.148 which the traffic's great, but we need, you know, 17:29.148 --> 17:32.218 more of a promenade to connect it. 17:32.218 --> 17:34.754 So that's another thing we'll be working on 17:34.754 --> 17:37.156 is how do you make a much more 17:37.156 --> 17:40.192 generous walkway along the whole... 17:40.192 --> 17:41.861 now that doesn't sound very sexy, right. 17:41.861 --> 17:43.396 Connections never do. 17:43.396 --> 17:44.864 - Well neither did the green line. 17:44.864 --> 17:46.365 - Neither did the green line and I think that's why 17:46.365 --> 17:48.534 we always undervalue them when we're planning them 17:48.534 --> 17:50.636 and talking about them and then you know, 17:50.636 --> 17:53.773 once they're done, we're all like well duh. 17:53.773 --> 17:54.707 - And so you say funded. 17:54.707 --> 17:55.641 How is it funded? 17:55.641 --> 17:58.911 - It was funded by TDOT money, 17:58.911 --> 18:00.980 the Tennessee Department of Transportation 18:00.980 --> 18:05.985 with transportation dollars and the city of Memphis. 18:06.852 --> 18:08.120 - City of Memphis, 18:08.120 --> 18:09.088 not private funding on the cobblestones. 18:09.088 --> 18:10.323 - No, no. - Okay. 18:10.323 --> 18:11.757 - City of Memphis has to provide, 18:11.757 --> 18:14.827 to make the state funds work, the city had to provide 18:14.827 --> 18:18.064 I think a 1 to 10 match. - I got you. 18:18.064 --> 18:19.498 - It's great. 18:19.498 --> 18:20.733 - 90% coming from the state and 10% from the city. 18:20.733 --> 18:22.568 - It's a great deal to the city. 18:22.568 --> 18:24.103 Now, Tom Lee Park. 18:24.103 --> 18:24.937 - We'll move down to Tom Lee Park. 18:24.937 --> 18:26.205 No, that's great. 18:26.205 --> 18:27.373 We're skipping over Beale Street Landing 18:27.373 --> 18:29.041 which I do want to come back to, 18:29.041 --> 18:30.476 but let's just talk about Tom Lee Park. 18:30.476 --> 18:34.013 What kind of changes are being discussed? 18:34.013 --> 18:38.184 - Yeah, well Tom Lee Park is a bit of a stranded asset 18:40.920 --> 18:43.823 at the moment, right and not only is it flat as a pancake 18:43.823 --> 18:46.492 with very little shade, it's also, 18:46.492 --> 18:51.497 it doesn't feel joined up with the rest of Downtown, right? 18:52.665 --> 18:54.100 So it doesn't make the real estate, 18:54.100 --> 18:57.803 the adjacent real estate valuable in the way it should 18:57.803 --> 19:00.239 because of the lack of connections again, right? 19:00.239 --> 19:01.907 - Valuable in terms of dollar value 19:01.907 --> 19:03.409 or valuable as sort of amenity? 19:03.409 --> 19:05.544 - Well both because amenities do have dollar value. 19:05.544 --> 19:10.149 And what I mean, so the best amenities to build 19:10.149 --> 19:14.320 in a downtown area, you want things 19:14.320 --> 19:17.423 that people want to use everyday 19:17.423 --> 19:19.358 like Memphians want to use everyday. 19:19.358 --> 19:21.727 When they use it everyday, they want to live near it. 19:21.727 --> 19:24.397 When they want to live near it, then they want to work near it. 19:24.397 --> 19:27.800 So that's where you get the real, you know, juice, 19:27.800 --> 19:32.271 is to create something that is used everyday 19:32.271 --> 19:35.508 or weekly, regularly by locals. 19:35.508 --> 19:38.344 So we, you know, we believe that's the kind of resource 19:38.344 --> 19:39.578 Tom Lee Park has to be. 19:39.578 --> 19:41.747 We're looking at it from bluffs to banks. 19:41.747 --> 19:46.719 We've commissioned Studio Gang, which did the 19:46.719 --> 19:50.823 Memphis Riverfront concept to be the lead firm on that. 19:50.823 --> 19:55.027 The good news about Studio Gang is they see this asset 19:55.027 --> 19:57.963 very much as part of a much larger picture 19:57.963 --> 20:00.800 of the Riverfront and of Downtown and of 20:00.800 --> 20:02.234 south Memphis and north Memphis. 20:02.234 --> 20:06.605 So they look at this asset in context, 20:06.605 --> 20:10.676 in a context that maybe just a park designer would not. 20:10.676 --> 20:12.278 They have brought on Scape Studio. 20:12.278 --> 20:15.448 Scape Studio is a landscape architecture firm. 20:15.448 --> 20:17.683 They will be doing a giant amount of work 20:17.683 --> 20:19.418 because in the end, this is a park, 20:19.418 --> 20:21.320 but it's much more than a park. 20:21.320 --> 20:24.290 It's a civic, it's a major civic statement. 20:24.290 --> 20:26.025 It's the first thing a lot of 20:26.025 --> 20:27.226 people see when they enter Memphis. 20:27.226 --> 20:30.129 So that, the timeline on that is we are, 20:30.129 --> 20:33.232 we've announced the firms, they are at work. 20:33.232 --> 20:36.135 We've seen about two to three weeks of work on their part 20:36.135 --> 20:39.371 and just the early look is super exciting. 20:39.371 --> 20:42.541 I think they're headed in the right direction 20:42.541 --> 20:45.411 and the right direction is to join this up, 20:45.411 --> 20:48.080 you know, up the bluff, make you know, 20:48.080 --> 20:51.317 so you don't have these stairs to nowhere, right, 20:51.317 --> 20:54.120 and you've got ways to go up and down the bluff. 20:54.120 --> 20:55.855 - Well and it's not even stairs to nowhere. 20:55.855 --> 20:59.191 It's stairs to a very, very-- - Busy, yeah. 20:59.191 --> 21:03.562 - Busy and to four lanes where people are driving 21:03.562 --> 21:04.797 very fast. - Very fast. 21:04.797 --> 21:06.198 - Typically into work late or out. 21:06.198 --> 21:08.667 There's kind of a parkway kind of situation, 21:08.667 --> 21:10.136 coming down a hill. - Expressway situation. 21:10.136 --> 21:11.370 - Yeah basically. 21:11.370 --> 21:12.872 You're coming off the expressway, 21:12.872 --> 21:14.607 down one of the few hills, major hills in Memphis. 21:14.607 --> 21:16.809 What are the plans there in terms, 21:16.809 --> 21:19.879 there was an effort to go down to two lanes 21:19.879 --> 21:21.580 and try that out some years ago. 21:21.580 --> 21:24.917 It was met with mixed reactions. 21:24.917 --> 21:27.353 Is that on the tables, changing 21:27.353 --> 21:30.489 the traffic flow of that, Riverside Drive? 21:30.489 --> 21:35.494 - Well most major cities in the country, in the world, 21:36.695 --> 21:39.732 have realized that river fronts have better uses 21:39.732 --> 21:42.201 than to carry fast moving cars. 21:42.201 --> 21:43.736 Not to say they shouldn't carry any cars, 21:43.736 --> 21:46.438 but fast moving cars on a waterfront 21:46.438 --> 21:47.840 does not increase the value of 21:47.840 --> 21:50.776 the waterfront of the adjacent property. 21:50.776 --> 21:53.879 There are two pieces of evidence that I think 21:53.879 --> 21:55.181 are really important. 21:55.181 --> 21:59.318 One is the study of the results of that test 21:59.318 --> 22:02.555 you just mentioned because that test was very abrupt. 22:02.555 --> 22:04.290 There was no design involved. 22:04.290 --> 22:08.360 It was just close the west side of the median 22:08.360 --> 22:10.229 on Riverside Drive, pinch it down to two 22:10.229 --> 22:13.532 lanes and see what happens And three things happened. 22:13.532 --> 22:14.733 It's interesting. 22:14.733 --> 22:18.537 One is traffic still moved faster 22:18.537 --> 22:21.373 than the speed limit on two lanes. 22:21.373 --> 22:25.144 Two, there was no discernible increase in traffic 22:25.144 --> 22:27.413 throughout downtown so it's not like you reduced 22:27.413 --> 22:30.115 the traffic and created traffic jams, 22:30.115 --> 22:34.320 and three, accidents increased slightly, 22:34.320 --> 22:37.823 but the severity plunged because it was more like 22:37.823 --> 22:42.094 a backend, you know, kind of situation 22:42.094 --> 22:44.196 where it was more of a tap than the big accidents 22:44.196 --> 22:47.433 you were having when cars were moving at high speed. 22:47.433 --> 22:51.804 So that's one piece of evidence that gives us suggestions 22:51.804 --> 22:53.439 about what could happen in the future. 22:53.439 --> 22:55.341 If you make changes, go ahead. 22:55.341 --> 22:57.276 - Yeah well, just with the few minutes left, 22:57.276 --> 22:59.144 the other big part when we talk 22:59.144 --> 23:00.646 about Tom Lee Park is Memphis in May. 23:00.646 --> 23:03.215 So the music festival, the barbecue championship, 23:03.215 --> 23:06.685 you know, they dominate, pretty much take over the park 23:06.685 --> 23:10.322 for what, a month or so or month plus for all those events. 23:10.322 --> 23:14.927 Are they, how do you make plans for Tom Lee Park 23:14.927 --> 23:17.596 that incorporate Memphis in May or does 23:17.596 --> 23:19.098 Memphis in May go somewhere else? 23:19.098 --> 23:21.233 - I hope Memphis in May doesn't go anywhere else. 23:21.233 --> 23:24.470 We've been working, I don't wanna speak for Memphis in May. 23:24.470 --> 23:25.537 They can speak for themselves. 23:25.537 --> 23:26.972 - Yeah, correct. 23:26.972 --> 23:31.377 - Well let me say that we have, we met with Memphis in May 23:32.778 --> 23:34.847 early, we went through a series of design discussions with 23:34.847 --> 23:39.652 Memphis in May to understand what their needs were. 23:39.652 --> 23:41.086 Their specifications were for 23:41.086 --> 23:42.755 the Music Fest as well as Barbecue. 23:42.755 --> 23:47.760 We did early designs to show how those needs could be met 23:49.161 --> 23:51.630 and again, we're still working with Studio Gang, 23:51.630 --> 23:54.466 they did that work with Memphis in May. 23:54.466 --> 23:59.338 They are working again to make sure that the needs are 23:59.338 --> 24:03.208 not only met, but exceeded but you can still have 24:03.208 --> 24:06.345 a great park the other 50 weeks of the year 24:06.345 --> 24:08.080 when Memphis in May is not in the park and so 24:08.080 --> 24:13.085 I really don't believe there is a choice to be made. 24:14.286 --> 24:15.587 You know, ooh do we serve Memphis in May 24:15.587 --> 24:17.890 or ooh, do we serve citizens 24:17.890 --> 24:19.925 who want to use the other 50 weeks. 24:19.925 --> 24:23.796 I think what we have to design for is meeting both 24:23.796 --> 24:28.400 and making great festival grounds and a great park 24:28.400 --> 24:30.336 and I think we can do it. 24:30.336 --> 24:32.671 - Just, a couple minutes left, Beale Street Landing. 24:32.671 --> 24:35.407 How many, another project that 24:35.407 --> 24:39.578 sort of disappointed in some ways, you know, it took longer 24:39.578 --> 24:41.780 than people thought, but there are a whole lot of 24:41.780 --> 24:44.850 tour ships or boats, river boats coming in there. 24:44.850 --> 24:46.685 Where does that stand? - And they're increasing. 24:46.685 --> 24:48.187 - And they're increasing. - And they're increasing 24:48.187 --> 24:50.823 and you know, you're seeing now some more contemporary 24:50.823 --> 24:53.659 river-going boats which is great. 24:53.659 --> 24:56.462 We also have a huge number of excursion boats, 24:56.462 --> 24:58.764 you know, the Memphis Queen Line, 24:58.764 --> 25:01.867 both of which are important to creating activity. 25:01.867 --> 25:04.837 We also hae, by the way, a very successful green roof 25:04.837 --> 25:07.139 and a great splash pad that is 25:07.139 --> 25:10.309 used by families every single day. 25:10.309 --> 25:13.946 What's not, what never worked in Beale Landing 25:13.946 --> 25:15.848 is what's underneath the green roof. 25:15.848 --> 25:17.349 It feels kind of subterranean. 25:17.349 --> 25:20.519 It feels tunnel-like and trying to figure out what-- 25:20.519 --> 25:22.020 - The restaurant, they had never been able 25:22.020 --> 25:23.288 to pull off a restaurant there. 25:23.288 --> 25:25.391 - No and I think that's not because 25:25.391 --> 25:27.025 we didn't have the right restaurant 25:27.025 --> 25:29.528 or the right, you know, golf cart and all the things 25:29.528 --> 25:31.663 have been tried because really good, 25:31.663 --> 25:34.433 I mean Patrick and Denny Riley tried it, 25:34.433 --> 25:36.201 and they're two of the best. 25:36.201 --> 25:41.206 So I think what we need to do is reimagine 25:42.574 --> 25:45.778 what's underneath the green roof, reconsider that 25:45.778 --> 25:50.716 and think about what new uses work there. 25:50.716 --> 25:52.217 - Very briefly, 15 seconds. 25:52.217 --> 25:56.822 There are, a bunch of boat ships, parked in the harbor, 25:57.990 --> 25:58.924 some of them kind of junky-looking by 25:58.924 --> 26:00.125 I think most estimations, 26:00.125 --> 26:01.693 some of them are still working and owned. 26:01.693 --> 26:03.896 Is there plans for getting those out of the harbor? 26:05.030 --> 26:07.132 - We are, Memphis Queen Line, those are 26:07.132 --> 26:08.367 owned by Memphis Queen Line. 26:08.367 --> 26:10.969 They are cleaning up now 26:10.969 --> 26:14.072 and yes, we'll get there. 26:14.072 --> 26:15.307 - Okay. 26:15.307 --> 26:16.241 Thank you Carol, thank you for being here. 26:16.241 --> 26:20.679 Thank you for joining us. Join us again next week. 26:20.679 --> 26:23.415 [dramatic orchestral music] 26:30.589 --> 26:32.591 [acoustic guitar chords]