Development on the Cape Fear River in Fayetteville is practically nonexistent. Why?

Fayetteville's Cape Fear riverfront holds promise for economic growth and recreational options, with recent efforts focused on the development of a river park. While local leaders and residents believe such a project would add to the city’s appeal, challenges with the river’s terrain and water quality persist.

Sol Rose, a Fayetteville businessman who died in 2007, saw potential in the Cape Fear River for recreation, investing in a bait-and-tackle shop and boat ramp at Campbellton Landing. This area now features the restaurant Melvin's at Riverside; boat parts and supply store Deep Creek Outfitters; and wholesaler The Honey Hole Liquidators. These three businesses encompass all the development that Fayetteville has seen along the river.

Considering the success of riverwalks in cities like Tampa, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, which offer restaurants, bars and shops, could Fayetteville develop the Cape Fear River to enhance tourism and the local economy?

Challenges on the river

Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen said last week that one major obstacle to development along the river is the presence of PFAS, which are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called "forever chemicals," in the river. She said reducing the PFAS in the river is crucial before any major development can proceed. The federal government will need to spend millions of dollars for clean up.

"We really need to look at the challenges that we would have with the PFAS and I know that our region is working very hard to figure out a way to get it cleaned up," Jensen said.

In April, Michael Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was in Fayetteville to announce that the federal government would provide $1 billion for testing and other measures to address PFAS in the Cape Fear River.

However, PFAS is not the only reason a riverwalk hasn’t been developed, said Michael Gibson, director of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation. Gibson said the river’s high banks and shallow depths may be another reason why development hasn’t happened.

“It looks ominous, but it’s really not that deep unless the water’s high,” Gibson said Monday. He said that the river typically runs at a low level, and its banks are tall, with several feet separating the bank from the water.

Gibson said that in most other cities, riverwalks give people the opportunity to enjoy the river and stroll along its banks. This proves challenging here where drop-offs are as much as 25 to 35 feet above the water's surface.

He said a possible solution could be a floating dock that rises and falls with the water levels — an idea featured in the Cape Fear River Park plans outlined in the $35 million parks and recreation bond city voters approved in 2016.

Vision for river development

Despite these challenges, the vision for development along the Cape Fear River persists. Jensen said that city leaders discussed making a riverwalk through downtown Fayetteville more than 40 years ago, but that "money is always an issue."

“There is a way to do a riverwalk like they have in San Antonio, Texas,” Jensen said. “That is more intriguing to me.”

While plans for a Cape Fear River Park include options for recreation, complete with looping trails, a dog park and open-air picnic areas, the San Antonio River Walk is a busy shopping district with an array of restaurants and shops and a ferry on the river.

The San Antonio River Walk features large staircases leading down the bank to the river, making it accessible, despite its tall banks. Furthermore, it is subterranean — about one story below street level — featuring 11 elevators and seven ramps at several spots along the river for accessibility, according to Kelly Saunders, the marketing specialist for San Antonio's City Center Development & Operations.

San Antonio broke ground on its river walk in 1939, nearly a century ago, while Fayetteville has yet to take any major steps toward developing on the Cape Fear River. George Breece, a Fayetteville native deeply involved in civic activities, has long been a proponent of development on the river.

Breece said the Cape Fear River is a "diamond in the rough" and believes investing in its development could yield significant benefits for the city.

“I just hope at some point the City Council will see their way … to enhance that area," Breece said last week. He said it would take a group of people to make the river, which he dubs Fayetteville's "ocean," relevant again to residents.

Cape Fear River Park

Work has yet to begin on the Cape Fear River Park, the latest plans to develop along the river, with no construction bid placed out, Jeremy Mincey, business manager of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation, said in an email Tuesday.

Mincey said that a budget assessment and project scope will be brought back to the City Council at a yet-to-be-determined date.

The Cape Fear River Park project is one of the 18 park projects featured in the 2016 parks bond, according to the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation website. City leaders planned the construction of these projects from 2017 to 2023. However, only conceptual plans for how the project might look have been initiated for Cape Fear River Park, according to Mincey.

Among its features, the River Master Plan shows a proposal for looping recreation trails, picnic areas, a riverfront amphitheater, a floating dock and dog park on 13 acres between Grove Street and Person Street.

The plan, projected to cost $9.18 million, incorporates the wreck of U.S.S. Patrol Craft 1084, a 173-foot long subchaser that patrolled the East Coast during World War II and upon its disarmament once served as a floating dock at Breece's Landing.

The River Park South End, located near the corner of North Broad and Person streets, will have restrooms, concessions, a covered picnic pavilion, a central and formal lawn for events and a river overlook, according to the master plan. Designs for the River Park North End, located on the corner of North Broad and Grove streets, include a natural berm, ravine bridge, access to the Cape Fear River Trail, flowering arbor and covered picnic pavilions.

Once the Cape Fear River Park project is complete, further riverfront development might not be far behind.

"Anytime you put a motivator down, the private sector finds a way to capitalize on that motivator," Gibson said. "Once you give access and people want to constantly be there, then you create traffic, and that traffic creates needs and then the needs are met by your private developers. You like to think that's the way the process works."

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Why doesn't Fayetteville, NC have a riverwalk on the Cape Fear River?