Officials unveil 'conceptual masterplan' for riverfront in Evansville, other cities

EVANSVILLE − Evansville's riverfront − and the ones in neighboring Posey and Warrick counties − could see significant changes under a "conceptual masterplan" unveiled Tuesday evening.

The Ohio River Vision Strategic Plan, a 622-page guidebook for 50 miles of Ohio River-facing space, was put together by design firm Sasaki at the behest of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP). Sasaki officials said they asked the community what changes they'd like to see happen in the Downtown and riverfront areas.

"It's a history where the city has informed the water and the water has informed us," said Anna Cawrse, a principal and landscape architect with Sasaki.

The plan calls for increased public access, as well as riverfront development that includes parks, trails, restaurants and housing, among other things. It'll take decades to unfold, officials said.

Sasaki's past work has included the Chicago Riverwalk and Smale Riverfront Park in Cincinnati. E-REP officials said Sasaki was chosen because the firm has expertise in designing flood-resilient parks, community development and plans that revitalize downtown and urban areas.

The plan was paid for through funds from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 1.0 program.

Regional priorities

During the initial stages of collecting data and speaking with locals, one recurring theme was a need to improving the quality of life in the area.

"That comes back to embracing the natural systems, economic improvement, investment in our parks, and open space and environmental quality," said Cawrse.

This led the team to come up with three themes for the plan: re-orienting the river, complementing (as opposed to competing) between the cities, and conservation through urbanization.

Changes happening along the Ohio River

While the project is being spearheaded in Evansville, the plan incorporates the revitalization of Mount Vernon and Newburgh, as well.

Current ideas include what officials called a "stitch" plan connecting the three cities' riverfronts, expanding past the downtown areas into more of the city, and other means of embracing more of the Ohio River.

For Newburgh and Mount Vernon, there have been talks of open-space improvements and creating a development that could lead to an event plaza, food-and-beverage shopping, townhomes and the ability to be closer to the water. Officials deemed that concept "hugging the river."

A framework for Downtown Evansville

In Evansville, this would include a "Great Bend" park space, a riverfront park featuring uses for multiple generations. The area would aim to bring in more shopping, new parks, residential development, courts for multi-use sports, and other attractions to keep people Downtown.

"The bend is a physical line that sits within the park and it moves you around from north to south," Cawrse said. "(It) serves as fleet protection (a levee) and the multimodal path allows you to explore by going back and forth from north to south."

The space would be available for events, both big and small, and be a place where, after a long day, members of the community could relax and decompress.

Traffic along Riverside Drive would change, as well. The road would be reduced to two lanes, with parking on either side of the road. There would be an emphasis on connecting Court and Walnut streets.

Next steps for the Ohio River plan

None of this will unfold quickly, officials said Tuesday.

"This is not happening overnight," said Josh Armstrong, chief economic development officer at E-REP. "These are amazing, transformational projects that will take a long time to get accomplished."

Both Armstrong and Cawrse noted that the plan is being unveiled in a frame of 10-, 20- and 30-year goals.

The next step for Sasaki officials is to start drawing schematics of key areas within the plan. While the overall development will take three decades, people could see some changes in as little as two years from now.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Here's what to know about the Ohio River Vision Strategic Plan