Jackson Free Press

Jackson developer David Watkins, whose ventures include the King Edward Hotel and the Farish Street entertainment district, unveiled plans for a downtown lake and riverwalk at a media event yesterday. The project, which is still in the early stages of planning, would complement the problematic Two Lakes project for the Pearl River, but its completion would not depend on that development, according to Ben Allen, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, which sponsored the event.

Watkins' project, called Riverwalk Canal and Town Lake, consists of two parts. The Riverwalk Canal would wind through downtown Jackson from the top of Farish Street to Court Street, near the new federal courthouse. The canal would create a concrete-lined channel roughly 10 feet below street level, so that existing streets could cross it without arched bridges. The riverwalk would include landscaped paths on both sides of the canal.

The canal's southern end would open onto the project's other main feature: a 35-acre lake connected to the Pearl River. At the lake's northern edge, near the Mississippi Museum of Art, the project calls for a marina. Watkins envisions luxury and mixed-income residential developments along the lake's western edge. For the eastern side of the lake, Watkins wants an outdoor music amphitheater and green space with infrastructure to host music and arts festivals.

Watkins also mentioned developing a museum of gospel music, which he said had the blessing of Gov. Haley Barbour, at the northern end of Farish Street and the canal.

Watkins cautioned that the project is still in planning. Land acquisition for the canal would be relatively simple, he said, as developers, the city or the Jackson Redevelopment Authority own most of the land in the canal's path. He estimated that the project could be completed in as little as four to six years, at a cost between $50 million and $200 million. Watkins acknowledged, however, that those figures could rise dramatically once the city assumes control of the project.

Allen said that some funding for the development could come through bonds. In addition to giving Jackson a world-class attraction, the project would also protect downtown Jackson from flooding, Allen claimed. Under current conditions or with improved levees, inundation of the Pearl River could cause Town Creek to back up, flooding downtown and causing millions of dollars in damage, Allen said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed a report finding the Two Lakes plan unfeasible and recommending a levees-only plan for flood control along the Pearl. While Two Lakes is not essential for Watkins' plan to work, it would make the downtown plan "a heck of a lot easier," Allen said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Jackson Redevelopment Authority did not immediately return calls for comment.

A previous version of this article erroneously stated that the Riverwalk Canal would divert Town Creek. The canal project calls for a new man-made channel, not for diverting the existing creek. The article also previously stated that the project's estimated cost would be $100 million. The actual cost could range from $50 million to $200 million.

Previous Comments

ID

154172

Comment

Very cool project. Go look behind F. Jones Corner at the current state of the canal.

Author

QB

Date

2009-12-10T13:58:03-06:00

ID

154174

Comment

This would be nice! With David Watkins being behind it, I bet it can get done.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2009-12-10T14:14:06-06:00

ID

154175

Comment

Dang! They took my idea! Seriously, we have a river going under downtown, it makes sense that we capitalize on it! It could be beautiful, and a refreshing bit of greenspace (Jackson was originally planned to have plenty of green space downtown...). Plus, maybe if we got a nice river downtown and attractions there, people would stop saying that we need another lakefront that would just draw people away from what already exists. We don't need attractions in new places, we just need to make the places we have more attractive! Nothing better than turning a brownfield site into a greenspace.

Author

jrt

Date

2009-12-10T14:23:47-06:00

ID

154176

Comment

I like this project, we need to get behind this like we got behind the convention center project. Propose a big project that is needed, and get it done one at a time. BTW when is construction going to start on the convention center hotel.

Author

NewJackson

Date

2009-12-10T14:34:28-06:00

ID

154178

Comment

This sounds awesome. Hope David and Ben can get this done.

Author

RobbieR

Date

2009-12-10T16:07:02-06:00

ID

154179

Comment

It does sound intriguing. Good it's not reliant on Two Lakes, or we wouldn't likely see it happen in our lifetimes. I'm glad to see other creative ideas coming on the table for downtown and Jackson. This is what we need: options. We've had way too much of putting all our eggs in one basket.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-12-10T16:33:33-06:00

ID

154180

Comment

And I apologize for being cynical -- but I am beginning to wonder if a lot of the cheerleaders for Two Lakes, especially in other media, are ignoring huge parts of that monster of an idea in order to keep Jackson from figuring out other more workable projects. It's about the only thing that explains the stuff they are leaving out of their stories. Wyatt Emmerich's column this week, for instance, is simply mind-blowing in what it doesn't say. The Ledger editorial board, though, seems to be coming around to where we stand on it, although the non-questioning Q&A with the Two Lakes PR guy last Sunday was a strange way to do "journalism." Sid Salter ought to be better than that.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-12-10T16:36:56-06:00

ID

154236

Comment

Unlike Two Lakes, this sounds like a very achievable project, both from an engineering and environmental standpoint. And it certainly benefits the City of Jackson in a more tangible and meaningful way than Two Lakes.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-12-14T13:17:42-06:00