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Friends For Our Riverfront (FfOR) - Position Statement and Basic Tenents
By Virginia McLean

Although many towns and several cities along the route of the Mississippi River enjoy proximity and access to the river, few, if any, of those communities can boast a relationship to the river like that of Memphis.   In 1819 our city's founders saw a natural river landing and a high bluff that was safe from flooding. They recognized the significance and attractiveness of the site and envisioned a busy river port and a mighty city. To ensure that the new city would always be an attractive place to live and do business, the founders dedicated the most valuable property along the riverfront as public open space to be shared by all the citizens of Memphis. Named the Public Promenade and Public Landing, this property stretches along the Mississippi from the riverbank to Front Street and from Union Avenue north to Jackson Avenue.

In 2000, the newly formed Memphis Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC), a non-profit, quasi-governmental organization, hired a New York-based consulting group, Cooper Robertson & Partners, to develop a plan for our riverfront. In the just completed plan, they propose that the Public Promenade be sold or leased to private developers for the construction of office towers, apartments, shops, and restaurants. This proposal is just one phase of a massive, expensive, and environmentally and financially risky development plan that advocates the eventual construction of a land bridge to Mud Island and the conversion of our harbor into a lake.

The planners have sought to justify their design by criticizing the current plight of our Promenade and by saying that their plan would bring people to the river. Today, the central fire station, historic Cossitt Library, U. S. Customs House and Post Office, Confederate Park, TN Welcome Center, Mud Island monorail station, and several publicly owned parking garages stand along the river on this public land. In the most recent version of the Cooper Robertson Plan, all but Confederate Park and the Customs House and Post Office are removed and replaced by blocks of private commercial development. In effect, their plan limits our access to the riverfront and puts our land in the hands of a few private developers in for-profit ventures. Furthermore, it uses our public money to add hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space to compete in a downtown that is already glutted with millions of square feet of vacant commercial space.

Those of us who think there is a better alternative to the Coopers Robertson Plan have formed a grassroots, non-profit organization named Friends for Our Riverfront. Composed of citizens from all parts of Shelby County, our purpose is to educate and coordinate groups and individuals to save and revitalize - not develop - our Public Promenade and riverfront. We believe that:

• the Public Promenade should remain just that - public. It should be open, accessible, and free for all to use and enjoy.
• commercial investment and retail growth should focus on our current downtown business district - east, not west, of Front Street.
• revitalization of the Public Promenade and riverfront should be a top priority for Memphis, but any plan must first recognize that this is our park.
• any plan should respect and preserve Memphis' rich history and maintain the beauty of the natural environment along the river. Any plan should protect, not obstruct, our open vista; encourage the preservation and adaptive reuse of our historic buildings; stimulate the vibrancy of our harbor for navigators and naturalists; and celebrate, not homogenize, the uniqueness of our riverfront.

Friends for Our Riverfront urges City leaders to rethink the current plan and to make decisions that ensure that the Public Promenade and riverfront are accessible to and available for the enjoyment of all the people of Memphis for all time. We urge the citizens of Memphis to speak out on this issue and protect our riverfront from ill-advised changes that would drastically alter our City.

FFOR's Basic Tenets:

First: The historic Public Promenade should remain just that — public. It should be open, accessible and free for everybody to use and enjoy.

Second: Commercial investment and retail development is needed and belongs in the current downtown business district, which is east, not west, of Front Street.

Third: While revitalization of the Public Promenade is a desirable goal and should be a top priority of city government, any plan for the riverfront should protect and enhance this park, which belongs to the people, not to the government or private developers.

Fourth: Any plan for changing the Promenade and the riverfront should:

For more information and how you can get involved please visit the FfOR website at www.friendsforourriverfront.org or call 901-496-0736.