Charleston Gazette
28 July 2005
By Jim Balow, Staff writer
Charleston residents should get their first glimpse into the future of their riverfront tonight when Sasaki Associates is expected to unveil preliminary designs for improvements to the north side of the Kanawha.
But the consultants hired by city council's riverfront committee to reshape the banks of the Kanawha from the 35th Street Bridge to Magic Island could do as much listening as talking at the public meeting at the Charleston Civic Center, said committee chairman Mary Jean Davis.
"I don't expect to hear much from Sasaki Associates," Davis said Wednesday. "They have not met yet with the public. They will listen to the public and their concerns."
That's not to say the consultants don't already have a good idea what the public wants. They spent three days in Charleston gathering information, meeting with groups like the city beautification commission, city planners, landowners along Kanawha Boulevard and neighborhood associations.
"They did tours, walked the riverbank, toured by boat and talked and talked and talked to people," said Susie Salisbury, community development director at the Charleston Area Alliance.
They were also given summaries of comments from community meetings held by the alliance and the riverfront committee, Salisbury and Davis said. Using all that data, Sasaki Associates will present preliminary findings and design concepts tonight - an outline of the eventual master plan, Davis said.
In August, they'll return with probably two alternative concepts, incorporating comments from the meeting tonight, she said, and listen to more comments. In October they'll present their final master plan.
One thing they won't propose is a marina, Davis said, despite two design proposals that included marinas.
The Army Corps of Engineers told committee members the river is too narrow between the Capitol and Magic Island, she said. "Because of the commercial barge traffic and all the recreational traffic, it would be impossible."
Nor will there be any more buildings.
What will they propose, then?
Even members of the riverfront committee don't know, or if they do they aren't talking. "If I say anything, it will seem like we already have a plan, and we don't," Davis said. Instead, she listed some suggestions from the public.
"The people from the West Side said 'Please do something to draw us to the riverbank.' They wanted us to close one lane of the Boulevard, especially the fast lane.
"You heard people say 'Raise Magic Island to the level of the Boulevard and put in a fountain kids could run through.' Almost everyone agreed something needs to be done with the Union Building. They want a restaurant on the first floor with access on the river side of the building.
"People want docks on the river for small boats. Haddad [Riverfront Park] is geared more for bigger boats. Restaurants on the north side of the Boulevard with outside tables.
"The idea of more plantings and closing one lane of the Boulevard and making it more accessible. The speed limit is 40 but people go 60, and it's hard to cross. Are we going to build more buildings? No."
Tom Lane, a committee member and city council president, said the consultants were given a blank slate. "We asked them not to be constrained by anything. We asked them to develop the best riverfront they can. We want them to give it a fresh look from an outsider."
No dollar figures have been mentioned yet, but all agree the proposals must be practical.
"We didn't impose any limit, but in our discussions there was a general agreement the projects have to be doable," Lane said. "We don't mind a challenge but we have to be reasonable."
Davis said people keep asking her how much the project will cost. Such questions are premature, she said.
"Let's say you want to do something around the Union Building where the sidewalk is so narrow. You could direct that around the back. But you don't know how much that will cost until you have a plan."
Susan Johnson, a private citizen whose proposal for a marina and other developments more than two years ago may have started the city's design process, said she worries the city may not go far enough.
"My reservations are that what they are going to do are just green spaces," Johnson said Wednesday.
"Someone mentioned raising Magic Island, which would be great. If so, why not make that into a full-fledged riverfront park? But the land where Captain D's and Shoney's are located is much more valuable. I just can't see making that into another green space.
"We need jobs. Find someone who can develop that land into commercial space. We need a whole answer, not a half-answer."
Boston-based Sasaki Associates has won dozens of awards in the last 50 years, according to its Web site. It has designed waterfront projects in at least 27 cities, from New York to Shanghai, Indianapolis to Charleston, S.C. It was the top choice among all firms interviewed by each of the five members of the selection committee, Davis said.
To contact staff writer Jim Balow, use e-mail or call 348-5102.