In Columbus, GA, the city’s greatest natural asset had been turned into an eyesore.
In the 1800s, textile mills dammed the Chattahoochee River as a power source.
A century and a half later, the textile industry was long gone — and the river languished as an industrial wasteland.
But downtown leaders, including the Uptown Columbus Business Improvement District, embarked on an ambitious plan to reshape the city’s waterfront into a destination for whitewater rafting.
The project proved transformative — Uptown Columbus raised $26.3 million, secured approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hired engineers to design the whitewater course, and brought in an experienced outfitter to run the whitewater operations. Columbus’ new riverfront is a thriving, bustling place that has reshaped the city’s image.
While Uptown’s project was unique, the organization notes that, “Communities without rivers can reclaim underused or overlooked areas by using similar tactics to envision and repurpose places like on-street parking spaces, traffic islands, warehouses, railyards, and other fallow areas.”
More on this inspiring project appears in the October issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter.
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