11/14/2008 9:49:00 AM Master plan agreement signed for project
LES MANN/DAILY NEWSA competition was held Thursday morning in Norfolk to see who could get down the North Fork the quickest among people in stock tanks. Shown here battling for second place in the front tub (from left) are Stephanie Hoff and Nikki Simon. In the other tub are Mark Hall (left) and Amanda Jones.
A contract was signed to officially get the NorthFork Development Foundation project under way.
The project's board of directors signed the agreement with HDR Inc. to complete the master plan for what could ultimately turn into a river walk and related development, said Jim Miller, chairman of the foundation's board of directors.
HDR is an architectural, engineering and planning firm with 165 offices nationwide, including Omaha. It has extensive experience with similar projects, as well as several redevelopment projects, including including the Aksarben Village and new baseball stadium in north Omaha. Doug Bisson is the project manager for the Norfolk project.
"It's major because once that (the master plan) is done, then it drops off the drawing board and becomes a reality that this will take place," Miller said.
The master plan will evaluate environmental, building and landscaping issues and will be the backbone of the final project, Miller said.
The master plan will be developed in phases, Miller said. The first two phases should be completed in 14 weeks.
In the first phase, HDR representatives will walk through the river corridor and make some assessments on the land. Informational workshops also will be held for the community.
"It will just be identifying what are some of the possibilities that can take place in this river corridor," Miller said.
In the second phase, HDR will present its vision of the NorthFork Development Foundation project.
"This is going to be pretty comprehensive. It's an opportunity for housing, commercial development and recreational development," Miller said. "We recognize that it will take a number of years to get this all put together."
Citizen input on the project is encouraged, he said.
"We want it to be ideas that come from our local citizens and area citizens who believe this thing is not just a dream, but can become a reality," Miller said.
In the meantime, the board will start a fundraising campaign to raise the additional money needed to pay for the development plan. It is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $300,000.
"We have a hill to climb here," Miller said. "Once this thing is initiated, and the community support is there for us, we can certainly raise this money."
To raise some money, the foundation board has asked the Norfolk City Council to direct some keno funds toward the project.
"We certainly feel that this is an investment for the city," Miller said. "Norfolk has a lot of area (along the river) with no tax base. (This can) start generating a new tax base, along with taking some areas that aren't that attractive, and developing it."
In addition to officially signing the contract for the development plan, Thursday morning also saw a friendly competition among media representatives and others to float down the North Fork of the Elkhorn River in tubs.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, November 14, 2008
Article comment by:
Amanda Jones
I am one of the race riders, Amanda, and I just wanted to say, being down on the river was a wonderful experience. When you are down in there, everything is peaceful. The noisy souns of the streets seem to fade away. Even when I got out of the tub next to the first street bridge, the noise was minimal. Most of the noise came from the water down the dam. There is a lot of potential for the river to become a feature for the city that has value beyond being just a flow-through. Thank you, Norfolk Daily News, in your continued support of this project.
