OZARK : Town banks on river to pilot rebirth
Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008
OZARK — Officials in this Franklin County town hope that its best natural feature — its Arkansas River frontage — will produce an economic boon for the community.
Main Street Ozark has taken the first step toward developing the downtown riverfront with the acquisition of a $ 200, 000 grant from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development.
With $ 319, 000 in matching funds from the city, Main Street Ozark Executive Director Sandy Key said the more than $ 500, 000 will pay for a road that crosses the railroad tracks at the Ozark Area Museum and provides access to a dock that will be built on the river.
“The river seems like the perfect solution,” Key said. “People love the water, and we have one of the prettiest spots on the river.” She envisioned the dock would have about 10 boat slips for public docking and a small parking lot with a boardwalk.
The dock would provide access to downtown Ozark for boaters on the river or moored at Aux Arc Park across the Arkansas River. There are a few restaurants, including the popular Rivertowne BBQ, and shops downtown now, but she believes that an increase in the number of visitors would spur a rebirth downtown, which would bring in more visitors.
“I think the dock is the catalyst for the whole thing,” Key said.
With time and money, she said, the plan is to develop the riverfront a bit at a time, creating a shopping area, farmers’ market and other amenities. There are businesses abutting the river now, like an antique shop and the city’s old stone jailhouse that Key hopes will become a museum or bed and breakfast, that could tie into the riverfront. There is room along River Road for more businesses to develop, she said.
She even mentioned that a pedestrian bridge could be built over the railroad tracks, eventually connecting downtown with the river.
Main Street Ozark has taken other steps to spruce up downtown, like building new sidewalks, renovating the old train depot into the Ozark Area Museum, developing a pocket park near the town square, and installing period street lighting and benches in the downtown area.
A marina feasibility study conducted last year for the city by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas states a riverfront development plan would cost about $ 10 million but its completion could generate 185 jobs.
Key also said a private investor is interested in building a marina at Ozark that would have a major influence on development of the area.
Ozark Mayor Vernon McDaniel said the viability of the entire project depends on which side of the river the marina locates.
“If the marina is built on the Ozark side of the river, it could greatly enhance our economic development,” he said.
The town won’t get the economic or tax benefits from the marina if it locates on the south side of the river, he said, which is the side the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers prefers.
Key said there is a site on the south side that has been approved by the Corps for a marina. But if officials in Ozark can present a safe and sound plan to the Corps for a marina on the north side, she believes that the agency would allow the marina to be built on the Ozark side.
The marina would be developed privately, and the city would have no say in where it is located, she said.
Key and the project’s designers will meet with Corps officials soon to discuss requirements for the dock and marina. The marina feasibility study and an environmental assessment study for the dock have been completed, she said.
The marina’s location and the city’s financial participation in the project will be discussed at a special meeting at 6 p.m. today at Ozark City Hall, McDaniel said.
The project enjoys wide support from Ozark businesses. Ozark Area Chamber of Commerce Director Susan McIlroy-Stokes said that she believes if the riverfront is developed, Ozark will become a dining and shopping destination for the area.
“When input was requested from the business community, letters of support poured into the office in favor of developing arguably Ozark’s most outstanding feature, our riverfront,” Mc-Ilroy-Stokes said.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., supports the project and is trying to get a $ 1 million appropriation for the project, Key said. They will know about November whether the money will be coming.
Ozark needs the outside visitors, she said, because the town doesn’t have enough population to support downtown businesses.
It also could stem the business migration from downtown that many towns are experiencing.
McDaniel said about 20 percent of the town’s businesses are downtown. The rest have moved to near the town’s Wal-Mart store, around one of Ozark’s two Interstate 40 exits and closer to the airport.
A lack of parking may be one thing driving businesses away from downtown, McDaniel said. No one envisioned the need for parking when the town was first platted in 1835, he added.
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