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Tampa's Strolling On The River

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By JOE GUIDRY

jguidry1@tampatrib.com

Published: January 17, 2009

Updated: 01/17/2009 12:13 am

TAMPA - A proposal for a Riverwalk in downtown Tampa has been around in some form or another since the 1970s. And, through the years, some folks have ridiculed it as a pipe dream, a boondoggle and a waste.

While the naysayers were nattering, though, the pipe dream was slowly becoming a reality. And if you attend the Tampa Bay History Center's grand opening today, look out on the waterfront.

You'll see the Riverwalk exists. And it's nice. Close to a third of the planned 2.2-mile linear park is open. You can stroll from the history center to the Brorein Street Bridge. Some major gaps remain, including one section that will be built over the water, but the broad promenade already is helping transform the feel of a downtown that historically has turned its back on its waterfront.

The Riverwalk opens up the river and channel to the public. The seabirds, boats and tides create ever-changing vistas unavailable in most cities. Eventually, the walk will lead from Channelside to North Boulevard, linking the history center, the convention center, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Children's Museum, Curtis Hixon Park, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and several residential developments. Along the way will be restaurants, shops and boat slips. The Columbia Restaurant is opening a branch at the history center, accessible to Riverwalk pedestrians. The city plans to work out a deal for a restaurant in Curtis Hixon Park. More likely will follow.

All this will make the downtown waterfront a fun place to visit.

The bill for the project will be about $27 million. That's not chump change, but half will be covered by private dollars, from contributors and developers with waterfront projects. It's often overlooked that parts of the Riverwalk were constructed years ago when the convention center and performing arts center were completed. A second phase, which will cost about $13 million, will build a pedestrian underpass at Cass Street, a walkway over water around the convention center and a pier at the convention center. But the project is not dependent on those improvements.

The return for investment should be considerable. San Antonio's 2.5-mile Riverwalk attracts 7 million visitors a year and sustains thousands of jobs. Officials say it generates $40 million a year in direct tax revenue for the city.

Maybe Tampa's Riverwalk won't be that kind of success. But it's hard to see how the boondoggle label will stick to a park along the waterfront that links museums, stores and restaurants.

And this is a pay-as-you-go project, with Mayor Pam Iorio insisting work proceed only as the necessary private or public dollars become available.

By February, the entire walk will be either completed, under construction or in design. It's going to happen, regardless of what skeptics say.

The city is eager for residents to know a useful portion of it is ready to experience now. Signs and maps are going up. Events are being planned. As the city's Riverwalk manager, Lee Hoffman, says, "The Riverwalk is open for business. It's yours to enjoy."

Joe Guidry is deputy editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune.

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