Progress reported on Tom Lee Park’s mediation
Coletta: I think there is very little left to do in terms of the negotiations
It looks like something like a truce is nearly in hand between the board that runs the handful of Memphis river parks and the organization that puts on the hugely popular Memphis in May Festival.
Memphis parks leader Carol Coletta updated a civic group Wednesday on the status of the planned $60 million upgrade to Tom Lee Park, a proposal that turned controversial and was placed under a mediator’s watch in March.
Coletta, chief executive of the Memphis River Parks Partnership, touched on the mediation in her talk while spending most of her time giving a spirited account that focused largely on the benefits she sees in the upgrade planned for the Downtown park on the Mississippi River.
“It’s arguably the most visible piece of property in the city,” Coletta told the nonprofit group Positively Memphis, adding the flat 30-acre expanse now suggests a “sleepy” city when “it needs to telegraph we’re an ambitious city.”
Since March, the parks partnership and Memphis in May International Festival officials have met with a mediator to iron out objections raised by festival officials to the proposed park overhaul.
“I think there is very little left to do in terms of the negotiations,” Coletta said after addressing Positively Memphis’ luncheon meeting in the Crescent Club.
In an interview, Coletta said she is hopeful mediation discussions can conclude by late December and open way for park designers to finish the blueprints and present the final details to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approval.
If talks are wrapped up this year, she said, there should be sufficient time for the riverfront group to address any Army Corps concerns, complete the final blueprints, ask for bids from contractors and begin construction shortly after the May festival closes.
James Holt, chief executive of Memphis in May, didn’t attend the luncheon put on by Positively Memphis, a charity fundraiser organized this year by Pat Halloran, retired chief executive of Memphis Development Foundation, which operates the Orpheum Theatre.
Holt said he knew of the Coletta engagement and didn’t object when I called him and pointed out Coletta described the mediation process as “very little left to do.”
“I think we’re making good progress,” Holt said. “I think it will ultimately come down to a result that works for all parties. That was our intent starting out two years ago when all this began. The decision ultimately rests with Mayor Strickland ... but I think citizens can look forward to an improved riverfront.”
In March, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland appointed as mediator Janice Holder, a retired Tennessee Supreme Court justice.
Holder has presided over closed-tothe-public talks with park and festival officials.
Holt had protested that the proposed landscaping, trees and addition of buildings could diminish the space needed by Memphis in May and force it to stage its music and barbecue festivals at another location away from Downtown.
With the parks partnership and the festival organizers closer to reaching a deal, Coletta sounded hugely upbeat Wednesday, saying the simple lawns of Tom Lee Park presently are “not a great entry to Memphis. We can do something about it and still have a great festival.”
Once mediation wraps up, the parks group can step up private fundraising. About $40 million worth of commitments are in hand, and $20 million needs to be raised.
“Sixty million is not a lot of money for a signature park,” Coletta said in her address. “In fact, it’s a bargain.”
Ted Evanoff, business columnist of The Commercial Appeal, can be reached at evanoff@commercialappeal.com and (901) 529-2292.