Audubon to see redesign by Bergin Golf Designs
The city of Memphis is planning the redesign and renovation of Audubon Golf Course in East Memphis and has hired renowned design firm Bergin Golf Designs to draw up plans.
The city signed a $300,000 contract with Bergin in late January, according to city records. The Atlantabased company is known for its revamp of public courses, including The Club at Foxland Harbor in Gallatin and the renovation of Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.
“At this point, we’re still early on in the process we’re going through and looking at layouts, locations, configurations. But that’s where we are, is, unlike a lot of typical city projects. This is not one that necessarily has anything but the design funding at this point. But we wanted to have this ready to go because it’s the next one in the pipeline,” Memphis Parks Director Nick Walker said in an interview.
Walker said it is not clear whether the money for an actual construction project — whatever Bergin designs — is to be included in the city’s upcoming fiscal year 2023 capital improvement budget.
Those discussions among city officials are ongoing and are part of the larger budget process. Until a decision is made on that front, it is unlikely there will be a timeline for construction.
The parks director explained that Audubon is next in the queue of the city’s public courses to be renovated. Its potential revamp comes after Overton Park was redesigned last year with the help of private philanthropy.
Audubon is also among the more-used courses in the city’s set of seven golf courses. Audubon Park, including the golf course, stretches over a large swath of East Memphis between Southern and Park avenues and is ringed by Goodlett Street and Perkins Extension Road.
And some of the ongoing investment in the park — the $40 million replacement of Leftwich Tennis Center — has prompted the city to look at the golf course redesign, Walker said.
“That’s ... probably one of the driving forces behind it A) it was in the queue. But B) we are building a worldclass tennis facility near the corner of Southern and Goodlett,” Walker said. “We are also spending a good amount of money putting in a new playground pavilion and some enhancements to the walking area in the park. There is it would be foolish not to view Audubon, including the Botanic Gardens as one big property.”
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.