Riverfront vision for Evansville region revealed
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An aerial rendering of the entire Great Bend Park along the Evansville riverfront. (image provided)
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A conceptual rendering of the riverfront at Great Bend Park in Evansville. (image provided)
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A conceptual rendering of the riverfront at Great Bend Park in Evansville. (image provided)
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A conceptual rendering of the riverfront at Great Bend Park in Evansville. (image provided)
On Tuesday, the public got its first look at the Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plan during a community celebration in downtown Evansville. The long-term riverfront vision for Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties was created by Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, Indiana Economic Development Corp. and Sasaki, the Boston-based global planning and design firm behind Chicago’s Riverwalk and a 32-acre Cincinnati riverfront park.
“As leaders of the project at E-REP, we’ve been talking with the municipalities that will be affected, sharing this with leadership across the region, helping our community make sure that we have a great plan,” said Josh Armstrong, E-REP’s senior vice president of economic development.
The year-long project was funded by Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative grant program. The riverfront plan encompasses a 50-mile stretch along the Ohio River from Mt. Vernon to Newburgh.
“The fact that, as a region, we decided to undertake this project says a lot about the level of collaboration that exists all around southwest Indiana,” said Lloyd Winnecke, CEO of E-REP.
“The connectivity is huge for this region,” added Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry. “We’ve had a significant investment by the state in southern Indiana, so this type of project will help support this whole idea of regionalism and the fact that we can support each other.”
The riverfront vision aims to develop a more attractive and healthier region, draw new residents and visitors and take advantage of existing riverfront investments. Recommendations include new riverfront parks, trails and public spaces, as well as proposed housing, office and retail development.
“The scenes that you see in downtown Evansville are replicated [in Mt. Vernon and Newburgh] in smaller, more scaled approaches,” said Armstrong. “How do we make the riverfront accessible to all kinds of people, and they’re able to get there easily?”
Requests for more places to engage with the river originated with the city of Evansville’s first master plan in 1928, according to E-REP. During last year’s community engagement process, regional street, park and levee experts were consulted for the riverfront plan while the public shared opinions through open houses and online surveys.
“We have underutilized the river, this asset that we have, for many years. But it’s an integral part of who we are. So it’s great to see that we have a vision for how we might better engage and interact with it,” Terry said.
Terry says the plan is exciting for her city and the region.
“Working on the Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plans has been a privilege,” Anna Cawrse, principal landscape architect at Sasaki, said in written remarks. “Our team has diligently merged innovative design concepts with sustainable practices, crafting a blueprint for a riverfront that honors Evansville’s heritage while embracing its future.”
Evansville riverfront vision
In Evansville, the riverfront plan rebrands the area from Bally’s Evansville Casino and Hotel to the water treatment plant as Great Bend Park. The redesign includes various levels of public spaces incorporating recreational pathways and flood protection.
“One of the reasons we selected Sasaki is because of their experience of working on the Ohio River and other rivers that flood. They are the firm that has been doing the work for 29 years in downtown Cincinnati. So they are very familiar with the Ohio River and the flooding that takes place on it,” Armstrong said.
The riverfront vision calls for Dress Plaza to be elevated and transformed from a stark levee into terraced spaces offering different levels of river views.
“Some of the design features, in terms of raising some of the platforms and areas, will be an important part of ensuring that we can manage [flooding] and that it won’t really impact the experience in the future,” Terry said.
The riverfront plan also suggests moving the Four Freedoms Monument to Dress Plaza. The landmark is currently located between Walnut and Chestnut streets.
“Four Freedoms needs to be more showcased than where it is now. It’s hard to be at a more prominent location than Main Street and Riverside Drive. We see that as a magnet for the folks that are on Main St. They’ll see this display illuminated at night. People walking on the river will know they’ve arrived in a special place,” Armstrong said.
The riverfront vision turns Riverside Drive—currently a four-lane thoroughfare—into a two-lane, tree-lined boulevard with parallel parking from Court Street to Walnut Street A curbless section in that area is expected to enhance pedestrian safety and facilitate smoother crossings from downtown to the river.
“Sixty-two percent of our residents who took our survey voice support for what’s shown on the two-lane [boulevard] on Riverside Drive,” said Armstrong. “Additionally, in 2019, the city of Evansville, working with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, did a study of Riverside Drive looking at scenarios for reduction to one lane in each direction or one lane in each direction with turn signals and/or parking. Both indicated there would be minimum disruption to traffic service.”
The riverfront plan designates Court Street and Walnut Street as priority corridors for redevelopment. Renderings identify residential, office and retail development opportunities in the four blocks between the riverfront and the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse. The image also shows a potential sports entertainment district near the corridor.
“The development that we’ve seen in downtown Evansville, which has been pretty focused on the tight core of downtown, how do we spread that out throughout the downtown?” Armstrong said.
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A map of the proposed Court Street corridor. (image provided)
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A map of the proposed Walnut Street corridor. (image provided)
Numerous residential development sites are proposed in the Walnut Street corridor, which connects the riverfront to the Civic Center and the Ford Center. The area would be anchored by waterfront dining, bars, cafes, rentable event spaces, a storage facility and a dock.
“All the community responses, no matter what demographic, no matter what zip code they live in, the first thing that they want to be able to do on our riverfront, whether it’s in Mt. Vernon or Newburgh or downtown Evansville, is have a place to eat and drink. That is our number one community desire, and we believe we responded to it in multiple ways in all these communities,” Armstrong said.
On the southeastern end of Great Bend Park, the riverfront vision integrates sports courts and fields to expand youth and adult recreational opportunities. These features would replace the existing playground and accompany the skate park that opened in December 2023.
“[The sports area was] inspired by community feedback, people wanting to play on the river and seeing the success of the skate park, which has been an unmitigated, unbelievable success. That sports park is a place for people of all ages to play, a place for us to show off our community, just like the skate park,” said Armstrong.
Newburgh and Mt. Vernon riverfront plans
According to E-REP, the zip code 47630—which is Newburgh—had the most respondents to the riverfront vision public survey. The Warrick County portion of the riverfront plan focuses on reinforcing the downtown area as a regional destination.
“The plan calls for improved bike and pedestrian trail connectivity. Let’s say a trail from Lou Dennis Community Park connecting to the trailhead that’s already present as you come into Newburgh from the west,” Armstrong said.
Newburgh renderings feature proposed townhome and retail developments and a parking garage. Other recommendations include enhancing Water Street, Jennings Street and State Street to support private property investments and redeveloping underutilized sites along Water Street. The framework also suggests exploring development along other underutilized riverfront sites outside downtown to foster growth within the town.
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A map of the proposed Newburgh riverfront downtown core. (image provided)
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A map of the proposed Mt. Vernon riverfront downtown core. (image provided)
In Mt. Vernon, the riverfront vision is to strengthen the downtown core along Main Street. The plan entails creating a high-quality pedestrian environment from the Main Street corridor to the riverfront to spur investment and growth within undeveloped and underdeveloped blocks. Other suggestions include improving secondary streets and trails from downtown to surrounding neighborhoods to boost connectivity and increase foot traffic for businesses.
Mt. Vernon renderings also feature proposed multi-family apartment and retail complexes and townhomes.
“[The Newburgh and Mt. Vernon] plans speak of the necessity to get increased housing into the downtowns,” said Armstrong. “You’ll see in these plans visions for new housing and new retail overlooking the river on sites that are currently parking lots. Bringing people together, giving them something to do and giving them a place to live.”
Next steps
The regional riverfront plan includes proposed timeframes for priority projects. For example, the overall phasing strategy for Great Bend Park stretches from 2024 to 2031. However, implementing the riverfront vision will depend on the coordination of local and regional stakeholders over time.
“This is a plan for not just current community leaders, but also future community leaders. A roadmap for the next 15, 20, 25 years. We’re not going to just snap our fingers and prioritize five projects in each community and they’re going to be done in three years. These are big, visionary concepts that we think will help transform the region,” Winnecke said.
Winnecke said it’s important to look at the project from a regional perspective.
For now, communities will take some time to consider the recommendations aimed at reconnecting downtowns, embracing the river and spreading growth.
“Each community will have to prioritize the concepts that have been presented to them, which are concepts that the consultant has heard from the thousands of people who made contributions to the public input process,” said Winnecke. “So local elected officials and community leaders will have some thinking to do in the coming weeks and months.”
Communities may start applying for federal and philanthropic support after the completion of the schematic drawing process, which the city of Evansville expects to begin later this year.
“We’re working in partnership with E-REP,” said Terry. “We probably will invite Sasaki to meet with the department to go a bit deeper in sharing their recommendations, because we’re going to be keen on moving forward with some of the work once the funding is in place.”
Armstrong said Sasaki’s ability to see projects from plan to completion—including funding models—was another reason the firm was selected for the regional riverfront vision. He emphasized that though executing the long-term plan comes with a cost, there may be a greater price to pay if action is not taken.
“What do we leave behind as a region if we don’t embrace what everyone calls our greatest asset: the riverfront?” Armstrong said. “Now comes the time for our residents, businesses, business leaders, investors, all these people to begin saying, ‘I saw this image, and this is really what I want. How are we going to make this happen?’ Holding up the plan as an example to our elected officials at a local or even state or federal level and saying, ‘Help us get this done.’”