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Greenway
to connect city parks By Jeremy
Johnson, Wednesday, Plans are in the works for a greenway along Sanders
Ferry Road that will link the Town Center area to Memorial
Park, with officials looking into ways to find money to get the
project up and running. Hendersonville Public Works Director Jerry Horton said
architects are currently working to finish plans for a boardwalk that will
link Mallard Point on Sanders Ferry to Memorial Park. Horton said the greenway would
then be connected to the rest of the city's planned greenway system, which
has projects under way to connect to the existing greenway to "We've hired an architect and a landscaping architect
to put together a plan with two bridges," Horton said. Horton said the boardwalk would
run along Drakes Creek and feature a bridge that would connect the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers property behind Mallard's Restaurant to the sidewalk along
Hendersonville Mayor Scott Foster told members of
the city's Capital Projects Committee that he has been in discussions with
the Corps about the potential for a seawall along the creek with possible
tie-off points for boats. Foster said he was encouraged by the Corps' response. "The Corps said they liked the project...Since I have
been involved with the town center project, it's the first time they have
even alluded to a seawall," he said. Horton said city officials have
been attempting to secure federal grants to fund the project but have so far
been unsuccessful. He estimated the overall cost of the project to be around
$1.5 million, and the city would likely break the project into smaller phases
to increase the likelihood of securing government funding. The public works director said private developers could
build much of the project as the "I think any developer will see the benefits of
working with us. It's going to be a great thing for the city overall but
especially along Already one developer is on board with the plan, Horton
said. Vastland, the developer of
Waterford Crossing, will be building a portion of the greenway near Hendersonville Planning Director Fred Rogers said the
greenway plan will not likely generate any additional interest in the "I don't know that we expect that alone to spur development, but it's progress in the right direction. It's a small step but a good step," he said. |