Columbia waterfront park could be designed by firm responsible for NYC High-Line
The city of Columbia has tentatively chosen Field Operations, LLC, as the designer for its “world-class” riverfront park being planned for the Congaree riverfront in downtown Columbia.
Field Operations is a New York City design firm responsible for major, high-profile projects across the U.S. The firm led the design of a $250 million endeavor to build a park atop a historic rail line in Manhattan, called the High Line. It also designed a multi-phase overhaul of Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier.
Columbia City Council will vote on approving a nearly $1.7 million design contract with the firm at its Tuesday, Dec. 16, meeting. The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, along with longtime landowners the Guignard family, are also heavily involved in the project.
The stretch of the Congaree riverfront between the Blossom and Gervais street bridges has sat undeveloped for over a century, but where right now there are wetlands and overgrowth, city leaders see landscaped boardwalks, sprawling event spaces, maybe an amphitheater, and plenty of space for new development on the ridge above the water’s edge.
At the start of this year, the city issued a call to designers and received 19 responses from firms all over the country. By May, it had narrowed that list to six.
Other firms considered to design the park include CMG Landscape Archtiecture, which is is doing work on San Francisco’s Treasure Island; MKSK Inc., which designed Greenville’s Unity Park; Hargreaves Jones, which has designed numerous waterfront park like the Louisville waterfront on the Ohio River, and in downtown Chattanooga in Tennessee; and a handful of others.
“Field Operations will be tasked with identifying opportunities for private development that are complementary to the park but also supports economic growth of the region,” reads a city document outlining Field Operations’ mission for the park. “It is important that the Riverfront Park enhances experiences, embraces the river front and creates a destination for all to enjoy.”
The firm will design a master plan for developing the park, which it expects to be able to deliver within 12 months, according to a tentative schedule of the work. The process will also include several public events for residents to share their thoughts on the project.
Some in the community have voiced concern about developing the riverfront, saying the city should leave the land wild, and warning against building in a flood plain, which much of the site is in.
City leaders have promised that whatever gets built on the site will honor the natural topography and would not seek to reshape the riverfront.
The city Tuesday will also vote on establishing a “Riverfront District” with Richland County to create “a mechanism to capture a portion of the new commercial property taxes,” on the site once development takes off, according to city documents.
