the upper altamaha initiative:
fall 2007
hawkinsville ocmulgee river greenway
Elizabeth Long and Abby Bullock
Abstract
The Hawkinsville greenway project has the potential to be an ongoing, dynamic project involving many disciplines: law, ecology, environmental design, as well as economic and business. The city of Hawkinsville and a few key stakeholders have asked for help evaluating the economic development and preservation potential of the Ocmulgee River which runs directly through town. There are already plans in place to renovate an old cotton mill on the river as a mixed use development. Our main goal of the project is to maintain and protect the current quality and state of the river while helping to bring economic development to the city of Hawkinsville. The town hopes to use the river as leverage to attract economic development while maintaining the historical fabric of the community. The stakeholders envision just over 4.5 miles of greenway along the river and a path on the east bank of the river. Our role will be to provide the city and stakeholders with information on the legal and design aspects of their vision. Our deliverables will consist of
- A design of the river walk with cost estimates for construction as well as conceptual designs of the major vignettes of the project (Hawkinsville state park, gas station site)
- Memo concerning the Brownfield development legalities, analysis of city's options to obtain remaining privately owned tracts of land, and liability issues concerning the renovation of an old gas station, and
- Assessment of water quality of the Ocmulgee and the possible impacts of development.
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