Exploring new futures for Mud Island Park
Written by George Abbott, Director of External Affairs of Memphis River Parks Partnership
In its 40-year life, Mud Island Park has had five different operators, each with a unique perspective on the riverfront and the use of the park. Through it all, the large components — the river model, the amphitheater, the Mississippi River Museum, the monorail, skybridge and terminal buildings — remained in place, mostly unchanged and without new investment.
Today, with new interest and investment in the riverfront sparked by Tom Lee Park, River Garden, the renovation of the historic Cobblestones and increasing activity from overnight cruise ships, the City of Memphis is investing more than $4.5 million to fund safety fixes and improvements to the original infrastructure. This funding is sourced from the capital improvement budget as well as through Accelerate Memphis and will make possible:
- A new north gate entrance,
- New lighting on the skybridge and riverwalk,
- A newly paved parking lot,
- Improved connectivity and signage
- Fixes to escalators, elevators, electrical, HVAC and fire safety systems, and
- Refreshed bathrooms
An additional $5 million is allocated by Memphis City Council for future investment into the park. With a backlog of capital expenses estimated at more than $20 million (not including the cost of delivering a modern, functioning monorail or amphitheater), it’s clear that further re-investment must be targeted, strategic and deliver a good return on investment for Memphis.
While infrastructure improvements are underway, a strategy is being developed by a task force created by Memphis River Parks Partnership and co-chaired by board members Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas and Alan Crone on the future of Mud Island Park. The task force has engaged HR&A to conduct a study to identify three new scenarios for a sustainable future for the island. HR&A previously produced the economic impact analysis of the 2017 Memphis Riverfront Concept and has worked extensively in Memphis and across the country. The project is led by Lydia Gaby, a director at HR&A and Young Leader Co-Chair of World Urban Parks.
This project is not an exercise that will produce attractive renderings and pretty pictures. Rather, this will be a hard look at how to support a financially sound future for the island considering market realities in recreation, the competitive landscape locally and trends in comparable park real estate across the country. The overarching goal, as with all the Partnership’s work, is to maximize the long-term value of this public asset for Memphis.
For each scenario, the study will analyze its anticipated public benefits as well as expected or possible revenue sources. The public investment, both capital and ongoing operating expenses, required to deliver and sustain each future will also be outlined. Each scenario will be made public with opportunities for comment.
The committee is working quickly and is expected to deliver the scenarios before the end of 2022. As the team gets to work, all previous plans, ideas and concepts generated for Mud Island Park are being considered. If you have an idea you believe should be considered, please submit as much detail as you can to info@memphisriverparks.org with the subject line: “Mud Island Futures.”
Mud Island Park holds a special place in Memphis history and in the hearts of many Memphians. This work is the necessary first step to delivering a refreshed public asset all Memphians can be proud of.
