One of the first pieces of the massive Tom Lee Park overhaul is complete. The cutbank bluff, a paved switchback path, will provide ADA-compliant access from the top of the bluff down to Riverside Drive across from the park’s northern entrance.
The bluff was dedicated as the Carlisle Cutbank Bluff Thursday evening after a $1.5 million donation from Carlisle Corp. in the park. The path starts near the One Beale development atop the bluff.
The city of Memphis recently agreed to give $10 million to Carlisle Corp. to aid in the development of the Grand Hyatt hotel at One Beale. Developer Chance Carlisle said he agreed to make the donation in September 2020.
Tyree Daniels, chair of the Memphis River Parks Partnership Board, said Thursday was a special day for Downtown.
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“It is so much easier and more fun to move between Downtown and the riverfront. It means that park visitors will find it much easier to get from upstairs on Main Street down to the river in a more equitable way, and we couldn’t be more excited,” he said.
Penelope Huston, vice president of marketing and communications for the Downtown Memphis Commission, said the path was a crucial link between the river and the rest of Downtown Memphis.
“To unlock the true power of Downtown, all the individual assets have to be connected, like they are here through the cutbank bluff,” she said.
The bluff, which will not officially open until the rest of the park is complete next year, features two “stone scramble” sections that people can climb up. More than 50,000 grasses and shrubs have also been planted on the bluff, all species native to the area.
Across Riverside Drive, the new Tom Lee Park is taking shape. Basketball courts have been poured, a pedestrian bridge has been completed and landscaping work is underway.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership announced last month that construction was 50% completed and Daniels said the partnership was about $1.2 million away from the $61 million needed for the renovations.
The partnership this summer also secured a federal grant to build a boardwalk out over the river, a feature that wasn’t included in the original $61 million plan.
In a previous interview, Daniels said one of the next big steps is securing vendors for the food and beverage options for the park.
“We want all of our vendors as much as possible to be local and have unique local things that you would find in the Memphis community,” he said.
The partnership has been fielding calls about hosting everything from festivals to corporate events to family reunions in the park.
Negotiations are also ongoing with Memphis in May, which has traditionally hosted the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest in the park. The relationship between Memphis in May and the river parks partnership has long been a strained one.
A formal grand opening for the park is planned for after any necessary repairs and cleanup after the Memphis in May events.
“We definitely want (Memphis in May) to remain in the park, and we’re prepared to work together to do that,” Daniels said. “However, we do have to make sure we protect the investment that all of these partners have made in us in order to deliver a park that is like no other river experience on the Mississippi River.”
Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development and health care for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email atCorinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com
