The Red River riverfront plan area extends from the Riverside Park near Rapides Regional Medical Center to a small park south of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge (pictured in image).

Graphic: City of Alexandria Planning and Economic Development (Informational and Qualifications Study). Plan of Action for Cooperative Development, Jan. 2015.
Photo: Creative Commons Wikipedia.com

The Riverfront Improvement Venture and Essential Recreation (RIVER) Act is Alexandria, Louisiana's new initiative to develop the downtown area along the Red River. The act designates about $8 million in city funds over the next several years, with plans to supplement that with $32 million from the private sector. The plan envisions riverside housing, restaurants, retail stores and recreational activities for the levee area.

The plan looks ahead to the next 20 years and is based on the community's desires to avoid sprawl, strengthen infill opportunities and expand options for transportation, housing and employment.

The city has committed up to $2.8 million toward relocating Central Louisiana Technical and Community College (CenLa Tech) to the downtown area. Planning for that project is expected to be finished this year, with construction to begin in 2016.

The city is also selling the old Alexander Fulton Hotel on Fourth Street to Southern Hospitality Group. The hotel is adjacent to the Riverfront Center in the Riverfront District. The new owners plan to spend millions on revitalizing the hotel. The Alexandria Riverfront Center will get a $700,000 face-lift, and the Hotel Bentley is reopening, all positive efforts in revigorating the downtown riverfront.

The city has development plans for the rest of the city, but it's the downtown that moves the rest of the city, and the riverfront is underused. Both sides of the levee are included in the RIVER Act plans. The city is upgrade the Levee Park Amphitheatre facilities with real bathrooms, making recreational improvements and plans to add a boardwalk. The plans could eventually lead to building a marina.