A more than $2 million project would replace a downtown park with five 19th-century homes and revamp a public space along the Chattahoochee River if the Columbus Council signs off.
Historic Columbus presented plans to councilors Tuesday that would transfer ownership of Heritage Park to the nonprofit. Under current plans, exhibits, buildings and other history educational items at the park would be relocated to the Chattahoochee promenade near the Coca-Cola Space and Science Center.
The five homes were donated to Historic Columbus, and three of them previously belonged to Historic Westville, a living history museum that relocated from Lumpkin to Columbus a few years ago.
Historic Columbus will fund the project, and the work is expected to take 18 months, executive director Elizabeth Walden told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“This potential project fulfills one of the major goals of the historic district residents by adding architecturally compatible single-family homes, and it certainly fulfills the mission of this organization,” she said. “We all invest in Columbus, and we all want our community to be the best place it can be.”
The change to Heritage Park comes over concerns with the water feature, Walden said.
The nonprofit and city staff were worried about making significant investments in the feature’s water pump every three-to-five years.
The park was finished in 1999, and Historic Columbus was one of its key funders. The city took ownership of the park once it was completed.
However, by 2016, the park’s large water feature was no longer operational. What was thought to be a simple pump repair turned into a new pump system and total redesign that would cost more than $250,000 if completed. City funding wasn’t secured to fix the system.
While fixing the pump would be the simplest solution, Historic Columbus board members began considering alternatives for the park’s future.
The five homes were built between the 1830s and the 1880s. They will be stabilized and sold to owners who will rehabilitate the properties. Historic Columbus will include deed restrictions so the homes will only be used as single-family homes or long-term rentals, Walden said.
Three of the properties previously belonged to Historic Westville — the Bryan House (1830), the Rawson House (1840) and the Moye House (1840).
The properties remained in Lumpkin when Westville came to south Columbus, and the museum doesn’t have the funding to move the homes to the new site, Walden said.
“They are at risk,” she said. “The opportunity to protect the structures through a partnership in this project became the best solution for their survival.” The fourth house, the Juniper House (1880), was donated to Historic Columbus by a family in Marion County.
The fifth house is the Promenade House (1885), which is currently located on promenade grounds. It was moved to the site from across the street in 1976 and previously served as the headquarters for Keep Columbus Beautiful, she said.
Proceeds from the sale of homes will go back to Historic Columbus’ Revolving/Redevelopment Fund for future projects, Walden said.
The plans for the promenade, which runs south of the Coca-Cola Space Science Center and along Front Avenue, are not finalized.
The plans Historic Columbus presented to the council are a proposal, and the nonprofit is conducting a survey to determine what the property will look like in the future.
Under the plan, the exhibits from Heritage Park would be moved inside the promenade’s walled Victorian garden. The park’s log cabin would be north of the garden, and the kiln would be placed south.
In addition to the new elements, Historic Columbus would clean up along the riverbank to create open views of the river. The nonprofit would also install new signage, creating a new history trail that incorporates the city’s Native American and Black history, Walden said.
Historic Columbus would also sign a maintenance agreement and establish a maintenance fund to support the future of the promenade.
The nonprofit will hold a public meeting June 27, 5 p.m., at the city’s annex building (420 10th St.) regarding the plans. Columbus Council could vote on the plan during its July 26 meeting, said City Manager Isaiah Hugley.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with the Ledger-Enquirer.
