Clarksville Officials Look To Larger Development Plan

Clarksville, Indiana officials are looking to next year to find a buyer and developer for the old Colgate plant.Colgate sold the plant in April to a company that hoped to work with city officials to resell the building to a developer. But after a development deal fell through, the plans were changed.The plant was intended to be part of a redesigned riverfront, and the city will soon begin courting planners and developers for the larger project, with the plant's sale included in the plan."We're working with [the plant's owners] in a selection of, again, a master planner to do master planning for Clark's Landing which includes property beyond just the Colgate site to dovetail into some sort of development that would involve the old Colgate operation, but wouldn't be exclusive to it," says Redevelopment Director Rick Dickman. "If we do this master plan correctly, there'll be room for multiple levels of development and multiple levels of maybe even developers. We may hire a master developer who might coordinate those efforts, but we haven't gotten there yet—we have to get this master plan done first."Dickman says he hopes the plan will come together next year as Louisville's downtown development continues."We like to think that what is going on in downtown Louisville specific to the arena will help generate more interest and enthusiasm," he says.Dickman says the city is working with master planners now.