Planners involved with a massive redevelopment project along the Ohio River in Jeffersonville say a recent grant will help catapult movement on the endeavor.
American Commercial Barge Line, which owns the former Jeffboat property, announced last week that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation has awarded a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the riverfront development
This grant follows a $6.5 million Indiana READI grant awarded to the project in December.
According to the news release, this grant funding is a “foundation for the transformation of the Jeffersonville riverfront into a vibrant, mixed use development.”
Steve Bollinger is principal and executive vice president of business development at Thrive Companies, the agency serving as master developer for the project.
He said these grants, along with potential upcoming tax increment financing, or TIF dollars, are what make redevelopment of the former shipyard on prime riverside real estate viable.
“Otherwise, this project doesn’t happen,” he said. “So it’s everything.”
Jeffboat closed in 2018 after 80 years of barge-building operations at the site. The footprint includes what was originally the Howard shipyard, which opened in 1838 for steamboat production.
The past several years have seen a renewed spirit in what could be the next iteration of the mile-long strip of land long devoted to boat-building.
In 2023, planners unveiled a preliminary framework for what could potentially go there, including housing, retail, residential and green spaces.
Project timeline
Over the next three to six months, project leaders will start gathering community input on whether the architectural pieces discussed during the first planning phases are still what residents want to see there.
“And obviously it needs to be done with the economics of the deal being a part of it,” said Bollinger. “Because what we don't want to do is put something out there [that’s not] based in reality.”
Site work is expected to start within nine to 12 months and take around two years. That includes bringing in a lot of dirt — an estimated 700,000 cubic yards — to raise parts of the site.
Once the site is ready, construction is slated to begin in late 2028 or early 2029. Bollinger said parkspace should be finished before or around the same time the first structures are completed. That will pull in downtown Jeffersonville as well as downtown Louisville, “and there's this connection through it all.”
This is Thrive Companies’ first project out of central Ohio. They’re based in Columbus. The team became interested in developing the Indiana riverfront site early on in the process, Bollinger said.
That interest grew when they discovered how much state and local support there was for redevelopment at the site.
Upon visiting the city, they also were impressed with amenities like the Big Four Bridge and historic downtown area.
“It's just like, ‘Man, this city has mojo to it. It has a vibe to it. It's …creating its own thing, and it feels really good,” he said.
Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said he feels lucky and is glad state leaders see the value in this project in Jeffersonville.
The city partnered to help fund initial designs a couple years ago. He said it can also use TIF dollars to help fund amenities like the extension of the Ohio River Greenway through the area.
Moore said he wants the site to be publicly accessible.
“I don't want a gated entrance where you got to live there to get in there,” he said. “We're going to have thriving restaurants down there and a beautiful boardwalk to…have a nice, safe place to enjoy the river view and mingle and walk around to restaurants, coffee shops and pubs.”
George Piccioni, vice president of business development at American Commercial Barge Line, said in the release the grant funding comes after more than four years of planning.
“We are grateful to Gov. Mike Braun and the IEDC team for their continued support of this redevelopment project,” he said in the release, also thanking Lilly Endowment and Jeffersonville leaders.
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