River Heritage reflects on progress, looks to next steps of Origin Park project

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·5 min read

Dec. 25—CLARKSVILLE — River Heritage Conservancy is making strides toward its mission of developing a 430-acre park along Clarksville's riverfront.

In 2023, the nonprofit celebrated numerous milestones for the Origin Park project, including the opening of a paddle launch and the allocation of millions in state funding for the park.

As it heads into 2024, River Heritage plans to continue progress in the gradual development of the park and announce a new CEO in the new year.

Vern Eswine, president/CEO of The Marketing Company and spokesperson for River Heritage, said it has been a "very productive year," and he expects the next year to be "a really big year for Origin Park."

"I think 2024 is going to be a lot of movement going on," he said. "We're all excited, and people will actually start seeing some of the bigger projects moving forward."

LOOKING BACK

River Heritage Conservancy marked a milestone this year with the opening of Croghan Launch on Silver Creek. The paddle launch site features a ramp for canoes and kayaks, and it was the first Origin Park project to be completed.

The grand opening for the launch took place in April.

"We had over 100 people to that opening, and we continue to take tours down there," Eswine said. "The water levels have been extremely low, but we're also working on expanding and [pushing] that on down further."

Croghan Launch is one of two launch sites that have been completed for the Origin Park project. A second ramp has been finished but has not yet opened.

In April, $37.5 million was allocated for the Origin Park project in the state biennial budget, which will be used for the development of an outdoor adventure center. The appropriation will cover half of the costs of the adventure center, which is part of Origin Park's second phase.

"That was a big win," Eswine said. "That's never happened down here before."

In May, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded River Heritage with an $800,000 Brownsfield grant to help with the remediation of former industrial sites at the site of the future park.

Eswine notes another step forward with River Heritage's partnership with the Town of Clarksville. The Clarksville Town Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the town and the nonprofit, giving River Heritage the control to develop a piece of riverfront property owned by Clarksville.

In 2023, River Heritage also opened three new trail entrances into the park's Buttonbush Woods, and the nonprofit has installed signage along the paths.

Eswine noted the recognition the project has received both locally and nationally. OLIN, the architecture firm designing the park, received a Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award for its work on Origin Park.

"There's a lot of recognition with the partners and the quality of partners that we're working alongside," he said.

MAC Construction also received an Excellence in Construction award in September from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana/Kentucky(ABC) for its development of the two canoe launches.

LOOKING AHEAD

This fall, River Heritage began its search for a CEO, and the board will likely announce its selection in early 2024, Eswine said.

River Heritage Executive Director Susan Rademacher, who was hired in January of 2022, will move into a new role as executive design director.

"She will be focusing primarily on working alongside OLIN and the design team to continue to roll out the design and making sure those components happen and we start seeing some things in 2024 — that we start seeing shovels in the ground," Eswine said.

He expects to see significant movement in the first quarter of the year.

"There'll be a new executive team in place," Eswine said. "Susan, her role was really to focus on the goal of getting and developing the design, and the new CEO, their role will be to be focused on the actual build... and working with construction and finance and all that other stuff."

The Origin Park project is currently in its first phase, which includes development of an event center and a trail system in the 110-acre Buttonbush Woods.

The News and Tribune reported in October that River Heritage's first phase projects are 60% funded.

According to Eswine, the nonprofit's capital campaign is in its "final rollout."

"We're still having meetings on that, and we'll continue having meetings probably in and through January," he said.

River Heritage is in the permitting phase, and the goal is to complete that process in January for the event center permits.

"The event center is what a lot of people have asked about," Eswine said. "That's still a main focus, but there's still a lot of information we'll have to roll out on that."

Eswine said although he cannot announce the details yet, people can expect a groundbreaking in the spring or summer for an Origin Park build.

Regarding land acquisition, River Heritage has reached 75% to 80% of its goal, and the nonprofit has the property needed to complete phase one of the park, he said.

"While we've been kind of moving slowly, we had to because we had to acquire a lot of land and or get MOUs with people, and we've done that," Eswine said. "We had to get final designs in place, and now that we're in those final stages now, we can actually start seeing some things happen in 2024."