The vision of the Dayton Riverfront Plan is ambitious—The Suns straddling both sides of the river linking downtown to West Dayton; four miles of connected parks and culture reaching north from downtown along the Stillwater River; and a pedestrian promenade along the Great Miami River connecting the University of Dayton to Sinclair College and downtown. These are dynamic ideas that inspire donors, grantors and public agencies at all levels to invest in the vibrant future such transformations would create.
There is a second investment that must also be made to bring these visions to reality. After the amenities are built, they must be maintained at the highest level. They must be clean, safe, and beautiful every summer and every winter—every spring and fall—for their lifetime. That’s a cost that many public agencies neglect to fully consider as they build the excitement around new plans.
The partners of the Dayton Riverfront Plan recognize that responsible development requires consistent, reliable operational funding follow any capital investment in public open space. To that end, they hired HR&A Advisors out of New York City. They are a nationally known analytics and urban strategy firm, to assess the potential for such funding from a broad range of creative sources using best practices from around the country. With the information HR&A provided, the Dayton Riverfront Plan partners are developing the future phasing plan for the implementation of the Plan in the coming years. We look forward to unveiling those steps are we continue to build this vision for the future.