Bezos group gives Little Rock $30 million for park

The city of Little Rock is receiving a $30 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, a creation of Amazon creator Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos, to help fund the construction of the 30 Crossing Park stretching from the Central Arkansas Library System Main Library to near the Clinton Presidential Center.

The award was celebrated during an announcement near the Clinton Presidential Center Tuesday (July 7) that included Tom Taylor, president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, and the leader of the team that created Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant.

Gov. Sarah Sanders called it “a once in a generation opportunity to build something really special.”

Taylor later said in a brief interview that the fund “identified communities that already had projects in place, that we thought we could support and sort of accelerate.”

Sixteen acres for the park became available through the removal of the HIghway 10 and Cantrell interchange that was part of the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s 30 Crossing Project. That project involved reconstructing the Arkansas River Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock and making changes to approaches on both sides.

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott later said in an interview that the city treated the potential grant as an economic development project and showed the fund’s representatives several sites. When a representative suggested $15 million, he asked for $30 million.

He said the entire project should cost about $85 million. The $30 million will provide money for the upcoming design phase, which should cost $5 to $9 million. Landscape improvements should be visible quickly. The design phase should take about a year. The next phases would begin after that.

“I would say in the next two years, you should see some significant work done,” he said.

As for the remaining funds, Scott said the city is hoping to obtain federal U.S. Department of Transportation grants and will later provide details about its fundraising campaign.

“I’m pretty certain that we’re not bringing Jeff Bezos here and not getting it done,” he said.

Daniel Church, a senior planner with the Denver-based Sasaki design firm, said the design is 30% completed. He estimated that the total costs for the park would be $80 million to $100 million depending on factors such as how condensed the construction process is and the price of materials.

He said Sasaki sees the park as “the trailhead to the state of Arkansas.” Under the master plan, more than five acres adjacent to the Museum of Discovery would host a large destination playground. Currently, underdeveloped land around the city’s amphitheater would be turned into a boardwalk with a restaurant and a boathouse allowing users to launch a kayak into the Arkansas River. Beneath the highway overpass, the city’s largest shade structure, would be rock climbing, basketball, other sports and a skate park. Land near the Clinton Presidential Center would offer a flexible lawn, a small amphitheater, and music. The lowest part would serve as stormwater drainage and would offer a place for wetlands education.

Little Rock was one of eight cities receiving a total of $100 million from the Bezos Earth Fund Greening America’s Cities initiative. That initiative will invest in community parks and large-scale green space. The city was the only one receiving $30 million.

Other cities receiving the awards were Atlanta; Cleveland; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Allentown, Penn.

The initiative has a goal of investing a total of $400 million in urban green spaces. So far, $150 million previously had been invested in 11 cities.

Taylor said at the announcement that the Bezos Earth Fund’s role is to catalyze and exemplify what can be done and to inspire investments across the country.

He said the fund began six years ago with the thought that society was better off in every way except with regards to nature.

“Nature continues to be under threat,” he said. “Now, you might read about Jeff mostly about space exploration. But he’s been very clear. We’ve checked out all the other planets. This is the best one.”