toledoblade.com --

The firm that designed the popular San Antonio River Walk plans to pay Toledo $4.2 million for 27 parcels of city-owned property to create a similar development along Swan Creek through downtown Toledo, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner announced yesterday.

"These properties will all be incorporated into a new, San Antonio-like river walk along Swan Creek to its entry point at the Maumee River," Mr. Finkbeiner said while standing at the Owens Corning Parkway Boardwalk along the creek.

Tetra Tech of Pasadena, Calif., plans to invest $300 million over many years for the Toledo development, said Andrew Langenderfer, senior project manager for the company.

"We think this project can be a great catalyst, a great spark, for revitalizing Swan Creek and then the spur of activity and development that can move through downtown and the warehouse district," he said.

The development will stretch along both sides of the narrow waterway from I-75 to the Maumee River, said Mr. Langenderfer, a Toledo native.

The project, which was announced in February, will include a pedestrian-friendly walkway along the creek plus office space, homes, shops, and a waterfront promenade in a mixed-use development.

The purchase price includes $1.2 million for the Erie Street

Market "and a number of smaller properties," $1.8 million for the water-distribution building at 401 South Erie St., and $1.2 million "in compensation for relocation expenses for water distribution," the mayor said.

"This new river walk, housing, [and] commercial development will continue the momentum of development that the warehouse district, the central business, and Toledo's waterfront have already experienced," Mr. Finkbeiner said.

The 12-member Toledo City Council, which must approve the sale, is expected today to receive a purchase agreement, authorization to continue public funding of the Erie Street Market past April 30, and a business plan for the market.

If the plan is approved, the company would close the sales of the properties in about one year, Mr. Langenderfer said.

He said it was too early to say what the long-term future of the Erie Street Market would be.

Toledo Council President Mark Sobczak said Tetra Tech has a proven track record of working with the city and around the nation.

"I will encourage the councilmen to get behind this project," Mr. Sobczak said. "These are the folks we need to make Toledo successful."

The mayor refused to answer questions about the Erie Street Market and how much taxpayer money would be used to support it for the remainder of 2008.

Mr. Sobczak said the city should support the market

"Because the city owns it, we just don't walk away from it," he said.

"The question today is how can we get Toledo excited about this project?"

The Erie Street Market, built in 1912, is valued at $1,085,700, according to the Lucas County Auditor's Office.

An appraisal conducted earlier this week valued the building and property at $1.1 million, said Jennifer Johnson, administration attorney and manager of real estate for the city.

Mr. Sobczak said council would vote May 6 on the sale and the legislation to keep the market operating with the help of city funding.

The 2008 city budget allocates $287,370 for electricity and $14,191 for heating the market.

Councilman Joe McNamara was optimistic about the development.

"I would love to see a river walk in downtown Toledo," he said after the news conference. "I don't know what the terms of the deal are yet, I haven't seen it."

Many downtown and warehouse district business-owners applauded the plan and said they'd keep their fingers crossed - hoping it will materialize.

Pam Burns, a co-owner of Downtown Latte at 44 South Saint Clair St., said businesses in the area need more of the kind of foot traffic that a river walk would attract.

The owner of Swan Creek Candle at 114 South Superior St. said the announcement was long overdue.

"I have always been amazed, with the setting downtown, the Swan Creek, and the river, and how it wasn't appreciated, and people didn't realize how fortunate it is to have this here," owner Ann Albright said.

Kathy Steingraber, executive director of the Toledo Warehouse District Association, tried more than a decade ago to generate support for developing the area near the creek.

"There wasn't any support for it at the time," she said. "We needed to have people living downtown and coming here as a destination."

Mr. Finkbeiner said the project would relieve the city of its responsibility for upkeep and maintenance of the 27 parcels and the buildings.

"[Tetra Tech's] plans for Toledo allow us to fully utilize a body of water that is often forgotten in development plans," the mayor said.

He said the plan includes "housing, commercial, retail, including restaurants, a performance stage, and play areas for children" and called it a "very romantic and human-energy driven environment."

The mayor also said the project would tie into other downtown developments, including the new multipurpose sports arena under construction and the Mud Hens' Fifth Third Field - both of which are just a few blocks away.

"We have a far more romantic, enticing chemistry going for us in downtown Toledo than does downtown Columbus," Mr. Finkbeiner said.

When asked about the possibility of a casino in the development, Mr. Finkbeiner said he thought gaming would eventually find a place in Ohio and that he would support locating one in Toledo.

Councilman Michael Ashford, who along with Councilman Frank Szollosi voted in January against a measure that provides funding for the market until April 30, said he had not seen details of the property sale and declined comment.

"Earlier this year, the administration said they would have a business plan, and I'm glad we have a potential buyer for the market, but until we actually see something, I am going to be against spending money on the Erie Street Market," Mr. Ashford said.

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