A new plan for Bucktown Harbor shows the 34-acre lakefront property area being transformed into a pier for fisherman, a play area for kids and a boardwalk along the marsh.
The plan is a result of four community meetings and more than 11,000 responses.
“It's just such an opportunity to bring the quality of life, things that people have told us they want, in Jefferson that we don't always have enough of. Things to get their family outdoors, free open space,” Jefferson Parish Council woman Jennifer Van Vrancken said.
Bucktown business owners that Eyewitness News spoke with said they look forward to seeing the area developed.
“Post Katrina there hasn't been very much activity out here. With the pumps taking over where Sid-Mar’s and all those other restaurants used to be, where people grew up going to Sid-Mar's and loved that area. I think this is going to help the citizens feel like they have that back again,” one woman said.
“You go to any big city you can see they use up every edge of their waterfronts. This is an open area that you can see has a lot of potential,” another man said.
The parish plans to use funding from the recreational millage and district improvement funds as well as available grant funding for the project.
Councilwoman Van Vrancken said the improvements will be entirely recreational and to look for changes to start sooner rather than later.
“Next steps will be for us to design these elements. The boardwalk is the first out of the gate. We actually have that in design. We've gotten grant funding to complete that design. So, we hope that the boardwalk will be in construction next year,” Van Vrancken said.