The attention given to Columbus’ uptown whitewater project on the Chattahoochee, deserved though it may be, has tended to obscure another major project recently announced for the riverfront in Phenix City, namely the construction of Troy University’s $8.5 million riverfront academic building. Not to be missed in these difficult economic times is the fact that Phenix City is picking up $2 million of the tab for the project, quite a commitment for town the size of Phenix City. In combination with the continuing development of the whitewater project and all the other public-private development on Broadway and adjacent streets, Troy’s and Phenix City’s investment is a strong indication that the bi-city’s future, like its past, will be closely linked to the river.

Who would have thought it 30 or even 20 years ago?

I recall walking Broadway one day in the '70s and being appalled by the condition of what was then still being called “downtown.” Porn shops and wig shops dominated Broadway and many of its connecting streets. Seedy bars and dilapidated storefront churches enriched the mix. As I walked, I thought of Carson McCullers’ line about a “sad and faraway” place. In fact, the city’s downtown reminded me of the wretched inner city environments I had recently left in Washington, D.C. and New York. I was shocked.

What was once the pride of Columbus had turned into an urban slum. Drunks panhandled openly on the street corners. Worse, the mood of the city seemed as drab and depressed as its downtown. The often-heard excuse that the decline of downtown Columbus was the result of white flight to the suburbs in the ‘60s seemed somehow inadequate to explain such a disaster. Where was the city’s pride?

That was then, of course. Now the same walk through uptown reveals a transformation. From the revitalized Historic District on south Broadway to the TSYS campus on the north, the old street that has been the city’s main street since 1828—the “Great White Way,” we once called it—is a showplace for the public-private partnership that has transformed downtown into uptown. The sheer number of projects that have sprung up on and around Broadway since the Seventies is overwhelming. Among them: RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, the Iron Works and Convention and Trade Center, Columbus Marriott nee Hilton, Rankin Square, the renovated Columbus Bank and Trust Company building, the new and much-improved YMCA, Downtown Elementary, the stylish headquarters for Synovus on the riverfront and the aforementioned TSYS campus on the north end of Broadway. Then there’s the River Club, Chattahoochee Riverwalk, and the uptown campus of Columbus State University. These are nowhere near all the projects, but the point is that a critical mass has been achieved that has itself become a magnet to new businesses, shops, restaurants, pizza parlors and the type of music venues popular with the college crowd.

Hand wringing over these last-named establishments, which clash with some of the more upscale developments, is neither called for nor needed. Broadway has become part of the extended campus of CSU, which, lest we forget, includes the Schwob Department of Music housed in the RiverCenter and the art and theater departments on the riverfront. Such academic byways frequently pop up adjacent to college campuses. Massive urban planning is not called for. Such venues grow naturally or not at all. It is wise for us old geezers to remind ourselves that pizza parlors and pubs, small bookstores and open air music venues are the stuff of dreams for many young people. For many students, hanging out in such places is as much part of an education as perfect attendance in chemistry or philosophy class. As such, they should be encouraged, not discouraged.

It is probably also a good idea to keep in mind that the first stage of Troy University’s riverfront academic building, which will house educational programs for water resource research, business and nursing, is scheduled for completion in 2014. Ergo, more students will soon be in uptown. This will be good for the already rich mix of trendy shops and bars on Broadway and will add immeasurably to the charm and atmosphere in uptown. Favorite student habitats the world over are also often the favorite habitats of artists, writers and university faculty. Young people on Broadway have brought a new spirit to the old thoroughfare. For an example of what college venues can mean to a city, see Oxford, Miss., Chapel Hill, N.C. or Austin, Tex.

If all this sounds a bit dubious to you, drive down to uptown one Saturday morning and pay a visit to the market on Broadway. You will likely run into friends you haven’t seen for years, and most of them will have smiles on their faces. There is a spirit in these Saturday crowds of locals that is infectious and reminds me of the smiles on the faces of the waves of shoppers we would encounter downtown in the ‘40s and ‘50s. True, there is no Spano’s or Field & Fireside nor any Kirven’s or Sealy’s, but this is now a different venue. The times have changed and so have the opportunities for development. Why don’t we embrace the new and see where it takes us? Every community needs a commons. Uptown could be ours.

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