Crystal River city officials are hoping to move forward with phase two of the Kings Bay Riverwalk Project. The current riverwalk take residents and tourists along the city’s waterfront and downtown, but the next phase will provide direct access to the local restaurants along the water. 

Crystal River City Manager Ken Frink told Spectrum Bay News 9’s Katya Guillaume, “The riverwalk has been a dream of the city of Crystal River and its residents since 1988. When it’s complete, it’ll be about a mile. We’ve already finished 3,800 hundred feet of it.”

The next couple hundred are critical to attract more tourists to Crystal River.

“I think the manatees are always going to be the lure but then there’s sometimes what other things can I do and this is another way that they can experience the beauty of the Bay,” Tourist Development Director John Pricher added.

The Riverwalk will give residents and tourists a place to just walk around and take a stroll and enjoy the beautiful scenery. It’ll also give them a chance to enjoy any of the restaurants that are sitting right on the water. Pricher continued to say, “I think it’s got a lot of attributes that we’re looking for to enhance our products,” but everything comes at a cost. 

“Riverwalk, when all said and done, is an 8.6 million dollar project, four million dollars of that is complete,” Frink stated. Of the 4.6 million needed, only 2.2 million is what’s missing, and he said that should come from other entities and the community redevelopment agency to finalize.

He added it cost the taxpayer nothing.

 “The CRA is self-funded, and it’s based on a geographic area which we are within, and the CRA was designed to make projects like this happen,” Frink explained.

They are just waiting on funding and final permit approvals to get this project up and running. When all the funds are collected, they plan to break ground by March 2022.