Jeffersonville: riverfront redevelopment and historic districts.

• Author: Mayer, Kathy
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT: SOUTH - City overview

THE BEST WAY TO SAMPLE the flavor of life in Jeffersonville is to take a walk around town, sit a while on the riverbank greenway watching the Ohio River and then dine downtown, says Mayor Tom Galligan.

"The restaurants have a great view of the river and Louisville skyline, and it's a nice place to be," he says. "We have a great riverfront and a great Main Street, and it's those amenities that make the place."

Enjoyable living is just the beginning of the story at the seat of Clark County, he says. With a shipbuilding legacy that goes back to 1819 and continues today, Jeffersonville has a rich history and a vibrant economy. And the community is seizing the day with a can-do spirit, continued revitalization and even growth.

"People like getting things done here," says Galligan, noting the riverfront redevelopment, refurbishing of youth baseball fields and a floating barge stage on the river that provides entertainment and other community projects.

Riverfront projects and numerous park renovations complete, Jeffersonville is on to the next one: a 150-acre to 200-acre park, not yet named. "We want to open it sometime next year," the mayor says. Another possibility he's eyeing: a city-owned basketball facility.

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Jeffersonville is in the midst of growth. A multiphase annexation will ultimately add about 4,500 residents, boosting the city's population to 38,000. When completed, that will give Jeffersonville more than a third of Clark County's total population and increase its size from 13.6 square miles to 25.8 square miles.

Industry and transportation. Jeffersonville is served by three interstate highways--1-65, 1-64 and 1-71, and, perhaps even more important, the Ohio River.

The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville, an intermodal transportation gateway, opened in 1985 on the river's northern bank, bringing even more opportunity.

Covering 1,000 acres and housing 26 tenants, the port provides year-round ocean access via the Inland Waterway System to the Gulf of Mexico. Commodities and cargo ship to and from the port; they include agricultural products, plastics, paper, iron and steel.

Jeffersonville is also home to American Commercial Lines, dubbed "Jeffboat," which employs more than 1,600 making and repairing towboats and barges. The company recently completed a $17.5 million expansion begun in July 2006.

Other companies that are expanding, reports Matt Hall, vice president for One Southern Indiana, include Connextions Inc., a...