The site is at the 1,800-acre Oxbow Meadows, a formerlandfill-turned environmental-recreational-center, about 12 milesdown-river from city center and adjacent to Fort Benning, USMilitary Reservation and home of the US Army Infantry School andCenter.

Besides the 137-acre marina tract, another 30 upland acres areavailable for a retail, commercial or public-use project, saysSteve Dockter, chief of transportation for Columbus and head of themarina project. The project also comprises a 200-unit dry stackstorage facility, boat ramp, fishing pier and related marineservices.

. The developer would lease the city land, finance, build andoperate the facility. Bids are due in November. Construction couldbegin by next spring. The city assembled the land for the projectover the last six years at a cost of $1.5 million, Dockter tellsGlobeSt.com.