An elevated casino, walking trails and a string of retail shops are all part of what one planning firm envisions for the Natchez riverfront. Dwight Weatherford, of the Jackson-based architectural and planning consulting firm Weatherford McDade Ltd., presented city officials Tuesday with conceptual plans for the Under-the-Hill district. After a series of meetings with aldermen and city department heads, landscape architects developed a plan that includes 25,000 square feet of recreational and retail space, walking trails, a floating pier and even a replica of a lighthouse that once stood on the bluff near where Cock of the Walk restaurant is now.

Anchoring the plan is an elevated casino, similar to Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi, sighted for the northern tip of land reclaimed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers bluff stabilization project.

Weatherford said an elevated casino has the advantage over floating casinos like Isle of Capri of not being affected by fluctuating water levels. &uot;I’ve basically tried to take what they’ve done at Beau Rivage and tried to apply it here,&uot; he said.

The plan also calls for a riverside gazebo with steps leading into the water. Weatherford said studies show people want a riverfront development that &uot;lets them get their feet in that Mississippi mud.&uot;

Both Weatherford and City Engineer David Gardner said federal recreation funds could be available for such a project because it coincides with construction by the Corps of Engineers.

Though federal funding would require approval at several levels and the support of Congressional delegation, &uot;there is a way to get some of this done,&uot; Weatherford said.

The board of aldermen hired the firm in February 2000 to study the riverfront area prior to initiating negotiations with Chadbourne and Associates, an urban planning firm out of Boston.

City Attorney Walter Brown said he is in final negotiations with Chadbourne and should bring back a finalized contract for the board’s approval at the next business meeting, rescheduled for Feb. 6.

The Chadbourne study will be more in-depth than the Weatherford McDade study and will also include development of the On-Top-of-the-Hill district where city officials hope to lure a hotel to complement the downtown convention center now under construction.