by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Despite good intentions and City support, work on a $230,000 landscape project on the Southbank won’t start until well after it was supposed to be finished.
Downtown Vision, Inc. and Greenscape began advocating the planting project last year.
Designed by Euthenics Studio, large palms and ground cover will be planted and an irrigation system installed from the St Johns River to Prudential Drive.
“Originally we wanted to be done in time for the Super Bowl,” said DVI executive director Terry Lorince. “But based on the time we have left, it just isn’t possible.”
Instead, said Lorince, a March or April starting date is more
likely.
“A lot of it has to do with the (Main Street) bridge work taking place right now,” she said. “They’re using the land we need as a staging area so we really can’t move forward because there’s no place for us.”
The Florida Department of Transportation has been repainting and repairing the bridge for over a year. A separate bridge lighting project started five months ago.
Lorince hoped the landscaping could progress in tandem, however delays in those projects and in securing City grants made it clear the project would have to wait.
“Things are just taking a little longer than we thought they would,” she said. “In the end we figured it would just be better to hold off for a little while so that we wouldn’t be rushed.”
City Council member Suzanne Jenkins, who sponsored legislation to appropriate money from the Tree Protection Trust Fund, said she was surprised to hear about the delay.
“I had not heard that,” she said, “but that’s disappointing. We passed that bill so that we could be ready for the Super Bowl. It would have been nice if we could spruce that piece of land up a bit for all of the visitors we have coming.”
She said as long as the project is completed, she’ll be satisfied.
“I’m sure it will happen so it’s not a complete loss,” said Jenkins. “Besides, I do think it’s more important for the people who live here to be able to enjoy it more than anyone else. Our residents are here all the time.”