Tony Allegretti came to Jacksonville in 1996 after accepting a position with a local software company. Ten years later, the 34-year-old makes a living making downtown Jacksonville the place to live, work and be entertained.
“This is a really exciting time for downtown Jacksonville,” said Allegretti, who’s also co-owner of The Burrito Gallery on Adams Street. “There’s a lot of positive energy here and I love being a part of that.”
Credit Allegretti with starting the First Wednesday Art Walk with Downtown Vision, Inc., bringing new housing to Springfield with Venture Resources and, most recently, spearheading the City’s “Take Me to the River” campaign, a summer-long initiative designed to bring people downtown every weekend.
“It’s beyond our expectations,” he said of the river-themed weekend parties, “and that’s saying something. Because it’s been successful we have the opportunity to help it grow even more, evolve into something even better.”
It was tough working on a Workspace profile for Allegretti, not because he isn’t interesting but because he has more than one office. In fact, he basically has three.
“I actually have one at City Hall on the mezzanine floor,” Allegretti said. “I also occasionally work out of DVI’s offices.”
We talked to Allegretti at his Burrito Gallery upstairs office. It’s there that the idea man spends a great deal of time looking at property and talking with downtown stakeholders.
It’s clean, bright and, of course, has an eclectic look that’s suitable for most creative minds.
“But I’m actually looking at opening a new office with my mom,” he said. “I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s going to be on Bay Street.”
-J. Brooks Terry