by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
When the idea for a new public park was presented last January at a meeting of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Downtown Pedestrian, Open Space & the River Task Force, it marked the beginning of what may be a way for the city to maintain its distinction for having more parks than any other municipality in the United States.
For years, creating new parks and maintaining them has been a line item in the City’s budget. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you understand that’s one of the things that is about to change thanks to the loss of property tax revenue about to be implemented by the State.
January’s presentation was the result of nine months of work by a group including CB Richard Ellis First Vice President Oliver Barakat, attorney Jennifer Mansfield, architect John Allmand and Kay Ehas, a City employee.
They were part of a JCCI Forward group that studied Downtown’s design standards. During the three-month project, they discovered they had a common interest in a way to enhance the streetscape and quality of life.
“We concluded Downtown needs more great public spaces and felt another one is due,” said Barakat.
The group began meeting after their day jobs in a conference room at Holland & Knight where Mansfield works.
“As it turned out, a place that would be perfect for a park was right under our noses,” she said.
The conference room overlooked the small stretch of Hogan Street south of Water Street between the Landing and the T-U Center. The couple of hundred of feet of asphalt isn’t used for much other than turning around if you’re lost or a place to plant a dumpster.
The group felt the space would be a great place for a park and a chance to create a public-private partnership. They are proposing that if the City would donate the land, the private sector could donate the money to design and build the park.
Ehas pointed out, “All great cities have parks that were built as public-private partnerships.”
The site is unique in that it is bordered by a shopping center, a live entertainment venue, the Northbank Riverwalk and a high-density commercial area.
“We have a lot of great assets Downtown, but they’re not connected. We decided if we were going to propose a space, it needs to connect other spaces,” said Barakat. “This location is attractive because of its proximity to the Landing and the T-U Center. It’s also within walking distance of several office buildings and the surrounding property owners support the idea.”
“The site is already used as a park for special events, but it’s not doing much as a street and we wanted to pick a project that could be a model for public-private partnerships,” commented Allmand.
“It also needs to be a model for good design,” said Ehas. “The key is to design a space that attracts activity.”
Public Space Jacksonville has enlisted the assistance of Greenscape, the not-for-profit organization founded in 1975 by people who desire to improve the local landscape. They began by planting 250 trees along Downtown’s sidewalks and in the past 22 years the group has planted more than 150,000 all over the county.
Anna Dooley, Greenscape executive director, said she thinks Public Spaces Jacksonville’s proposal is right in target. After all, what’s a park without some trees?
“The people behind the Hogan Street park project share this organization’s goal – to enrich the community by planting, protecting and promoting trees,” she said.
Dooley also said she supports the location of the proposed park between a shopping area and an entertainment center.
“There are several benefits associated with areas where people can congregate that have shade trees. It creates a sense of humanity and opens up communication among people. Studies have shown parks and shopping go together. People will actually spend more money in a shopping center that is adjacent to a park,” said Dooley.
Barakat said the next step is to find out if the proposal is part of the final recommendations that will be derived from the work done by the JEDC’s Downtown Task Forces.
“We’re confident the project will be included,” he said.