by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
This is another in a series on area executives and political and community leaders who have played prominent roles in the development of Downtown or Jacksonville as a whole over the years. Some are still in the area, working or retired or a bit of both. Some have moved away and are working in other areas of the state or country. The series continues with Al Battle.
What he did: Managing Director, Downtown Development Authority 2003-2005
What he’s doing now: Director, Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency
Same job, different locale.
That sums up Al Battle’s career since he left Jacksonville in Feb. 2005 to head for South Florida.
“What I do with the Community Redevelopment Agency is very similar to what I did in Jacksonville,” he said. “Of course, now I’m in a much larger metro area and South Florida is much denser than Jacksonville. Down here there is a natural boundary line on the west at the Everglades’ protected wetlands and that has made for some interesting urban development.”
During his tenure at the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Battle worked on some projects that have become Downtown’s signature developments and he got some things started that will one day assume the same stature.
“Some of the projects I worked on never got to the finish line, but I’m very proud of what we were able to get done to renovate the American Heritage Life Building (now 11 E. Forsyth) and the old Roosevelt Hotel (now The Carling),” said Battle.
Other DDA projects that were launched on Battle’s watch were the development of the Cathedral District, the rethinking of Brooklyn along Riverside Ave. and the revival of LaVilla in anticipation of the new County Courthouse.
Battle also worked to establish Downtown’s Business Improvement District (BID) that has become the prime urban project for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, which developed out of the DDA, as well as the focus for Downtown Vision, Inc. He also made his mark on the original Downtown Master Plan and the zoning overlay for the area.
“We did a lot of stuff that made a lot of sense,” said Battle.
When he announced his departure from the DDA late in 2004, Battle said, “There were definitely a lot of factors going through my head.” He also pointed out it was a difficult decision to leave Jacksonville, “But this is a great opportunity for me.”
One thing he said discovered when he moved to Fort Lauderdale is, “Urban development is very similar. There is decay here just like everywhere else, but the housing market is very different. We have a lot more vertical development. In Jacksonville, people want to live out on an acre lot and down here, people want to walk out on their balcony and look down at the beach.”
Battle also said the move has been a good one not only for his career, but for his family as well. He and his wife and three children ages 13, eight and three, have embraced the South Florida lifestyle and the culture.
“The climate is nice here. There really are two seasons,” he said.
“And it’s a more international culture in terms of heritage, culture and even religion. My kids have friends whose parents moved here from South America and Europe. Even my staff is multinational. We have people from Poland, the Bahamas and Jamaica and a young lady who moved here from Iran.”
Battle was born, grew up and educated in Jacksonville and said it will always seem like home.
“Working to make Jacksonville a better place was one of the greatest professional experiences of my life. It’s also very satisfying that every time I go back, I can see things that I helped make happen,” he said.
356-2466