Christopher Flagg, landscape architect and owner of Flagg Design Studio, LLC, says he’s tired of hearing about Downtown’s potential.
“If you’re going to complain, you may as well do something about it,” Flagg says.
So, that’s just what Flagg currently is doing and has been doing since moving to Jacksonville in 1984.
Upon his arrival in Jacksonville, Flagg began working for William Morgan Architects. He worked on many projects around the City and although he was only involved in a few small-scale projects Downtown, he had strong interests in the area.
“I was always looking over my shoulder at the Downtown area,” Flagg says. “When you’re dealing with planning, a Downtown is where you want to be. It’s the heart and soul of a city, so I wanted to be as active as possible in it.”
Eventually Flagg did just that and immersed himself in the community.
Flagg is on the executive board of Downtown Vision Inc. as well as JaxPride. He also serves on Mayor John Peyton’s “Green Committee” and is the chair of the Downtown Development Review Board.
“Some people say Downtown has become a little stagnant,” he says. “I want to stir it up.”
Flagg says there are areas of Downtown that bother him because of the potential being ignored. He names the North and South banks as two areas with limitless potential.
“There’s an opportunity there to create two urban cores,” he says.
He also points out Bay and Laura streets.
Flagg feels the connectivity factor between the two could do some good for the Downtown community.
One way he is currently “stirring it up” is by working on Friendship Park.
The project started off as a larger vision but after Peyton’s request to downsize, the project has been amended. But Flagg says the important elements are still there.
“There are so many possibilities to soften the area,” he says. “We’re working on eliminating the hardscapes like a lot of the concrete and sidewalks and creating planting areas to make it a pleasurable space for people to enjoy. It’s one of the greatest urban green space opportunities we have and it could be just as important to the vitality of Downtown as The Landing.”
The “Laura Street Project” is something else Flagg is heavily involved in. He was hired on as, what he calls, “the concept guy.”
“There’s going to be landscaping, streetscaping, lighting, new materials and colors,” he says.
Flagg estimates the project will be finished by the end of 2010 and that it’ll become a centerpoint for Downtown once completed.
“I’m already involved in so much, but there’s still so much more to do,” he says. “I always think about how nice it would be to live some place where everything is already done. But then I’d have nothing to do.”
But Flagg knows how to handle his frustrations when they come up.
“They make me active, I want to help fix it.”