by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The proposed improvements for Metropolitan Park got the green light Thursday from the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Downtown Development Review Board but a project directly across Gator Bowl Boulevard from the park was met with objections and will be reviewed again next month following modifications.
JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton presented the Metropolitan Park plan and pointed out the elements came out of the Pedestrian and Open Space Committee that studied how to make Downtown more user-friendly in terms of the pedestrian experience and the role parks play in attracting people Downtown.
Following that process, planners went to work and a charrette was conducted to provide the public’s input about changes they would like to see made at the waterfront park.
“The charrette was a way for the public to identify a number of weaknesses also identified by planners, designers and the committee,” said Barton.
He then presented a comprehensive plan intended to accomplish several goals including connecting the park to the river and improving its use for several activities at the same time. Barton said the current layout leaves a lot to be desired.
“It defies imagination that you’re in a 32-acre park. It’s just there, it’s not connected to anything,” he said. “Every great waterfront city has iconic waterfront parks. Our parks are the front yard to our community.”
Improving Metro Park can also have an economic impact, providing a facility that will draw people to the area for recreation and entertainment. Adjacent to the Sports Complex’s Municipal Stadium, Baseball Grounds and Arena, Metro Park has the potential to complement activities at those facilities and also stand on its own as a venue.
“The park should be a destination-driver. (In terms of bringing people Downtown) great parks are just as effective as stadiums and arenas,” said Barton.
He then outlined the plan to reconfigure the area west of the existing performance lawn including Kids Kampus. A new entry plaza is proposed that would provide a view of the river. The area would also include ticket booths for concerts, restrooms and offices. The green space in the park also would be enhanced.
“We want to put the park back in the park and make Metropolitan Park a 365-day-a-year destination,” said Barton.
HDR Principal Steve Stewart said the new Metro Park will be divided into five areas: the entry plaza with an open lawn and children’s play area to the west, the performance lawn to the east and the Riverwalk.
Of the entry plaza, he said the design “will create the sense of arriving at a great waterfront park” with landscaping that will complement the area but “Our purpose is not to duplicate the Cummer Gardens.” Plans also include shade trees and water features.
“We want it to be a place people would like to take their lunch,” added Barton.
The existing Kids Kampus will be transformed into a more family-friendly area adjacent to the open space that will feature more shade trees and picnic tables. The Fire Museum will also be an integral part of the children’s play area because as Barton pointed out, “I can’t think of anything that excites kids more than a firehouse.”
Barton also discussed the relationship between Metro Park and the WJCT Studios building near the band shell. He said while any major change on that front is far into the future, the University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville have both expressed interest in having Jacksonville’s Public Broadcasting television and radio operation on their campuses. That, said Barton, could allow for expanding entertainment support facilities at the park.
Barton stressed that any use of WJCT’s building is part of the long-range plan but the proposed park design “takes the future into account.”
He also said $18 million of the $25 million is already funded and as for the timeline of the proposed project, “In a perfect world demolition would start by the end of the year, construction would begin in January and the park would be completed in June.”
The conceptual design for improving Metropolitan Park was approved unanimously.
The board members also heard a request from the City’s Public Works Department to construct a sidewalk along the north side of Gator Bowl Boulevard from A. Philip Randolph Boulevard to East Adams Street. The City was also seeking a deviation from Downtown streetscape standards for the project.
The proposal was for the installation of a standard concrete sidewalk which would not match the appearance of other pedestrian walkways Downtown. Design criteria require decorative elements to be part of sidewalks such as the paver bricks used in other Downtown pedestrian spaces. The City was also asking for conceptual and final approval of the project at Thursday’s meeting in order to have the sidewalk installed before the Oct. 31 Florida-Georgia game.
Several board members objected to the design deviation request as well as the accelerated schedule for the installation.
“We’re going to look at this for the next 50 years. It’s not for a bunch of college kids,” said DDRB member Roland Udenze, an architect at The Haskell Company.
DDRB chair and landscape architect Chris Flagg also questioned the appropriateness of installing a sidewalk similar to those found in suburban areas.
“We have an aesthetic limit and we have to hold to that standard. Give us something other than a slab of concrete,” he said.
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