by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton began last Thursday’s meeting of the Downtown Development Review Board by introducing a plan to refurbish one of Downtown’s icons, Friendship Fountain and the park surrounding it.
Barton pointed out the project epitomizes the philosophy of what he calls the JEDC’s “playbook” for the urban core.
“The Downtown Action Plan mandates better public spaces and we haven’t always done what was needed to ensure world class public spaces,” he said.
When it debuted in 1965, Friendship Fountain was billed as “The Largest Fountain in the World.” Its main features were synchronized water jets, some of which shot water 200 feet into the air. Three pumps controlled the water flow and were programmed to change the look of the fountain every few minutes. At night, multicolored lights illuminated the water plumes. It was a landmark and attraction for residents and visitors alike.
Over the years the fountain fell into disrepair and other than some minor improvements made prior to Super Bowl XXIX the water feature and the park around it have been neglected. Today only one of the three pumps is operational.
Barton said the plan presented will “bring the fountain back to functionality and make Friendship Fountain more relevant to the community with an eye to the future.” He also said, “The original fountain was pretty impressive and we haven’t seen it for a long time.”
Nicholas Mousa, project manager for J.B. Coxwell Planning & Engineering, outlined the plan. He said the fountain will be fully renovated, the lighting system will be updated and the landscape of the park will be improved.
“This project represents a unique opportunity to invite people to the Southbank,” he added.
Mousa described the present park design as “more of a concrete jungle than a park. We think of a park as a green space.” He said much of the concrete will be replaced by sod and the myriad of stairs currently in place will be replaced by “earthen areas.”
Barton said the only elements of the original design, which was by architect Taylor Hardwick, “is a lot of concrete and that’s a deficiency.”
Several of the sabal palms currently in place near the Museum of Science & History will be moved to near the pump house in order to, Mousa said, “Give it a more majestic feel as you enter the park and help disguise the pump house.”
The park’s signature elements will be preserved including the seal and the bust of Ponce de Leon. The flagpoles will be refurbished or replaced. The brick inlay that surrounds the fountain will be maintained but much of the concrete will be replaced by grass and landscaping.
“We’ll take the sea of concrete that acts as an oven in the summer and make it softer and cooler,” commented Mousa.
A new bank of live oak trees will also be installed to provide more shade. Beneath the existing tree canopy what Mousa described as an “amphitheater seating on the west side of the fountain” will be created.
When asked if the seating was an effort to utilize the park for public events, Barton said given the limited scope in funding for the project the idea is to build spectator seating for the fountain and creating a new event venue is not part of the plan.
When questioned about the budget for the project, Mousa quoted the figure of $2.5 million then added, “That’s our best guess but the environment now is very competitive. It could be less depending on the bids.”
Mousa also said the engineering work on the project is more than 50 percent complete and adding more natural ground cover will actually aid the process of obtaining regulatory approval for the design since the amount of impervious surface will be reduced by the improvements.
The board brought up questions about security and lighting. DDRB chair Chris Flagg, who recused himself from voting on the conceptual review because he is the landscape architect for the project, pointed out that the new lights on the fountain will provide quite a bit of ambient light. Mousa said more lighting under the existing and new tree canopies can be provided in the final design. Another element of the final design will be improved access to the park and fountain for water taxi passengers.
The board voted unanimously to approve the conceptual design of the project. The final design could be approved at the January meeting of the DDRB.
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