by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Every three months, Downtown Vision Inc. hosts an open meeting to give anyone with an interest in Downtown the opportunity to hear project updates and offer input about how to make the urban core a better place to live, work and play.
Tuesday morning, DVI staff, business owners, property managers, residents and representatives from City departments filled a meeting room at the Main Library’s Conference Center for the quarterly gathering.
Karen Nasrallah, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission redevelopment manager, provided an update about several projects. She said that in two weeks, the Laura Street project will be finished from the Landing to Bay Street. Work then will begin on the east side of the block from Bay to Forsyth Street. Each side of the street from Bay to Monroe Street will require 2-3 weeks of construction time and Nasrallah projected that the entire project will be complete in February.
Nasrallah also said the Hallmark Properties development at 200 Riverside Ave. is about to move ahead. The City has come to an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation on infrastructure improvements for the 45-acre site.
Nasrallah said construction of a retention pond should begin in a few weeks, paving the way for Hallmark to break ground on an office building and hotel development that is expected to be under construction by January.
When that part of the project is 50 percent complete, the City will begin work on a public park on the site that will include an outdoor amphitheater.
“It’s exciting for Downtown and it’s just around the corner,” said Nasrallah.
She also reported that work on the $3.2 million Friendship Park renovation will start next month and is scheduled to be completed by June. The design includes the restoration of the Southbank’s signature lighted fountain and replacement of a lot of concrete with green space.
“It’s going to be a place where you’ll really want to throw a Frisbee,” said Nasrallah.
DVI Director of District Services Amy Harrell said the transition of the Ambassadors program to Service Group Inc. has proven to be a success since the private contractor assumed responsibility of the operation on February. There are more bicycle and Segway patrols and the new cleaning equipment has made a substantial positive impact on the streetscape, she said.
Harrell said almost 100 blocks, or about half of the sidewalks on the Northbank, have been pressure washed and SGI has collected more than 12.5 tons of litter in the past five months.
The weekend of the first Jaguars preseason game (vs. the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 21) will showcase Downtown through several events. The Landing will host the Little River Band in the courtyard the night before the game and DVI’s final Friday night party in “The Core,” a collection of entertainment venues on Bay Street and in the Florida Theatre district, is also that night. It’s also the final weekend for “Eat Up Downtown,” DVI’s annual dining promotion.
“We want visitors and residents to feel like there’s something going on the night before a Jaguars game. Downtown should be the backyard for the Jaguars,” said Pamela Elms, DVI director of marketing.
Bonnie Arnold, vice president of the Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, reported that the group will repaint the paw prints along Bay Street at 8 a.m. Aug. 21. The council began the tradition years ago, painting a path from the foot of the Main Street Bridge on Ocean Street to the stadium.
Arnold said Jaguars mascot Jaxson de Ville will be a special guest this year, the process will take about two hours and there will be an afterparty in the parking lot at Bay and Newnan streets. Volunteers are welcome. For details, call Arnold at 346-3300.
The next DVI public operations meeting will be 9:30 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Main Library Conference Center, Room G4. To join DVI’s mailing list, call 634-0303, ext. 224 or e-mail [email protected].
356-2466