The city of Jacksonville marked the ceremonial opening of a redesigned section of Park Street in Downtown Jacksonville on July 21 in what City Council member Jimmy Peluso called a green light for property development on the corridor.
Mayor Donna Deegan and other city and community leaders gathered for a mid-morning ribbon-cutting for the $10.9 million project, which slimmed the roadway between Forest and Stonewall streets while adding larger sidewalks, more shade trees and traffic-calming devices such as roundabouts.
The north end connects to the LaVilla Link of the Emerald Trail, which if fully built would create more than 30 miles of public trails in the center of Duval County. The south end offers a connection to Riverside and the Five Points district, as well as the Artist Walk skate park.
In reducing vehicle traffic lanes from four to two, the city described the project as a “road diet.”
“We know we had developers, including Block Nine and a few others, who said, ‘We’re going to wait until this road diet gets completed,’” Peluso said.
“Now that it has, we’re going to get some incredible housing projects right here. We’re going to see more vibrancy, we’re going to see more people walking and biking down this street and using the Emerald Trail. This is what makes a Downtown vibrant and exciting.”
In April 2023, Trevato Development Group obtained conceptual approval from the Downtown Development Review Board for its $100 million Block Nine mixed-use development at 114 Park St., 145 Chelsea St., and 1015, 1017 and 1025 Jackson St.
Trevato’s plans included a seven-story building with 293 multifamily units, 7,000 square feet of retail space and 5,000 square feet of co-working space. There is restaurant space with indoor and outdoor seating.
Peluso, whose District 7 includes the reworked stretch of Park Street, said that although the infrastructure project “sounds boring, because it’s just a road,” it would be “a conduit to so much more.”
Deegan said the project turned a “car-dominated corridor” into a “safer, more vibrant and more accessible public space.
“It’s a dream for bikers and walkers, it’s good for business, it’s adding shade and it’s linking to the Emerald Trail,” she said.
“The street now invites families to stroll, kids to ride bikes, businesses to thrive and has the added benefit of keeping everybody safer.”
Peluso said the project was one of several designed to make Downtown more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.
“This can be a walkable and bikeable city,” he said. “It can be. And it will be, if we keep our foot on the gas.”
Among those taking part were Lori Boyer, former CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority, Nina Sickler, city director of public works, and Kay Ehas, CEO of Groundwork Jacksonville, the city’s nonprofit partner in developing the Emerald Trail.
A group of about 30 cyclists also attended.
