• Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton presented a report Wednesday on the progress made in the three years since the “Downtown Action Plan” was initiated. He said at the JEDC meeting that improvement has been severely hindered by lack of funding from both the City and private developers. He said it’s time to take “six or eight months” to discuss and re-evaluate the 19 points of the plan to determine if any should be removed and if others should be incorporated. He also said it’s prudent to continue to focus on “horizontal” projects like parks and Riverwalk and streetscape improvements and less on “vertical development.”
