JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville is getting ready to unveil the finalized design for the long-anticipated Metropolitan Park revitalization.
On Thursday night, the city hosted an Open House at the Jacksonville Main Library, where leaders and project partners had the opportunity to share how the community’s input has shaped the initiative to revitalize Metropolitan Park.
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At the Open House, city staff and project leaders shared visual renderings, detailed plans and a project schedule.
“Metropolitan Park has always been a public space that brings citizens together,” said Daryl Joseph, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services for the City of Jacksonville. “This is more than a design or a project. It is a collective vision taking shape. Together, we are reimagining Metropolitan Park as a place where families will gather, children will play, and future generations will feel the spirit of a community that dreamed boldly.”
According to the city, the proposed design focuses on a nature-based park experience that supports events of all sizes, taking visitors along a meandering path over the river and through the woods.
The city has been taking a community-based design approach to help come up with the finalized proposal.
“Throughout the process, we’ve heard readily from the community that they’d like to see a park that embraces all the mature trees in the park, that accommodates the big events like Jazz Fest and World of Nations,” Scott Jordan, a developer, said.
People told News4JAX that they agreed.
“I think it’s a good use of space if it’s super walkable,” Emma Carkonda said. “I would live if there was some food and drink options too. So if it’s family-friendly and safe, I think that’s a great option.”
Willie Nesbitt said he thinks it can help the city.
“If you get more traffic downtown, that means more money downtown,” Nesbitt said.
The finalized design is expected to be unveiled this winter.
There’s construction taking place at the incoming Four Seasons next door. With so many projects going on like the Riverfront Plaza where the Jacksonville Landing used to be. This project has been going on for a while and progress has really been made. You can see the building, plus the walkways.
Residents like Emma Varkonda are excited to see where things go from here.
“We moved here because we like walkable urban spaces, and so for us, we’ve been really excited about revitalizing downtown, because we’d rather not drive to the beaches or town center. We want like, things happening here. So, it’s really exciting the like idea of riding the bike right down the river and not having to get in the car. So, I think it’s going to bring a lot more to our city,” Varkonda said.
Construction on Metropolitan Park is expected to take up to 18 months.