People look at the final Metropolitan Park proposal during a town hall meeting Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2024. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on December 18, 2024 at 7:02 pm
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The final version of the proposed redesign of Downtown’s Metropolitan Park still has a lot of trees, a hallmark of the iconic riverfront venue.
The redesign also has an updated version of the big central lawn where the Jacksonville Jazz Festival hosted hundreds of fans in the past. Its height would be raised a few feet for better drainage and protection from flooding.
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The final proposal also adds food truck areas, a second and smaller concert stage, playgrounds and a community dock. There’s shaded parking along Gator Bowl Boulevard, plus a picnic area under trees along its western hill.
The design, revealed at a town hall meeting Wednesday, was created after dozens of people commented about three possible redesigns of the tree-shaded riverfront park during a town hall meeting in June.
The final proposal combines the best-loved parts of the three concepts based on what people said they wanted, said Scott Jordan, project design team leader for Civitas of Denver, the architectural firm that did the design.
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“We tried to combine the best features of each,” Jordan said. “What we heard from the community was they wanted it to be natural; they wanted lots of places to kind of gather and hang out; and obviously events are a big part of what Met Park has always been to the community, and wanted it to keep it that way. I think this plan really pulls all of those ideas together.”
Randy Wyse gazed at displays of the redesign during the town hall meeting Wednesday. He said he likes how it has space to hold all kinds of events and remains natural.
“The ability to have events back there like we had many years ago is fantastic. I hope it moves fast,” said Wyse, head of the city police and firefighter’s insurance trust. “In the middle of a soon-to-be bustling area with the stadium and the Four Seasons hotel and all the things being developed down there, I think it will be a great oasis area that people can enjoy.”
Tracy Arpen, past president of Greenscape of Jacksonville, was there when the park’s trees were planted decades ago. She thought the proposed redesign is an improvement over initial plans.
“I am glad they are saving a lot more trees than they initially proposed,” said Arpen, who has followed the park design through previous town hall meetings. “But I do have a concern about what the effect of putting 2 feet of fill in to raise the height of the performance area will do to the existing trees. And I am concerned that the boardwalk is fairly narrow, and they show it with no railing.”
Metropolitan Park history
The park space was built in the 1980s as a festival and concert venue. It sits adjacent to the Four Seasons hotel under construction on Gator Bowl Boulevard, but it’s been under-used in recent years.
The Jazz Festival moved to the park in 1982 and remained through 2008, when it moved to other venues. The festival returned to Metropolitan Park this year, and the park has recently been home to music festivals and other events, even though the stage was removed in 2016.
A park revitalization team was formed to begin the redesign, and a town hall meeting was held in April so people could make initial suggestions.
Three conceptual designs were drawn up from comments made in April and were shown at a town hall meeting in June. All showed grassy areas for events, lots of shade, nature walks and play areas.
The final design proposal has a wide crosswalk across Gator Bowl Boulevard to get to EverBank Stadium’s Lot J.
The redesign would result in only eight trees being removed, with 64 large ones remaining and 14 others relocated.
“That was one thing we heard loud and clear — the beautiful part of Met Park is that it is a well-wooded and forested park, and they want to keep that,” Jordan said. “And we are adding another couple hundred trees to the bigger park experience.”
Riverfront development
Lori Boyer, head of the Downtown Investment Authority, was among those who looked at the final proposal. She described the Four Seasons, the office building next door and an improved Metropolitan Park as part of a plan to develop the riverfront for business and relaxation.
“You have this oasis, then you have development,” Boyer said. “It helps those private developments to succeed, and the public investments in the stadium and other things are embellished by having this kind of park space next to them.”
It could take about 12 months for Jordan’s team to come up with a detailed engineering and landscape design for city review, he said. Then it would be up to the city to approve and bid it out for construction.
No date has been set for that yet, but the city’s capital improvement plan includes more than $13 million for the redesign, which would “fit within the budget,” Jordan said.
