{"id":221486,"date":"2025-09-12T18:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T18:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221486\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T18:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T18:02:14","slug":"metro-park-redesign-could-be-approved-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/221486\/","title":{"rendered":"Metro Park redesign could be approved next year"},"content":{"rendered":"

The redesign of Metropolitan Park<\/a> in Downtown Jacksonville is nearing completion, and the project could be close to construction next year.<\/p>\n

The most recent design was shared with the public during a town hall meeting Thursday. Residents gazed at depictions of segments like the Performance Lawn, River Edge walkway, Riverwalk and Hillside Play area.<\/p>\n

Designers and city officials asked people to make a final suggestion or two before the final engineering is done. City Council could consider approval in just over a year.<\/p>\n

The most recent design was winnowed down from comments made at previous gatherings<\/a> over the past year. People at the town hall this week were asked to suggest what parts of the 15-acre revamp should be built first.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s capital improvement plan includes more than $13 million for the redesign, and the city must prioritize what gets done first, said Recreation Department chief Daryl Joseph.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are other things that need to be brought up, today is the opportunity to do so,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom a priority standpoint, if we had to scale anything back, or of the elements we are building, which ones are the most important to you as an individual?\u201d<\/p>\n

The possibility of scaling back the redesign into phases \u201cis a shame,\u201d retired city General Counsel Tracey Arpen said as he checked out the final designs Thursday. He was there when the park opened in 1982 and made suggestions of what to include in the most recent design.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am concerned that we will get some in, then they will say, \u2018We have other priorities,’\u201d Arpen said. \u201cJust do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The final design of the revitalized Metropolitan Park was shown at a town hall meeting Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n

Metro Park history<\/p>\n

Metropolitan Park was built as a festival and concert venue and became home to the Jazz Festival for many years, as well as outdoor concerts and festivals.<\/p>\n

Its concrete stage was removed in 2016, although events are still held at the site. But the park has been underutilized for years.<\/p>\n

New construction is rising all around the park, including the Four Seasons hotel on its western border, a new fire station to the east, and the EverBank Stadium renovation across Gator Bowl Boulevard.<\/p>\n

A park revitalization team was formed in 2024 to begin the redesign<\/a>, and town hall meetings were held so people could make suggestions.<\/p>\n

The Civitas architectural firm of of Denver developed the latest design after people commented about three possible redesigns<\/a> during a town hall meeting in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for the community to come back and see the improvements and see the work that has been done since the last community feedback session,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWe are actually showing where we are with the layout and concept plan before we go into design phase, so if there are any major things that stand out that you have seen over the last several months since we have gone to the community, now is another opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final proposal shows grassy areas for events, lots of shade, nature walks and play areas. Most of the existing tree cover would remain, with 300 new trees to be planted.<\/p>\n

\"\"The proposed Performance Lawn would fill the center of the redesigned park. It would be designed for events as well as picnics and family gatherings. | City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

The redesign has an updated version of the big central lawn where the Jazz Festival hosted hundreds of fans in the past. Its height would be raised a few feet for better drainage and protection from flooding, and flattened so people can picnic or play on it, Joseph said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important to make sure that we kept the shade canopy of the park, even add to that canopy, which we are able to do,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we did have a big open space available for performances, festivals \u2014 that is one of things that as we continue to build out Downtown, we wanted to make sure we had space for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new entrance is further west, with a wide crosswalk across Gator Bowl Boulevard to get to EverBank Stadium\u2019s Lot J.<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s play areas, including a fountain, are included in the design. So is a second, smaller concert stage, plus a picnic area under trees along the park\u2019s western hill. And part of the new riverfront design includes wetlands that help absorb floodwaters.<\/p>\n

\"\"Along with new riverfront walksways and an elevated viewing platform, the Metropolitan Park redesign also includes pond and wetlands areas to buffer against flooding. | City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

One of the dozens of people who attended Thursday\u2019s meeting was Rachel Harris, who co-founded a social media agency for restaurants and hotels. She likes the amount of trees preserved in the proposal and other features in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a huge advocate of water and things for our kids to do,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt covers my basics, honestly, from the things that I am looking for from a park. It is walkable; there\u2019s ample shade; there\u2019s activities for children; and it is also a multipurpose space that we can flip for events and such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arpen, who has lobbied for tree preservation across the city in recent years, said he is \u201creally pleased\u201d with the way the proposed redesign has evolved over past meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a long way from where it started off from the designs, they are saving so many trees,\u201d Arpen said. \u201cI wish the riverwalk was more than 16 feet wide, with all that space, but it is what it is. \u2026 I especially like the walkways going through the marshlands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The 15-acre park redesign as proposed, ready for final engineering. | City of Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Visitors also were asked to pick a new home for a 22-foot-tall concrete alligator statue that has been part of the park for decades after it was donated to the city in the 1980s. The gator is currently planted at the far west side of the park, and visitors were asked to put small green alligators on the map to designate where the real thing should go.<\/p>\n

Next step is to complete the concept design and engineering. Funding for construction of the first phase is expected to be approved in October 2026, Roberts said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The redesign of Metropolitan Park in Downtown Jacksonville is nearing completion, and the project could be close to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":221487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-221486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115192643363775752","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}