Want a chance to make your mark on Jacksonville?
PlacemakingJax has an opportunity for you to do just that! They recently opened applications to the public, offering grants for creative projects that will transform underutilized Downtown spaces. Projects can be pop-up activations or larger-scale renovations of public spaces into celebrated community places.
I’ve personally been involved in multiple placemaking projects and I can tell you from experience that while they are a lot of hard work each project was extremely gratifying and filled my soul with a sense of purpose. I also got to meet a lot of great people in the process who shared my vision and helped me work towards a better city.
With the Riverside Arts Market, we partnered with the City of Jacksonville to transform a vacant parking lot under the Fuller Warren Bridge into a vibrant and active Saturday market that has operated now for over 10 years! It wasn’t an easy process and took a lot of negotiation, multiple partnerships, and a ton of volunteers to make it happen. But now that vacant lot is a true Jacksonville destination!
With the Riverside Community Garden, I worked with a group of volunteers to build a beautiful garden with fresh herbs, roses and seating for the public to enjoy in a public park space that was no longer serving its original purpose. We held a design contest, had the community vote on their favorite design, and then recruited volunteers every weekend for months to construct a placemaking staple for our community.
And in Riverside Park under the bridge, we helped transform an old retention pond into a fun place for dogs to play and dog owners to gather. We raised funds, partnered with the City, and worked with a local company to construct The John Gorrie Dog Park, which is free and open to the public.
I still look back on these projects with pride because they permanently improved the place where I live, work, and play. You can make your mark on Jacksonville, too, with the help of a Placemaking Grant. The butterfly effect of placemaking projects can have a tremendous effect on our city.
PlacemakingJax is facilitated by Downtown Vision, which is hoping to increase vibrancy in downtown places where people can gather, like sidewalks, alleyways, vacant storefronts, public parks, parking lots, rooftops, streets, pool decks and the riverfront.
You can find out more information about placemaking and obtain access to the application at the PlacemakingJax Website. Or you can gather your ideas and head to one of their informational meetings. The next one is on November 15, 5:00-7:00 at Super Food & Brew, 11 E Forsyth Street.
