On the heels of International Downtown Association’s announcement that Downtown Jacksonville is the May 2013 Downtown of the Month, EU Jacksonville released its annual Downtown issue.
The special report highlights recent proposed developments, major event successes such as One Spark, and emerging ideas on Downtown’s future via the JAX2025 initiative. One theme throughout the piece is the importance of community-wide involvement in the revitalization of the River City’s center.
Downtown Vision, Inc. and other urban-core advocates shared the following key points on Downtown involvement:
“You must be present to win. We all have great ideas and good suggestions, and great things will happen from those. But to experience and to be all about it gives you incredible satisfaction.” -Tony Allegretti, Director of Downtown Engagement for JAXChamber
“You’re gonna have people who will get involved Downtown at the One Spark level, but you don’t have to know how to put on a festival to make a difference. It’s as simple as ‘Come Downtown.’” -Katherine Hardwick, DVI Director of Marketing
“A community only gets better when people throughout the community take responsibility for making it happen. When you’re playing this game that’s moving the city forward, there’s nobody sitting on the bench. There’s no one in the bleachers. We’re all suited up, and we’re all on the field.” -Ben Warner, JCCI CEO
“Downtown improvements have always been a part of Mayor Brown’s platform. The general consensus is that Jacksonville needs to have a vibrant, energetic Downtown in order to progress as a city.” -Ted Carter, Office of Economic Development Executive Director
Read the full “State of Downtown” report to learn more about how “Jacksonville’s entire image is slowly and subtly changing.” And make sure to attend this Saturday’s JAX2025 Celebration and Release event at 9 a.m. at EverBank Field’s West Touchdown Club, where a vision report to the community will be released.