Landscape architect: Jacksonville should remember 'less is more' on Riverfront Plaza

Mayor Donna Deegan has been our city’s leader for less than a year, and yet we already have much to celebrate. Our public downtown realm is finally evolving. Some projects were underway before Mayor Deegan took office, but thankfully, maybe for the first time in decades, we have a mayor with get-it-done energy and read-my-lips intent.

Working with Parks, Recreation and Community Services, Mayor Deegan is advancing the remake of James Weldon Johnson Park, the build-out of Lift Ev’ry Voice & Sing Park, the completion of Artists Walk Skate Park and the restoration of Friendship Fountain at the St. Johns River Park. In addition, Kay Ehas’ leadership at Groundwork Jacksonville, together with Mayor Deegan’s Washington, D.C., lobbying, has positioned the Emerald Trail to rapidly unfold.

Jacksonville’s roughly 80,000-acre park system is often touted as the largest urban park system in the country. However, due to the 1968 consolidation and over half the park system’s acreage contained in the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, it is a misnomer and not a worthy boast.

My 47-year career in project design taught me that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was right when he said, “Less is more” — bigger is not always better. Owning numerous parks can be a burden. It only takes one neglected park to spoil the whole bunch.

Through Mayor Deegan’s sensitivity and concern for our physical welfare, I hope the city will usher in a new approach to our civic open spaces. In this regard, the city has a remarkable opportunity. The small piece of cherished riverfront that is downtown’s outdoor living room has been free of its failed development for over six years.

It remains one of Jacksonville’s most valuable pieces of urban real estate.

This 7-acre site at the foot of Laura Street was christened Riverfront Plaza by the former mayoral administration, who regrettably enacted a resolution requiring new development on multiple building pads to be a major component of the “park.” The responsibility for determining the use of this precious pearl of land went to the Downtown Investment Authority.

Even after a national competition, followed by a design team selection and roughly $2.3 million spent for final, fully approved construction documents, the DIA found ways to push its public/private economic incentive preferences, (both before and after completion of the construction documents).

Major changes to the original Riverfront Plaza design include:

• Moving the playground from riverside to streetside;

• Placing a city funded and owned restaurant on the waterfront;

• Elevating a private mixed-use tower from the design consultant’s recommended 11 stories to a proposed 44 stories;

• Deferring an iconic sculpture feature due to lack of funds;

• Splitting the park down the middle to leave the east half unfunded and deferred to a later date; and

• Presumably spending park monies to relocate a JEA trunk line and storm drain line, which apparently weren’t addressed during the preparation of the official construction documents.

The first urban park in Georgia, Centennial Olympic Park, is four times the size of Riverfront Plaza. Centennial Olympic Park was incredibly complex with soaring goals. The entire site was covered with low-rise warehousing and Lucky Street extended across the middle. Work commenced with demolition, excavation, underground utility construction and the removal of Lucky Street.

The turning point came when the Atlanta-Journal Constitution ran a front page aerial photo (of what looked like acres of exposed red clay) with the headline, “100 Days – Will We Make It?”

Yes — because park construction is not rocket science.

Riverside Plaza has become an overly complicated development scenario requiring many years to complete. The site will feature completed elements, partially completed elements, temporary elements and ongoing construction activities that require cordoned-off, prohibited-access areas — all within a space the size of Riverside’s Memorial Park.

Letters: Poor decisions win every time when it comes to Jacksonville zoning issues

That’s what we will have, after six embarrassing years with nothing but an uneven, poorly drained lawn.

I urge Mayor Deegan, her leadership team, the Parks, Recreation and Community Services staff and the DIA staff and its board to respect the public’s concerns and the advice from Riverfront Parks Now, Scenic Jacksonville, Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, and the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

For clarity and simplicity, build a riverfront park in one fell swoop without a riverside restaurant or a private residential tower. Remember, less is more.

Rick Pariani, landscape architect, Jacksonville

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Mayor Deegan, team should respect public concerns on Riverfront Plaza