The Jacksonville City Council is handing over financial control over Downtown development to the Downtown Investment Authority. A host of proposed projects and a first-year budget of $2.5 million were approved at last night’s Council meeting.
Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace says immediate priorities include making the Southbank’s Riverplace Boulevard more pedestrian friendly.
“Not only on the Southbank but equally as well on the Northbank, we want to begin to look at one-way street conversions to two-way streets. We need to begin to take a look at the lighting, making Downtown much more aesthetically appealing in this first year," he said.
Wallace says he’s also working to bring free wireless Internet to areas like Hemming Park—ideally in time for April’s One Spark festival. And he also has a budget of more than $400,000 for new public art.
