Flossie Brunson Eastside Park will once again be consumed by children. The playground was reopened Tuesday at the 7-acre property along Franklin Street.
LIFT Jax, a nonprofit that serves as a conduit between Eastside residents and the broader business community, led the effort to renovate the play space.
The park is named after longtime Eastside resident and community advocate Flossie Brunson. This year’s renovation is believed to be the first since she died in 2003.
Seven-year old Aaliyah looks forward to visiting often. Her mother says that instead of traveling out to Sunshine Park in Jacksonville Beach, the family has something closer to home to enjoy.
“We get to be able to have something like the beach park and the thing over there, it kind of looks like a sailboat," Aaliyah said. "So, I, kind of, pretend that it’s a cruise ship.”
Imaginations will run wild at a park that has swings, jungle gyms, bridges and more. An hour after the celebration was over and the dignitaries disappeared, children from across the Eastside did what so many Jaxons do: determine who rides the swing next.