Experience the Magic of Revitalzing Metropolitan Park Parks: A Photo Journey
Inspired by the Gullah Geechee tradition of basket weaving, the proposed design pays homage to the many descendants residing in the Out East neighborhood. It weaves together geometries and spaces to unify the fragmented park, expand programs, host events, and create welcoming places for all.
As part of Met Park’s naturalization, the design introduces storm surge protection to create a resilient “Living Edge” along the St. Johns River. By keeping the bulkhead and adding a 100-foot naturalized buffer, it provides 3 feet of added protection and a landscape of boardwalks, elevated walks, seating, and a community dock.
Tailgate Plaza offers both large flexible spaces and intimate garden moments. Visitors can cool off in the fountains, climb the play hill, watch an evening movie on the lawn, or join game-day celebrations with music and food trucks. It’s a lively intersection where many uses and experiences come together.
The Ramble is about the exploration of Jacksonville’s wild landscapes and the celebration of mighty live oak. Informal spaces and features create rooms around existing mature live oaks being preserved in the park redesign and a series of informal paths, logs, and boards to explore the landscape.
The Performance Lawn transforms the existing events lawn into a pure ellipse. Its careful placement and design give it more visibility from Bay Street and more flexibility to host large concerts and a variety of sporting events. The lawn is carved into the existing landform while preserving existing mature live oaks that define the parks character today.
Inspired by the existing two-story community pavilion in Metropolitan Park, The Canopy Walk creates a universally accessible walk through the treetops that culminates with viewing platform high above the resilient Living Edge landscape and features unlimited views up and down the St. John’s River. Canopies along the walk provide shade and frame views. A great place to watch the sunset or sunrise.
Project Schedule
Through an 8-month community based conceptual design process the community will have multiple opportunities to engage with the Design Team to create a shared future vision for Metropolitan Park. The engagement process includes a variety of community open house events, pop-ups, and online surveys and video presentation that will empower all community members to share their thoughts and guide the future revitalization of Metropolitan Park.