By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
One of Jacksonville’s biggest problems is that it has no historic downtown.
“We aren’t a county seat, so we don’t have a courthouse square,” Mayor Gary Fletcher told the city council on Thursday. “But we have a beautiful library on Main Street that can become our anchor.”
Plans for what the city has planned from Main Street and Hwy. 67/167 east to the overpass will be unveiled at a luncheon at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.
It’s taken more than a year of behind-the-scenes work by Dr. Robert Price, the city’s director of downtown planning and development, and his committee to put into action a plan for revitalizing “downtown” Jacksonville.
Plans include a fountain-style welcome-to-the city park area where an abandoned gas station sits, extensive streetscape work up and downtown Main Street, a focus on the five-points area of Dupree, James and Main streets, bringing in more pedestrian traffic and brining in a mix development of businesses and living areas.
Price and his group came up with 13 objectives to improve the city in a 140-page report. The first one was to coordinate efforts to pass the “alcohol-by-drink” issue, but after that almost every other objective can be tied to the Main Street, or the downtown area.
In a letter Fletcher mailed to most property owners near Main Street, he wrote, “The city of Jacksonville recognizes the changing retail landscape and how it has affected property use and values across the country. Our Main Street business environment needs to address the growing problem of losing appeal for business as well as the customer base.”
He said Price and his group have created a plan that will “help create a place where people will want to come and be a part of a new as well as our established business environment. This plan will increase potential property value as well as draw new interest in area property and reinvigorate our downtown into a destination to help keep our shoppers here and draw from surrounding areas as well.”
“It is time we address new ways to save our downtown, turn it around and get in a leadership position for our New Downtown that will be anchored with the new $65 million Jacksonville High School. This will be a game changer for all of us if we get in a leadership role to help make this happen,” the mayor wrote.
Price and his group are looking at a three-prong approach to revitalizing, developing and promoting Jacksonville’s downtown.
“First is the Gateway, or entrance, followed by the Loop (the area where Main Street is a divided boulevard) and the Five-Points area of Main, James and Dupree streets,” he said.
Price said the new high school topping the knoll off Main Street was going to be a great start, “but what else is going to happen to improve Jacksonville?” he asked.
He said a study by Retail Attraction showed that Jacksonville was losing $100 million a year because people and businesses are going elsewhere and that needed to change.
Price called the plan to bring a vibrant downtown to Jacksonville an economic plan. “Almost everything in our Master Plan calculates in some way into an economic development strategy. This applies whether you are beautifying streets or attracting new restaurants, it all helps regarding the quality of living and the economy.
Price said the Gateway or lead into Main Street from Hwy. 67/167 is the most logical place to start and get “the biggest bang for the buck.”
Retired Admiral Bob Carius, who has helped revitalize downtown Batesville, will be speak at Wednesday’s lunch. The mayor said the admiral will explain how downtown Batesville was revitalized.
