JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s Riverfront Plaza is already drawing crowds, and the city wants to make sure phase two lives up to the hype. Residents got the chance to weigh in on the next stage of the project at a community open house, sharing what they want to see when construction wraps up.<\/p>\n
Phase 1 of the plaza is already open and getting heavy use \u2014 including this weekend, when the area is being used for the Ironman event. Phase 2 is currently under construction, with a targeted completion date at the end of 2027.<\/p>\n
What phase 2 will include<\/p>\n
Micah Lipscomb, the senior landscape architect for Perkins and Will, which is leading the design for Riverfront Plaza, outlined what\u2019s planned for the next stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhase two will consist of a multi-use path that\u2019ll connect up to the Main Street Bridge,\u201d Lipscomb said. \u201cIt\u2019ll have a retail space that a vendor will be selected for to serve the beer garden area. There\u2019s going to be a swing deck with awesome views out towards the river.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daryl Joseph, the director of Parks for the city of Jacksonville, said phase two builds directly on what\u2019s already there.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhase two of the park is really a connection from phase one of this park project,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cYou\u2019ll have trail components, you\u2019ll actually have connections to the private development project and then extension of the river walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joseph said the additions are a direct response to what residents have been asking for.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re actually building the amenities that citizens want to see,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s only going to get better as it relates to the use of the park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents speak up about what they need<\/p>\n
Jasmine Turner, a professional historian and member of PlacemakingJax, attended the open house with her daughter. She said the park needs to work for families in a practical way \u2014 not just in concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really need bathrooms, more bathrooms on the women\u2019s side, especially because usually teachers tend to be female, tend to bring the kids for field trips and if you have a large group of kids, you need many more bathrooms and shade,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n
Turner also pushed back on the perception that downtown Jacksonville is unsafe, pointing out that many residents are already comfortable visiting nearby attractions.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of you were comfortable with going to MOSH. You\u2019re comfortable with going to MOCA, comfortable going to Sweet Pete\u2019s. Guess what \u2014 all of those places are downtown,\u201d Turner said. \u201cA part of it is just really working through that fear of downtown, and it helps if you go as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her broader vision for the space reflects a community need.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to have a Jacksonville that works for all citizens, but especially the next generation that\u2019s growing up, we need to have spaces where families can really just enjoy themselves,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n
\u2018The donut is starting to fill in\u2019<\/p>\n
Stephen Wiley, a downtown resident who lives in the LaVilla neighborhood, has already visited Riverfront Plaza multiple times. He said the park signals a real shift in how people see the city\u2019s core.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard Jacksonville being called the donut, where everything is built outside of it and the inside is empty,\u201d Wiley said. \u201cWell, that donut\u2019s just starting to fill in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wiley said he is especially excited about the entertainment and dining options planned for phase two.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like that it\u2019s going to provide really entertainment for all ages \u2014 families, kids, adults,\u201d he said. \u201cExcited for what\u2019s to come in terms of having a beer garden and having an adult beverage on the water, restaurants and things like that. I think it\u2019s really going to activate this area and kind of bring back that feeling of when the Landing was here.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those still on the fence about visiting, Wiley had simple advice: just show up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to see for yourself,\u201d he said. \u201cCome take a look and get your own perspective of it. You\u2019ll see that it\u2019s going to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to share your feedback<\/p>\n
Residents who missed the open house can still share their input on phase two of Riverfront Plaza by contacting the City of Jacksonville Parks Department.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s Riverfront Plaza is already drawing crowds, and the city wants to make sure phase…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2318,116,118,117,16629],"class_list":["post-270348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-downtown","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-riverfront-plaza"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}