Developer: 'Regenerative placemaking' is key to Jacksonville's Phoenix Arts District

Placemaking is a buzz word in the real estate and development world these days. It is a concept focused on building with the intention to revitalize and reinvigorate communities that have suffered from lack of resources or underinvestment.

But what if we took this concept a step further? What if developers first took the time to build trust within the community by engaging its members in conversation about their hopes and dreams for their neighborhood?

Dialogue is a core principle of regenerative placemaking, which is the development framework for the Phoenix Arts and Innovation District, located on 8.3 acres in the North Springfield neighborhood within Jacksonville’s Urban Core and five minutes north of downtown.

Regenerative placemaking builds on the idea of public spaces by taking an inclusive approach — co-creating with the community to design the best outcome for a development to serve the neighborhood’s needs and growth. At Future of Cities, we see this approach as having three pillars — community, nature and culture.

These are the three living systems that make up all neighborhoods. When we began the Phoenix Arts & Innovation District project, we started by listening to and working with the community. That way, we garnered a deeper understanding of what type of development would nourish the people and culture already living there.

We also fully embraced and supported the visionary efforts of the Emerald Trail, which runs through our district.

What we’ve learned is that there is a thriving artist and maker community, which had already been engaged by Christy Frazier, the entrepreneur who pioneered the Phoenix district before Future of Cities got involved. The priorities include more public green space with shade and trails, a venue for community events, affordable artist studios and supported gallery spaces.

A grocery store is needed, as well as easier access to public transit. Affordable and workforce housing is also desired and essential while mitigating gentrification. Assisting the community with legal support for title and heir issues will ensure those who want to stay in their generational homes can do so.

We held formal workshops and informal events to bring the people living near the district together to share their ideas. As we listened, we shaped our master plan to reflect what the community felt would best to support their vision of growth for North Springfield.

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We believe that “success moves at the speed of trust.” Trust is our most valuable commodity, and we endeavor to authentically foster it within the community and the city at large. We want to be allies by building public private partnerships that elevate the great work of many partners from all sectors.

Regenerative placemaking aims to consciously revitalize underserved communities. Celebrating their unique cultural assets and people raises their value at the start of a development project. In return, the process nourishes self-sufficiency, empowerment, stability and — ultimately — the joy of living in an authentic, vibrant and healthy neighborhood.

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Since we began this journey at the Phoenix Arts & Innovation District, we have welcomed thousands of citizens to gather, explore and enjoy. We aspire to be a hub for small independent creative businesses and a home to artists and innovators from around Jacksonville and the region.

We are excited to bring this new vision of development to the city of Jacksonville and invite you to come see it in action — or better yet, be a part of it. Join us in the co-creation. Learn more at PhxJax.com.

Tony Cho is the founder and CEO of Future of Cities, as well as the founding managing partner of Phoenix Arts and Innovation District, Jacksonville.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Arts district to embrace community, nature, culture of Jacksonville