Teams added green to the city and the potential for investment in underserved neighborhoods Monday.
How? Through additions to Emerald Trail.
The trail off North Davis Street is getting new additions like bee hotels, signs and a community herb and spice garden. The trail will eventually stretch 30 miles.
The teams from Groundwork Jacksonville, the city, TD Bank Group and the Arbor Day Foundation planted another new tree to celebrate the completion of a $20,000 grant to make it all happen. They hope the trail, which will connect more than a dozen neighborhoods and downtown, will encourage investment in those areas.
"The Atlanta BeltLine has generated over $4 billion in economic development," said Groundwork Jacksonville CEO Kay Ehas. "So (as) property values close to the trail rise, I think we're gonna see a lot of in-fill because in the urban core there's a lot of land that's available for development, whether it's new housing, revitalizing historic structures. That's happening already in places so we're really excited about it."
The EPA cites green spaces like the trail increase property values and protect surface and groundwater resources.
