J Magazine Fall 2017

peal is because each day, it’s easy to discover another of the “individual
pearls” that strung together, one by one, are making the
city center a much underrated work of art.
“I mean, Chamblin’s Book Store is a Downtown pearl,” Smith
said.
“Our library. Our river. Heck, the Desert Rider (on Hogan
Street) is a pearl — it’s got the best cheesy grits you will eat in a
restaurant.”
Added Smith: “There’s an untold number of these kinds of
pearls all across Downtown. And, to me, Downtown Dwellers is
one of those pearls because it‘s helping to unite the voice of the
residents who live in Downtown Jacksonville. And believe in it.”
It’s a voice that’s being heard in the corridors frequented by
Jacksonville’s leaders, decision-makers and influence-shapers.
For example, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Director
Daryl Joseph meets every month with Fradd and other
Downtown Dwellers members.
And they don’t travel to his turf for the sessions.
Rather, it’s Joseph who comes to the Peninsula of Jacksonville,
the Southbank luxury condominium complex where Fradd and
many other Downtown Dwellers live, for the meetings.
And he’s not the only one to make the monthly pilgrimage.
During a recent monthly meeting, Downtown Vision Inc.
CEO Jake Gordon also popped over to the Peninsula’s meeting
room to sit at a table with Fradd, Joseph and Tom Dumas, the
Downtown Dwellers’ treasurer.
“The best Downtown is one that has residents who love living
in it and want to make it a place that encourages others to live
there,” Gordon said.
“That’s exactly what the Downtown Dwellers Association is
doing. It really plays a valuable role.”
And when I reached out to City Hall for a statement or comment
on the work Downtown Dwellers is doing, it’s Mayor Lenny
Curry himself who provided an email response.
“Community partners like the Downtown Dwellers volunteer
their time supporting efforts at the Riverwalk, Hemming Park
and other downtown areas through a wide variety of roles,” Curry
said in his email.
“They not only help maintain the downtown area, but also
promote the vibrancy, strength and values of our city overall,”
added Curry, noting that he “truly (appreciates) the contributions
the Downtown Dwellers make to our city.”
Such glowing remarks — from Jacksonville’s most powerful
elected official — may explain why the Downtown Dwellers Association
doesn’t have a flowery motto or an extravagant mission
statement.
It doesn’t need them.
Its work and its growing status speak quite eloquently on their
own.
And it should and must inspire others who love Downtown
Jacksonville but question how they can make a footprint in improving
it to get up, get organized and get active.
GRADUAL STEPS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Downtown Dwellers’ influence has been particularly impressive
given its low-profile origin and the gradual transformation
into a sizable group.
Its seeds were sown some four years ago when Fradd — who
had recently retired, relocated to Jacksonville and settled in the
Peninsula after years as a distinguished professor and researcher
at two Florida universities — attended a Downtown Vision Inc.
FALL 2017 | J MAGAZINE 55