Florida Communities Trust, Jacksonville partner on Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion

Florida Communities Trust, Jacksonville partner on Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Communities Trust (FCT), the state's premier program helping local communities preserve open space and recreational areas, has partnered with the City of Jacksonville to purchase an expansion to the Huguenot Memorial Park. This purchase helps expand the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve and provides additional ecological space for native wildlife and vegetation.

"I applaud the City of Jacksonville's continuing commitment to preserve its natural, cultural and historical resources for future generations of Floridians," said Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Secretary Tom Pelham. "The Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion is a wonderful example of the spirit of partnership that is at the core of FCT."

The Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion is bordered by Haulover Creek and runs along the St. Johns River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean and is within the boundary of the National Park Service's Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. In addition, the City of Jacksonville, the Florida Park Service and the National Park Service collaborate on master planning for several projects in this area as part of the Timucuan Trail State and National Parks partnership. The park contains high-quality native vegetative communities, including a salt marsh and beach dunes, which support many threatened or endangered animals and listed wading birds. The city will enhance public recreation opportunities by constructing a fishing pier, nature trails and horseshoe pits.

"The City of Jacksonville is excited about finalizing the Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion project so visitors may begin experiencing the recreational enhancements the project will bring to the park," said Nathan Rezeau, chief of the city's Division of Waterfront Management and Programming. "The project will provide visitors legal access to Haulover Creek for fishing and picnicking, and eventually a nature trail that winds its way through the new site and connects to the rest of the park. We see this expansion as a way of improving our quality of service to residents with varying interests and more opportunity for improvements to quality of life."

The City of Jacksonville has a rich history of partnering with FCT to preserve green space in the community. Starting with Cedar Point in 1991, the FCT has awarded more than $21 million in Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever funds to city projects. Additionally, more than $22 million in local matching funds were provided, resulting in more than 4,000 acres preserved for open space and recreation purposes. FCT awarded more than $1.4 million for the Huguenot Memorial Park Expansion with the city contributing nearly the same amount in local matching funds.

Florida Communities Trust is a state land acquisition grant program that has provided more than $714 million to local communities to preserve parks and recreational space. The Trust makes $63 million of Florida Forever funds available each year through its Parks and Open Space grant program.