Photo credit Marquis Latimer + Halback and RS & H
RIVERFRONT
ESPLANADE PARK is Daytona Beach ’ s field of dreams
by Aaron London
Stretching for a mile along Beach Street between the Main
Street Bridge and Orange Avenue , Daytona Beach ’ s Riverfront Park Esplanade is poised to be not only a downtown jewel but also an economic engine as well .
Work began on the $ 23 million project this past June with completion expected by the end of this year . Financed by a gift from Cici and Hyatt Brown – who pledged an additional $ 3 million to create an endowment to cover the costs of a park ranger and assistant – the plans include several features designed to attract visitors to the space and act as a catalyst for revitalization of the area .
Buzz about the project has been in the air for months and the Daytona Regional Chamber devoted one of its “ Eggs and Issues ” breakfasts to the redevelopment effort .
Jeremy Marquis , principal at St . Augustine-based landscape architecture and planning firm Marquis , Latimer and Halback , outlined the project plans at
Jeremy Marquis the Chamber breakfast meeting . “ The whole point of this park space is to create a very vital , engaging place for people to meet ,” he said , in an effort to recreate the “ vibrancy of Beach Street .”
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