Duval County

San Marco neighborhood getting new, colorful additions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — San Marco neighborhood is getting a pop of color to bring more attention to local shops and new businesses.

Starting this week, you’re going to see some colorful, new additions in the historic San Marco neighborhood.

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Two hundred and fifty brightly colored banners will start going up this week, and they’ll replace old banners on the light poles lining the sidewalks. The goal is to bring more traffic to the area and grab people’s attention.

These banners will be placed along Hendricks Avenue to Prudential Drive, San Marco Boulevard to Nira Street, and Atlantic Boulevard to Kings Avenue.

“[It’s] bringing some pop,” said Sarah Parrish, who works at a nearby restaurant. “You can see it from across the street.”

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They will likely all be on display by the end of the month.

“We wanted the colors to stand out so you knew when you turned off the interstate and turned onto San Marco Boulevard, you knew that you were in San Marco,” said Scott Wohlers, President of the San Marco Merchants Association.

The San Marco Merchants Association designed the banners to highlight the unique local shops, and the lion figure this area’s known for.

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“We wanted to highlight the lions because the fountain here in San Marco was such a centerpiece and we really feel the lion is such a bold figure that we can use to represent the community,” Wohlers said.

Joe Carlucci, board member for San Marco Merchants Association who is also running for City Council in District 5, which includes the San Marco neighborhood, also commented on what the banners will add to the neighborhood.

“They are a tremendous upgrade!” Carlucci said. “Just an amazing face lift type of look for the square and we’ve really been wanting to do this for a bunch of years and it’s finally going to come to fruition so we’re excited about it.”

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The San Marco Merchants Association raised $27,000 dollars at a Craft Beer Festival earlier this year, which covered the cost for this project.

“As we said, we would reinvest back in the community,” Wohlers said.

“That [will] make people stop in their tracks - definitely,” Parrish said. “[It will make people] walk up. Check it out. See what it is.”

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Parrish said she’s excited to see how this will make a difference.

“I feel good about this area,” she said. “I want it to continue to grow.”

These banners will be on display for the rest of the day on Wednesday in San Marco Square, so you can come check them out in person.

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