Mandarin Area Preservation Project
Message from Council Member Michael Boylan
“Mandarin has a rich history and a unique identity worth preserving for future generations. This project gives residents the opportunity to shape that future together. I encourage everyone who cares about Mandarin to attend these community workshops, share their perspective and join the conversation.”
Michael Boylan
District 6 Council Member
PURPOSE
While the core of City Council District 6 is the area referred to as "Mandarin," many of its residents do not identify themselves as a part of such. Enclaves up and down the corridors of Old St. Augustine, Losco, and Greenland Roads are a few of the aforementioned.
Following the last redistricting process, nearly the entire length of Bartram Park Boulevard is now part of the Mandarin (City Council District 6) area. Still poised for continuing growth, one of the indicators of how diverse Mandarin is, as a community, is the fact that there are more than forty distinct homeowner associations and neighborhood groups within its boundaries.
As such, the intent of this was to identify a contractor who can implement Ordinance 2025-139-E by bringing together the leadership of organizations and other community stakeholders with the goal of creating an entity that draws consensus and articulates a vision consistent with the area's distinct character and natural beauty.
While other opportunities may manifest themselves through the process, the priorities of the proposed entity shall be the following:
Preservation - Preservation today is about honoring the living town — one that evolves to support the needs of the people who live and work there while, at the same time, maintaining the elements that make it special. Preservation calls for playing a proactive role in both determining what balanced growth looks like in the area and serving as the "catalyst" to engage citizens when rezoning issues that may impact the area are introduced.
Beautification - An essential element in safeguarding the character and charm of the area is the purposeful effort to beautify not only its main thoroughfares but its many neighborhoods as well.
Visioning - Downtown Vision defines itself as "place managers, connectors, strategists and activators." To that end, the project shall be purposeful in creating a program and process for taking care of and showing pride in our neighborhoods, and a means of celebrating those residents who demonstrate success in doing so.
Community Engagement - The process will be to identify area stakeholders (residents and business owners) who represent voices and leadership of the defined geographic area with the goal of creating an entity that draws consensus and articulates a vision to formally develop, prepare, and present to the City an implementation plan for inclusive preservation, beautification, and community engagement in the oversight of neighborhood and commercial corridors, all to help guide development within the area.
All the information in One Place!
Preserving Mandarin’s Heritage Together
The City of Jacksonville is leading the Mandarin Area Preservation Project to identify, celebrate and preserve the unique character, history and cultural resources that make Mandarin special. This neighborhood-driven effort will create a shared vision for protecting the community’s identity while planning thoughtfully for the future.
Residents, business owners and community members are invited to help shape the project and its priorities. This page will serve as one of the sources for meeting information, project updates and findings from each community workshop.
Click here to JOIN THE PROJECT MAILING LIST
Latest Update
The project has completed its community kickoff, formed a Steering Committee, compiled public map input, and held the Define the Vision workshop on September 10 and the Understand the Process workshop on October 7. The October 7 meeting focused on planning, land development, City processes, and existing Mandarin overlays and scenic corridor protections. Attendees also discussed Steering Committee selection and the importance of representing the broader community.
Preliminary input has reflected that the entire City Council District 6 be considered for the Mandarin organizational boundary. The Steering Committee has not yet finalized its recommendation to the community; some members have suggested a smaller boundary within District 6. The next phase includes the November 4 Build the Framework workshop, focused on the future organization’s administrative structure and initial tasks. The next Steering Committee meeting is October 19 at 6:00 p.m. at the Mandarin Senior Citizen Center. Community members are welcome to attend.
Upcoming Community Workshops
Join us for the final community workshops. Residents, business owners and community members are encouraged to attend.
Wednesday | Workshop No. 3: Build the Framework Mandarin Senior Citizen Center Help develop the future organization’s administrative structure and initial tasks. |
Stay Involved
Your voice matters, and your perspective belongs in the conversation.
- Attend a community workshop.
- Share your perspective during project activities.
- Invite a neighbor or local business owner.
- Join the project mailing list to receive meeting reminders, project updates and new workshop findings.
- Attend a monthly steering committee meeting as a public observer and submit questions during the final 10 minute question window.
SIGN UP FOR PROJECT UPDATES by clicking here
Monthly Steering Committee Meetings
The Mandarin Area Preservation Project Steering Committee meets monthly. These meetings are open to the public, and community members are welcome to attend as observers as long as the meeting is not disrupted.
A designated public question window is provided during the final 10 minutes of each meeting. Community members may address the steering committee with questions during that time.
Steering committee meeting dates, times and locations are available upon request. To request the details for an upcoming meeting, contact Lara Diettrich using the project contact information below.
Past Events and Project Milestones
Thursday | October 7, 2026 | Understand the ProcessPlanning 101: Navigating Land Development & City Processes 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Forty-two people attended this informational community meeting to learn about planning, land development, City decision-making processes, and the existing overlays and scenic corridor protections that apply within Mandarin. The presentation and supporting materials also explored future land use, zoning, open space, and community focal features. Community members asked about Steering Committee selection and emphasized the importance of committee members representing the broader community. The project team explained the selection process and welcomed community members to attend future Steering Committee meetings. No feedback forms or structured activities took place during this meeting. |
Thursday | Workshop No. 1: Define the Vision Mandarin Senior Citizen Center Community members helped shape the project’s branding, mission, pillars and goals. |
Thursday | Steering Committee Orientation #2 Public steering committee meeting The steering committee continued its work supporting the project and preparing for the public workshop series. |
Thursday | Steering Committee Orientation #1 Project milestone Selected steering committee members participated in an orientation to begin supporting the project process. |
Wednesday | Community Kickoff Meeting: Evening Session Mandarin Senior Citizen Center A second kickoff session offered the same opportunity for community input and project information. |
Wednesday | Community Kickoff Meeting: Morning Session Mandarin High School Community members learned about the project, shared what makes Mandarin special, met the project team and learned how to stay involved. |
Workshop Findings and Downloads
Findings from each workshop will be posted here as they become available. Each workshop will have a brief web summary and an accessible PDF that visitors can open online or download.
Workshop No. 1: Public Map Input
Workshop No. 1 gathered 176 recorded responses, including 139 responses identifying valued features and 37 responses addressing the preferred preservation area boundary. Repeated mentions were retained to show where community priorities converged.
- Primary boundary finding: Participants support including the complete City Council District 6 footprint in the preservation area.
- Area wide priorities: Trees, natural land and wetlands received 15 mentions; historic cemeteries received 12; and river access, docks and boat ramps received 6.
- Most frequently named features included Julington Durbin Preserve, Ferngully Preserve, Walter Jones Park, Losco Park, Palmetto Leaves Park and the Mandarin Road corridor.
- Boundary discussion referenced Old Mandarin, Loretto, Beauclerc, Julington Creek, Losco, Hartley, Greenland and Arrowhead, pointing toward a district wide frame rather than a smaller subarea.
Workshop No. 1 findings PDF: Click Here
Workshop Downloads
- Completed workshop: Define the Vision, September 10, 2026 - Click here for document
- Completed workshop: Understand the Process, October 7, 2026
- Upcoming workshop: Build the Framework, November 4, 2026 - Coming soon, check back November 14, 2026
Each summary and accessible PDF should be available within 10 business days of the workshop date.
Project Contact
Questions or need more information?
Lara Diettrich
Senior Project Manager / Planner
Halff Associates, Inc.
Phone: 904.501.6622
Email: LDiettrich@halff.com