Jacksonville officials have acknowledged the city has forfeited a $1 million state grant that was supposed to help pay for upgrades at James Weldon Johnson Park, blowing a sudden hole in the budget for the downtown makeover. The city had already spent about $1 million on early design work and on removing a Confederate monument, and now has to figure out how to cover those costs without the promised state money.
According to First Coast News, the grant came through the Florida Department of State’s African American historical and cultural grants program. In a May 2025 letter, the department told the city it had failed to submit a final report by the deadline, so the state could not process the $1 million payment. The outlet reports the grant application dated back to 2022, with Jacksonville planning a $250,000 local match as part of a broader park redesign. First Coast News also notes the state will not reimburse the roughly $1 million the city has already spent…