Downtown Jacksonville, Is there a vision? (Tampa: lofts, houses, purchase)

[JBtwinz]

Checking the news this morning and I see where the Jacksonville city council has gone ahead and voted to approve a plan to build a Jaguars performance center.

First let me say I am not a Duval county taxpayer but as someone who relocated here almost 33 years ago I continue to wonder will downtown Jacksonville ever become a place for people to visit for the day.

There was a very brief window before the Jaguars came to town when Harbormasters then River City Brewing, the Landing, Metropolitan Park and the River Walks were thriving with events and people during the week and on the weekends.

Over the years the footprint of the Jaguars keep increasing with the support of the city while the needed infrastructure needed to lure people downtown keeps diminishing.

The new Jaguars practice facility will increase their footprint even larger. We gained the new amphitheater but lost Metropolitan Park as it's stage has yet to be replaced. There is even a rumbling that the Jaguars might purchase the Jacksonville fairgrounds property.

The Jaguars have brought a lot to Jacksonville but at the same time they have not contributed to the need to entertain those coming to downtown both before and after events.

I am just amazed by the efforts and financial offerings by the city to turn downtown into a state of the art NFL football complex.

The shipyards property is still on the table, perhaps that can become a vibrant avenue for those to spend time on the riverfront and enjoy some sort of entertainment to pass the day. While the new waterfront park and sculpture will be a nice addition it is not going to be enough to entice people downtown. It will on the other hand make a great backdrop for the aerial shots the NFL uses during their broadcasts when the Jaguars are playing.

I am definitely not anti jaguars, I just hate to see that beautiful asset of downtown Jacksonville's riverfront and River Walk continue to be so underutilized. Many cities would love to have that jewel in their downtown.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...YICGV34scOvk-g

[Bobdreamz]

Jacksonville for some reason has missed out on the downtown rejuvenation that many of Florida's major cities have enjoyed since the start of this century. I really don't know if it's a lack of leadership or vision from developers to see the potential that is there.

[squarpeg]

This is the old chicken or egg quandary. You can't have a vibrant downtown without people living there and you can't have people living there without businesses to provide services. JAX is a great location, but if I were trying to develop the city I would try to start very small. Start with one block. If there are not currently places for people to live then they have to be developed. If there are places to live, but people are not interested in living there, you need to offer an incentive. Something I have seen work in other beat down areas is offering artist lofts/apt, space, nearly free if they bring the business with them. Now I know this sounds far fetched in right wing JAX but the fact is what has been tried in JAX for many years has failed. What you are trying to do is "seed" the community. JAX has a great location, so much potential, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It seems like that is what is going on in JAX. Now the big savior is a football team that never wins. Please stop.

[trobesmom]

I was born in Jax in the 50s and have lived there for several years. Downtown Jax has struggled much of that time. I think it was fairly busy in the 60s and some in the 70s. The Landing was hopefully going to be a big boon for the area. And now that's gone. Unfortunately, it just never took off. I'm not sure what the answer is.

[floridarebel]

Jacksonville has a ton of potential.

[Shredder907]

To me Jacksonville looks like Tampa.
Only difference is Jacksonville just needs their own version of Ybor City.
I’ve spent a week in Tampa before.
And their downtown doesn’t seem much different then Jacksonville.
Looks like it’s meant for mostly business with a few restaurants and stores here and there.
Ybor was the real “hang out” spot for Tampa.

[mwalker96]

Originally Posted by Shredder907

To me Jacksonville looks like Tampa.
Only difference is Jacksonville just needs their own version of Ybor City.
I’ve spent a week in Tampa before.
And their downtown doesn’t seem much different then Jacksonville.
Looks like it’s meant for mostly business with a few restaurants and stores here and there.
Ybor was the real “hang out” spot for Tampa.

Riverside and San Marco are the hangout spots in Jax which are near downtown. Since Jax is so spread out, most people hangout in thier nearest shopping district: for Norhsiders it's River City Marketplace, for Southsiders it's the Avenues or Town Center, and for Arliginton it's generally Regency (Square not mall or Town Center).

[T Block]

I see some empty parking lots.

I would build a city block of one-story cluster-houses. Each house would front on a city street, have a front door, a rear door, and have a cathedral ceiling. The lateral spaces between the houses could be 10 feet or less. The community grounds would include a driveway and parking lot between the backs of the houses.

The advantage to downtown is that it is uphill from the river.

[Northside904]

Originally Posted by mwalker96

Riverside and San Marco are the hangout spots in Jax which are near downtown. Since Jax is so spread out, most people hangout in their nearest shopping district: for Northside it's River City Marketplace, for Southside it's the Avenues or Town Center, and for Arlington it's generally Regency (Square not mall or Town Center).

Facts. Before River City, Northsiders had no choice but to shop at Avenues or Town Center. Now...it's rare that you'll see someone from the Northside shop at Avenues or TC. I'm glad Northside has RCMP because I hated driving across the city for shopping. I still go to Avenues or TC, but it's seldom. If you give folks a solid reason to live downtown, then you'll see development there.

[rtt]

Philadelphia has Reading Terminal, Boston Faneuil Hall, Copenhagen had
Paper Houses. People love to stroll and eat different kinds of food. This would be a destination draw. With the Food Truck companies here they'd probably love a chance to have their own booth.