[Arcenal813]

One thing that has helped Orlando tremendously is that developers have focused on building, not only IN downtown, but around it. Ivanhoe, Audubon, Colonialtown North, SoDo, and now Parramore, have all seen a major transformation over the past decade or two, and as such, downtown has been forced to keep up the pace.

Building in far away suburbs is fine, but ignoring the city core is never good. Hopefully Jax can step it up in the near future.

[floridarebel]

Jax is focused on expanding to fill the whole of Duval county, then the downtown area will likely see new growth. That likely won't be until the 2060s or so.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by projectmaximus

There is no one single answer. It's been a comedy of errors and bad luck over many decades. If you look at photos and videos from the 1930s-50s, Jax's downtown was huge and vibrant so not only has it not boomed, but it has gotten light years worse than it once was.

Yep, there were 5 Department Stores Downtown up until about the early 80's, and Jacksonville was the banking and insurance hub of the state. It's sad that it was dealt the hands it was.

[Arcenal813]

So I just spent the weekend in Jacksonville (stayed in San Marco.) And... This thread is spot on. It’s sad. Downtown Jacksonville and surroundings could be amazing — the bridges, the water, the infrastructure... But man, I went out for a walk down San Marco Blvd hoping it would be similar in vibe to Thornton Park here in Orlando, and nope, it was completely dead. They have everything set in place to have an amazing core, but when I drove up Main to get to a Walgreens, it was miles of decrepit block after block.

On the other hand, Ponte Vedra is gorgeous... But that’s suburbia. Fix up the core guys... You guys have it all!

[_Uncommon_]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

So I just spent the weekend in Jacksonville (stayed in San Marco.) And... This thread is spot on. It’s sad. Downtown Jacksonville and surroundings could be amazing — the bridges, the water, the infrastructure... But man, I went out for a walk down San Marco Blvd hoping it would be similar in vibe to Thornton Park here in Orlando, and nope, it was completely dead. They have everything set in place to have an amazing core, but when I drove up Main to get to a Walgreens, it was miles of decrepit block after block.

On the other hand, Ponte Vedra is gorgeous... But that’s suburbia. Fix up the core guys... You guys have it all!

Yep, I love the idea of Jacksonville. It’s the only large true southern city in Florida. It should be Nashville or San Diego or Austin. Great location, great downtown bones with a waterfront, and it’s one of the few Florida cities safe from hurricanes. But I don’t get wtf is going on. There is absolutely NO reason it can’t be as prosperous as Houston, but it’s failing so miserably. It’s an afterthought. Even in Florida, I think of Miami, Orlando, Tampa, St Pete, Daytona, and Sarasota before I even remember, “oh that’s right, the largest city in Florida is Jacksonville.”

Damn shame. A potentially great city absolutely decimated by sprawl. We desperately need a billionaire to take an interest in downtown Jax and restore its glory days. Shad Khan could be the white knight but he’s dragging his feet. Jacksonville doesn’t even deserve the Jaguars. I hope Orlando figures out a way to poach them after they take the Rays in 2028.

[JBtwinz]

Trust me it’s exhausting just thinking about it! We moved here over 30 plus years ago and it has gotten worse.

I very am fortunate to travel a lot and I can say over the last 40 plus years I have visited and revisited so many cities and for the life of me I can’t figure Jacksonville out. It seems every other city in the US is flourishing.

The growth and vibrancy in Jacksonville begins once you cross the Saint Johns River (south). Shad did put up the new amphitheater but at the same time the city let metropolitan park decay. They also jumped on board and let the landing become demolished. While it was most likely time as no one visited there any more.

Now with COVID-19 and Shad having second thoughts on his projects downtown it will likely linger even more as far as revitalization.

As many of said with the Saint Johns River and the north and south bank river walks we should be a jewel.

[tonyp22]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

So I just spent the weekend in Jacksonville (stayed in San Marco.) And... This thread is spot on. It’s sad. Downtown Jacksonville and surroundings could be amazing — the bridges, the water, the infrastructure... But man, I went out for a walk down San Marco Blvd hoping it would be similar in vibe to Thornton Park here in Orlando, and nope, it was completely dead. They have everything set in place to have an amazing core, but when I drove up Main to get to a Walgreens, it was miles of decrepit block after block.

On the other hand, Ponte Vedra is gorgeous... But that’s suburbia. Fix up the core guys... You guys have it all!

+1. I felt the same way when I spent time visiting JAX and it’s greater area as a place to retire. So much potential, but it just felt like it was too much sprawl and not enough content. And San Marco, while trendy, just seemed like a sad version of Winter Park. I’m sorry; I really wanted to love JAX but that’s how it felt to me.

OTOH in San Marco they have a V Pizza. As a born and bread NYer whose father and uncle both ran among the best pizzerias in that area during the early parts of their careers, I have to say V Pizza was shockingly good. Way better than anything I’ve found so far in Central FL and competitive with anything in the NY tri-State region.

[Florida2014]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

+1. I felt the same way when I spent time visiting JAX and it’s greater area as a place to retire. So much potential, but it just felt like it was too much sprawl and not enough content. And San Marco, while trendy, just seemed like a sad version of Winter Park. I’m sorry; I really wanted to love JAX but that’s how it felt to me.

OTOH in San Marco they have a V Pizza. As a born and bread NYer whose father and uncle both ran among the best pizzerias in that area during the early parts of their careers, I have to say V Pizza was shockingly good. Way better than anything I’ve found so far in Central FL and competitive with anything in the NY tri-State region.

I know pizza likes/dislikes are very personal but V Pizza is not quality pizza. There are other/better options in the Jax/St Augustine area that put V Pizza to shame.

[tonyp22]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

I know pizza likes/dislikes are very personal but V Pizza is not quality pizza. There are other/better options in the Jax/St Augustine area that put V Pizza to shame.

I didn’t see a problem with an actual high temperature fired, thin crust pie with actual real mozzarella and a sauce with no sugar in it, but I’m all ears. When I go back through that area I’d be happy to check out others.

[Arcenal813]

I did order from V Pizza, and I thought it was great.

My gripe was more with the street scene. It’s a total ghost town.