Downtown advocates call for new master plan and vision

[comncense]

What pains me is that so many of these ideas are common sense. Yet we spend so much money on having people travel to do studies of other cities and hiring outside consultants and here we are years later stuck with the same results.

[Wacca Pilatka]

What pains me is that so many of these ideas are common sense. Yet we spend so much money on having people travel to do studies of other cities and hiring outside consultants and here we are years later stuck with the same results.

Yes!  Exactly!  Why are they constantly spending money to learn things I could tell them as a periodic visitor from Virginia?  And then they have the audacity to pretend to be fiscal conservatives.

[buckethead]

How about a temporary moratorium on multi-dwelling building permits until downtown has a 60% residency rates?

I'm not sure placing more restrictions on core development is the right way to go.

All living space is not created equally.

I do like the idea of allowing me to live directly over my downtown business, or even renting it out as apartment space, if I so desire.

[Captain Zissou]

How about a temporary moratorium on multi-dwelling building permits until downtown has a 60% residency rates?

Seriously........?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Currently we have high end apartments and high end condos.  Until we supply a housing stock for all demographics, we won't have a thriving community.  The wealthy people who are willing to take a chance on downtown already live there.  Until we provide more services and conveniences to residents and increase QOL downtown, those buildings aren't going to fill up.  The pioneers are here, we're now waiting on the second generation adopters to fill those buildings.  There are thousands of other pioneers will to support downtown, but there is no residential stock that meets their needs.  We need to build affordable housing if we're going to move the development process along.

Your plan would just make things official and turn DT into an actual moonscape.

[Dashing Dan]

http://walkercollaborative.com/publications-mainstreet.html

Check this out.

[mbwright]

So you mean that it is going to take more than expensive, cobble stone round abouts and big courthouse to get people to return to downtown?  There have been millions spent on plans and projects.  I would like to know what is different about the next 'vision' that will not have the same results.  There are buildings big enough for department stores, and the like, but when everyone would rather go the the St John's Town Center, it is tough.  I visited Ireland and Scotland, and they certainly have great towns, that include the down town.  I don't think they had the problem of the rush to the suburbs that we had. 

[Dashing Dan]

I visited Ireland and Scotland, and they certainly have great towns, that include the down town.  I don't think they had the problem of the rush to the suburbs that we had. 

Ireland is having problems with overbuilding that are even worse that what we are facing in Florida.  In Ireland and in downtown Jacksonville, we need to start planning and stop logrolling.  That's what we would get from a realistic market analysis.

[ChriswUfGator]

Any master plan along the general lines being discussed here would be another steaming bag of manure, designed to enrich a handful of people with pie-in-the-sky projects at taxpayer expense. There is no need for $20mm. You could make me (or most of the posters on this site, excepting a small handful) grand overlord czar supreme of downtown and give me the grand sum of $0.00 and downtown could be fixed. For free.

The problem is that wouldn't make the usual suspects any money. It's more profitable to continue the B.S.

Really, it's a short list:

1: Eliminate bullshit signage restrictions.
2: Eliminate bullshit zoning restrictions.
3: Eliminate paid parking and meters. (This would save money, parking enforcement costs more than the revenue it generates)
4: Open COJ-owned/run/financed garages to the public, for free, and stop subsidizing private garages. If garage and lot owners can't make it without having their hands in taxpayer pockets, too bad, they can go bust. That's how "business" is supposed to work. (This would also save money, there is very little garage revenue and the taxpayers subsidize these buffoons to the tune of millions annually, just buy them out or sue to terminate the contracts, knowing the parties involved they've all committed material breaches in one way or another by now anyway, shouldn't be hard).
5: Eliminate 1-way streets (except state and union).
6: Appoint a special office for downtown zoning and signage exceptions/business license applications/grant applications/etc., make it a one-stop shop for potential downtown businesses and institute a mandatory turnaround time for dealing with such requests.
7: Eliminate tax inequalities that make downtown unattractive compared to the suburbs, and create a limited-time (10 years) tax abatement program for any business wishing to relocate downtown. (Wouldn't cost any money, since everything is vacant already anyway).
8: Tell the police to stop directing traffic straight to I-95 during major events, or preferably at all. Let people spend time there, and let it develop its own flow.
9: Close the Prime-Osborne and reopen as a rail terminal. If JTA won't play ball, go around them directly to Amtrak.
10: The next time you have a med school, law school, etc. wanting to relocate there (if we're ever so lucky) don't try to gouge the hell out of them for a vacant piece of city-owned property that COJ got for free by demolishing a derelict building. Just play ball.
11: Demolition moratorium. Leave everything as-is. Doesn't matter how ugly it is. Vacant lots are worse.


There are a lot of other things that could be done, but this would be a start.

[danem]

So you mean that it is going to take more than expensive, cobble stone round abouts and big courthouse to get people to return to downtown?  There have been millions spent on plans and projects.  I would like to know what is different about the next 'vision' that will not have the same results.  There are buildings big enough for department stores, and the like, but when everyone would rather go the the St John's Town Center, it is tough.  I visited Ireland and Scotland, and they certainly have great towns, that include the down town.  I don't think they had the problem of the rush to the suburbs that we had. 

If the folks working on downtown development play it off right with many of the common-sense suggestions mentioned elsewhere on this thread, many people (being fed up with the traffic, perhaps) will eventually flee SJTC area and find downtown a delightful place to visit or even live. SJTC isn't exactly going away, of course, but it can only get so big before other spaces will be needed.

One can dream, at least.  

[Timkin]

How many buildings downtown, potentially could be converted to residential?  I can think of a couple.. part of the Laura Trio,  The Ambassador, The old JEA building, any others?   As far as downtown Grocery Stores,  The Winn-Dixie on Union is the only one I am aware of.. Is there another ?

Time for the MJ "Master Plan" for downtown

[vicupstate]

The best way for COJ/JEDC/Chamber of Commerce/Civic Council, et.al. to get something going DT and thereby provide some HOPE for better days, is to do everything in their collective powers to get the Laura Trio project off the drawing board and into reality.

It is in the heart of the Northbank core, would be a landmark historic preservation project, would add permanent residents as well as other uses, and the project itself is not controversial in any respect. 

A plan is already in place, it just needs backing/financing, which is to say 'put money where mouth is'. 

If the collect heft of that group can't accomplish it, then there really isn't much hope for a new master plan being anything other than yet another dust-collecting study.     

[Captain Zissou]

The best way for COJ/JEDC/Chamber of Commerce/Civic Council, et.al. to get something going DT and thereby provide some HOPE for better days, is to do everything in their collective powers to get the Laura Trio project off the drawing board and into reality.

Amen.

This would do wonders for the morale of downtown supporters and draw in thousands of people who otherwise keep to SJTC.  I honestly don't give a flip about the SJTC crowd, but I am a downtown supporter and this would restore my faith that we can make downtown a success.  Also, any time we can steal money from SJTC and give it to DT, I'm a fan. 

[tufsu1]

Any master plan along the general lines being discussed here would be another steaming bag of manure, designed to enrich a handful of people with pie-in-the-sky projects at taxpayer expense. There is no need for $20mm. You could make me (or most of the posters on this site, excepting a small handful) grand overlord czar supreme of downtown and give me the grand sum of $0.00 and downtown could be fixed. For free.

dude...the $20 million thing was a question at the forum....that said, a program that provided financial incentives/rebates for people to move back into downtown (be it residential, office, or retail) would likely be very successful....just look at what they did in Philly and are doing in Detroit!

[JeffreyS]

Lake when you get home tonight will you email them a master plan?

[thelakelander]

All they really need to do is think out what to ultimately due with publicly owned property (ex. roads, bikeways, transit, city owned buildings and lots).  All the private sector really needs is regulation change that allows the free market and creativity to take over the development atmosphere.