Show me the money

[WmNussbaum]

This is a darn good website, and the forum is a nice place for ideas and give/take. However, there are no concrete solutions being offered to Jacksonville's problems - I'll concentrate on downtown to begin with. The problem is a lack of money. It's a problem in many different ways. For instance, the problem the Jaguar football team had is that the cost of a day's outing for a game is expensive for a lot of folks, and enough folks did not want to spend it on the entertainment value provided.

The problem with downtown is the same. No money. No money to complete Berkman II; no money to do something with the Laura Street Trio (quartet if you include the old Barnett Building). Who is downtown, even during the day? How many restaurants are there serving more than sandwiches and a bit more even during daylight hours? Damn few. This evening I left my office on East Duval Street right at five o'clock and was in Five Points within seven minutes. Hell, downtown doesn't even have traffic during rush hour.

Until someone is willing to take a chance and spend some money downtown, nothing will happen. What needs to be done is to buy all of Mrs. Weaver's condos in Riverside and to use the cash - even though less than the investment she made - to figure out something to do with the Laura Street  Quartet to begin revitalization - god knows the teeth-rattling pavers did not - amazingly - do the job.

Seriously, getting EverBank into AT&T is good. We need that times five or more to be anywhere. The new courthouse may spur something, but it's doubtful - there sure hasn't been much near the present location is 50 years. Fifty years!

Once again, unless money is spent and spent wisely, downtown will be nowhere. We can't spend money on stupid pavers, and expect to accomplish a darn thing. What is needed is some sort of attraction, and not some Mickey Mouse - apologies, Walt - thing. BIG. We need big. We need money to do something big whatever it is. Or maybe a few not-so-big things, but a bunch of things a bit less grandiose. What? When? HOW?

[wsansewjs]

You are preaching to the choir.

-Josh

[Anti redneck]

I was just about to start a new post, but you beat me to it. Here's what I want to know: how do you revive the Laura Street Trio? How do you get the word out to these big companies wanting to relocate? There is plenty of prime space downtown. The word needs to get out. The Landing: I bet if you put up a jet ski rental somewhere around there, that would help it thrive a little bit, making it become more of a hot spot, especially for those staying in the hotels near there. The Warehouse District: there has been a lot of talk about trying to get this place going, but no follow through. When will this ever get going and how? What kind of business is planned on being brought here? I say do more than just clubs and bars. I'd like to see some exotic shops go up around there as well. Maybe even a voodoo shop, lol! My point being is that there needs to be some action taking place. It's going to take more than just a website to kick the COJ in the pants. I agree, money is an issue. How can the money be raised to do this. Maybe a donations site on here? I don't know. I just wish things would finally come together, because there has been talk about changing Jacksonville when Delaney was in office.

[thelakelander]

This is a darn good website, and the forum is a nice place for ideas and give/take. However, there are no concrete solutions being offered to Jacksonville's problems - I'll concentrate on downtown to begin with. The problem is a lack of money.

Money isn't downtown's problem, over regulating and making redevelopment more complicated than it has to be is.

Until someone is willing to take a chance and spend some money downtown, nothing will happen.

I think our focus on big time projects has been a detriment to downtown.  If we want more private money spent downtown, we have to create an environment that allows small business growth to prosper on a larger level. 

Once again, unless money is spent and spent wisely, downtown will be nowhere. We can't spend money on stupid pavers, and expect to accomplish a darn thing.

A lot of people would be amazed at how much creative individuals can do with a limited budget when allowed to do what they do best.  However, this will require the city to be more accepting of ideas and things that they might not be comfortable with.

What is needed is some sort of attraction, and not some Mickey Mouse - apologies, Walt - thing. BIG. We need big. We need money to do something big whatever it is. Or maybe a few not-so-big things, but a bunch of things a bit less grandiose. What? When? HOW?

No gimmicks are needed.  Gimmicks cost a lot of money and fail to solve the underlying issue of creating a self sustaining urban environment.  All that's needed is to modify policy, focus on public quality of life amenities (ex. schools, parks, transportation, trash, etc.), and get out of the public's way.

[thelakelander]

I was just about to start a new post, but you beat me to it. Here's what I want to know: how do you revive the Laura Street Trio?

Provide public money to make their redevelopment feasible.

How do you get the word out to these big companies wanting to relocate? There is plenty of prime space downtown. The word needs to get out.

Tax abatement and incentives that level the playing field.  As long as it cost more to operate a major business in downtown than the suburbs, the majority of businesses will continue to pick the cheaper option.

The Landing: I bet if you put up a jet ski rental somewhere around there, that would help it thrive a little bit, making it become more of a hot spot, especially for those staying in the hotels near there.

This may be unpopular, but sell the Sleiman the land underneath it as a package deal to immediately redevelop the thing, so that it opens up to the rest of downtown.

The Warehouse District: there has been a lot of talk about trying to get this place going, but no follow through. When will this ever get going and how? What kind of business is planned on being brought here? I say do more than just clubs and bars. I'd like to see some exotic shops go up around there as well. Maybe even a voodoo shop, lol! My point being is that there needs to be some action taking place.

First, don't dictate what type of business "has to be there."  Leave that up the private sector.  Focus on the S-Line as a rail connection between downtown and the airport.  Place a stop in the warehouse district and the rest will take care of itself on its own.

It's going to take more than just a website to kick the COJ in the pants.

Correct.  It takes people getting their feet wet and actually getting involved in issues that are important to them.  The website should be used as a vehicle to get the news out and promote whatever cause you're already pushing.

I agree, money is an issue. How can the money be raised to do this. Maybe a donations site on here? I don't know. I just wish things would finally come together, because there has been talk about changing Jacksonville when Delaney was in office.

We've got plenty of money.  It just boils down to what is the priority on the public sector side.  On the private sector side, its more about opportunity to economically succeed.  That's where modifying policy to level the playing field comes into play.

[Anti redneck]

I was just trying to throw some ideas on the Warehouse District, that's all. Just painting a little picture. But yes I do agree though. Get the S-line going.

[Ocklawaha]

Not a gimmick or a trick pony, 'STREETCARS - LIGHT RAIL - COMMUTER RAIL,' all enjoy a staggering return on investment as high as $14 dollars of new development for every $1 dollar spent. The fact that when everything is equal, rail ridership is considerably higher then ANY form of bus transit, means that new development will follow the tracks wherever they are built. Jacksonville has the deepest streetcar - interurban - commuter rail - suburban - regional, railroad heritage of any Florida city, and in terms of conventional passenger trains, our history is unmatched by Atlanta, New Orleans and Miami COMBINED! 

The truly conservative thing to do would be to quit throwing money at every highway dream that comes down the pike, and invest in 5 +/- local corridors targeted for dense fixed transit TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. Coordinate some creative development such as AMTRAK-COMMUTER RAIL + NEW CONVENTION CENTER, or EAST BAY STREET, IKEA, BASS PRO, Riverwalk and a 600' public pier with a SKYWAY LINK, or SAN MARCO SQUARE - SKYWAY, or AIRPORT-Busch-Gateway-Springfield-Arena-Downtown with a STREETCAR LINK. This accomplished and we'd be watching the construction cranes swing into action by the end of next year.

CALL IT "A STREETCAR NAMED DEVELOPMENT."

OCKLAWAHA

[buckethead]

Is there another person in the city as level headed and clear minded as Lake?

Jacksonville would do quite well to have him in a leadership role with actual authority.

Smart, Polite, Correct on issues, Ethical.

Lake 2012! (if not sooner)

[JeffreyS]

Is there another person in the city as level headed and clear minded as Lake?

Jacksonville would do quite well to have him in a leadership role with actual authority.

Smart, Polite, Correct on issues, Ethical.

Lake 2012! (if not sooner)

+1

[Dog Walker]

+2!  Let me know when he sets up a campaign fund.  Maybe we should set up a draft committee.

[simms3]

Jacksonville does not have a lot of money.  Towns and neighborhoods without a lot of money need to do exactly as Lake has said - get out of the way and let folks kind of just experiment and do their own thing with the limited resources they have until something starts sticking and momentum starts building.

That being said, that is the harder way.  Most towns and neighborhoods, let alone cities CANNOT and ARE NOT willing to get out of the way.  That is where deeper pockets, bigger connections and that same bold creative vision executed on a larger scale come in handy.

Charlotte has big money and big connections.  Austin the same.  Nashville the same.  Every city developing for the better, expanding their 21st century economies, growing their young professional/creative classes and revitalizing their downtown and inner core areas are benefiting from deep pockets.  Even small towns - arguably River City Company in downtown Chattanooga has more money to throw at projects than Midtown Alliance in Atlanta.  Jacksonville doesn't have anything comparable to either.

Birmingham has deeper pocketed locals who support that downtown and surrounding neighbs, and it has a slew of local developers doing some pretty cool and unique things on a slightly larger than small scale.  Birmimgham is also able to support a Saks Fifth Avenue and higher end shopping and services than larger Jacksonville, which says a lot right there.

There just isn't a lot of "money" in Jacksonville.  There are some wealthy retirees and some wealthy philanthropists, but for all those million dollar homes we have in the metro, probably only half of the occupants can truly afford their mortgage.  On top of this, the city's ethos is not focused on education and 21st century.  It has tried along with much of FL, but sadly graduates of most colleges aren't flocking to anywhere in FL before looking at most any other city further north.  A city needs those young, single college grads and young married couples both working to function as a real city.  Jacksonville's young population just isn't as travelled, isn't as highly educated, isn't as ambitious, and isn't as interested in transforming the city as the same demographic in cities outside of FL (I'd say FL as a whole outside of Miami for different reasons is not like the rest of the country in this regard).  This is going to sound completely irrelevant, but in my mind something as trivial as what I'm about to say means something.  I can't find but maybe two of my friends who stayed in Jacksonville and did not go to college and then begin their careers elsewhere on linkedIn.  I'm telling you, Jacksonville is just so far behind the times in many areas.  It does not attract money.  It does not have money.  It is not really growing money outside of sheer population growth.  Money makes cities go around - it has always been that way and it will always be that way.  Individual neighborhoods and small towns and rural areas just don't rely on sheer money and power and influence and education and the grind like cities do.  Money is a HUGE part of the missing equation in Jacksonville.

I have said this on this site multiple times in the past and been shot down, but I will not back away from this.

And money builds on itself.  People with money IN CITIES are attracted to other people with money.  Cross investing occurs and a dynamic and growing economy is what results.  In the SE, virtually all money flows through Atlanta if it is not made here and dispersed.  All of the south's VC funds are raised here.  The south's largest real estate developers are here, and then spread to other cities like Charlotte and Nashville.  Cross-investing occurs.  What was once a big finance/RE/government city has now made up nearly all of its employment losses in those areas with gains in healthcare, tech, science, manufacturing and transportation/warehousing.  It's able to do this because Tech and Emory are present with some of the largest endowments of universities in the south and producing the fuel to the 21st century boom.  Other universities in the area are also helping in a big way.  Money from the endowments makes that happen.  Then money further flows to these VC funds, which are fueling a boom for loft office space and revitalizing whole neighborhoods that were once run-down (and this money flows to RTP in Raleigh and Austin, which is now seeing a HUGE hotel and rental and office boom).  Deep-pocketed developers themselves end up throwing some money into one of these VC funds, as they are rehabbing areas into loft apartments and building new apartments in former warehouse districts, their residential base are the geeks who receive the money.

I see Nashville doing the same thing on its own now.  Charlotte has kind of been in the same loop on its own for a good 15-20 years now.  Jacksonville just has been completely left out of this money loop.  Money and growing money makes the world go round and it certainly helps real estate and the revitilization of downtowns.

Miami has deep-pocketed individuals, which don't seem to benefit that city too much.  I mean it took them how long to finally secure enough funding to break ground on that museum down there?  BUT corporations are even better than deep-pocketed people.  F500s and big private firms create the deep-pocketed people and have even deeperpockets themselves.  I look around me, and everything is sponsored by Coke or Delta or UPS or some old rich Jewish/Buckhead family, or Bernie Marcus.  Jacksonville has Everbank, Elizabeth Lovett and a few "Jacksonville-wealthy" families, perhaps it benefited a little from Winn Dixie and Fidelity, but it just doesn't have that corporate money backing or that base of extremely deep-pocketed people.

Cities are always in a competition for money because money makes stuff happen.  Cities don't even need ingenuity if they have the money...if enough money is thrown at enough things, something will stick.  Such is the nature of investing.

[Anti redneck]

It's sad to say that I really have lost faith in Jacksonville. These city leaders will continue to keep the big corporations out. They will continue to hold downtown back. St. Augustine is on the rise while Jacksonville is "staying put". It is so frustrating. Why can't they just change policy? Why can't they just make things more people-friendly? When will they learn?

[thelakelander]

I will admit, when I state that the city needs to get out of the way, it won't immediately lead to the yuppified, suburbanite loving vision that many may want downtown to become.  What it will lead to is a sustainable urban environment where all cultures, races, and income levels get a fair chance to play in the game.  On a smaller scale, its what's naturally taking place along King Street and the CoRK/Brewery area right now.

[Anti redneck]

Well it wouldn't happen overnight. But just think of where things would be right now if they had changed all these policies at least 10 years ago.

[Garden guy]

Yet they continue to hand out building permits for more offices on the southside and JTB like they are candy. Who's trying to stop that??? NOONE