Observations from last visit in Jax

[I-10east]

Maybe our crime level has something to do with us having more courtrooms than Mecklenburg County; There's something that's negative, ya know things that the majority of MJ loves to bask in; Maybe yall should elaborate on that? Maybe Jacksonvillains now don't have to wait so long for a court date. There's some negative thread material, any ideas....

[ChriswUfGator]

The Charlotte courthouse looks like a regular office building and a much better sight knowing it only cost $148 million compared to $350 million.  How did they get one for only $148 million? 

keep in mind that our new courthouse is costing roughly $225 million to construct...the remainder is for renovations to the old Federal courthouse, building the garage, and buying the land

I don't know why you always fall back on that non-sequitur. So would it have gotten built if they didn't get the land to build it on? I mean, it cost what it cost. I don't care WTF the individual breakdowns are, all I know is the stupid thing costs $400mm and it's ugly, unnecessary, and they had to level several city blocks to build it, further continuing our asinine policy of turning all of downtown into one giant city hall.

[Tacachale]

Maybe our crime level has something to do with us having more courtrooms than Mecklenburg County; There's something that's negative, ya know things that the majority of MJ loves to bask in; Maybe yall should elaborate on that? Maybe Jacksonvillains now don't have to wait so long for a court date. There's some negative thread material, any ideas....

They aren't apples-to-apples comparisons. Both are county courthouses, but both actually serve several courts that aren't equivalent between the state. As far as county court functions go, Mecklenburg County is slightly larger than Duval. However, for one difference, NC has a Superior Court broken into districts, while Florida has Circuit Courts. IIRC, Mecklenburg's local Superior Court division covers only that county, meaning it's smaller than the Florida 4th Circuit, which includes not only Duval but Clay and Nassau as well.

Our new courthouse was originally designed to last for 50 years with room for expansion as Northeast Florida continues to grow. The current courthouse has lasted for 50 years itself, but is so out of date in size that the state required us to build a new one (something that's usually forgotten in these discussions). In Charlotte, by contrast, the current design won't last 50 years, and it replaced a building that was less than 30 years old. Of course we're in a worse position now that we've overspent on this monstrosity.

Both courthouses are weak in different ways, but this is the result of similar failures. Mecklenburg County Courthouse suffered from a lack of foresight. Duval County Courthouse suffers from an administration's failure to follow through on the foresight of its predecessors.

[RiversideLoki]

12) There are no cabs anywhere.  I saw one cab in Avondale during two nights of going to bars there.  One.  Nobody in Avondale that I could tell was a DD.  Cops are everywhere along Roosevelt and generally everywhere.  I would be scared as hell to drink and party in Jax.  Why aren't there more cabs?  I understand one would need to call a cab during the day or basically anywhere during the day (they aren't lined up at the airport either), but at night I would expect a line of cabs everywhere there is some concentration of bars.  I guess I have seen them on Bay St, but they must be the only cabs in town.

DDs? In Avondale? Psshhh.. ask anyone who has hung out with anyone from Avondale or Ortega what a "toter" is.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

12) There are no cabs anywhere.  I saw one cab in Avondale during two nights of going to bars there.  One.  Nobody in Avondale that I could tell was a DD.  Cops are everywhere along Roosevelt and generally everywhere.  I would be scared as hell to drink and party in Jax.  Why aren't there more cabs?  I understand one would need to call a cab during the day or basically anywhere during the day (they aren't lined up at the airport either), but at night I would expect a line of cabs everywhere there is some concentration of bars.  I guess I have seen them on Bay St, but they must be the only cabs in town.

DDs? In Avondale? Psshhh.. ask anyone who has hung out with anyone from Avondale or Ortega what a "toter" is.

You mean a tater and a roadie?

[I-10east]

They aren't apples-to-apples comparisons. Both are county courthouses, but both actually serve several courts that aren't equivalent between the state. As far as county court functions go, Mecklenburg County is slightly larger than Duval. However, for one difference, NC has a Superior Court broken into districts, while Florida has Circuit Courts. IIRC, Mecklenburg's local Superior Court division covers only that county, meaning it's smaller than the Florida 4th Circuit, which includes not only Duval but Clay and Nassau as well.

Our new courthouse was originally designed to last for 50 years with room for expansion as Northeast Florida continues to grow. The current courthouse has lasted for 50 years itself, but is so out of date in size that the state required us to build a new one (something that's usually forgotten in these discussions). In Charlotte, by contrast, the current design won't last 50 years, and it replaced a building that was less than 30 years old. Of course we're in a worse position now that we've overspent on this monstrosity.

Both courthouses are weak in different ways, but this is the result of similar failures. Mecklenburg County Courthouse suffered from a lack of foresight. Duval County Courthouse suffers from an administration's failure to follow through on the foresight of its predecessors.

I agree, you're one of the few who is actually giving unbiased and reasonable insight; Mostly every one else = "Mecklenburg Courthouse is the best in the world, and Duval County is the worst". I'm not being a homer here, just putting things into perspective.

[thelakelander]

^Tacachale, great point and I agree.  I just don't believe there's a need to justify the horrible process or the result.  We've got a product that cost more than it had to be, destroyed fabric that it didn't have too, and something that's completely out of scale.  It is what it is.  Now, we've got to make the best of the situation and move forward.  I believe not rebuilding Monroe Street and making that area a green space is a great start.

[Timkin]

The Charlotte courthouse looks like a regular office building and a much better sight knowing it only cost $148 million compared to $350 million.  How did they get one for only $148 million? 

keep in mind that our new courthouse is costing roughly $225 million to construct...the remainder is for renovations to the old Federal courthouse, building the garage, and buying the land

I don't know why you always fall back on that non-sequitur. So would it have gotten built if they didn't get the land to build it on? I mean, it cost what it cost. I don't care WTF the individual breakdowns are, all I know is the stupid thing costs $400mm and it's ugly, unnecessary, and they had to level several city blocks to build it, further continuing our asinine policy of turning all of downtown into one giant city hall.

^^ +1 .. A colossal waste of money on all counts, and an end-product that was far too costly , more space than we could ever possibly need, a price tag ours, and several future generations will pay for, and a building that does nothing, appreciably to enhance the downtown area.

Nothing against FBC, but between them and Government offices, this is sadly the majority of what makes up what used to be a vibrant and beautiful downtown.  Past administrations ran everything that was an attraction or destination ,to speak of out of downtown and razed pretty much everything appreciable in our architecture.