TU: What's going on with downtown?

[thelakelander]

The article mentions a few projects that will get underway in 2008.  These include:

122 Ocean - developers are negotiating Folio Weekly, a wine bar and jazz club as prospective tenants.

Berkman 2 - will resume work once federal investigation into garage collapse ends.

Riverwatch garage - The tower is delayed, but the 10 story garage will break ground in March.

The Shipyards - the buildings are delayed, but the public pier construction is under way.

"You always have to look at the silver lining, and that's that our downtown is not overbuilt," Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton said.

That means that Jacksonville's redevelopment could gain momentum faster than other cities and that, in the meantime, focusing on the Downtown Action Plan will be beneficial, Barton said.

The plan was approved late last year as a companion to the Downtown Master Plan. Its first three steps are basic requirements in any downtown: measures to improve cleanliness, safety and the overall look of the city. One-way streets also would be converted to two-way and a riverwalk enhancement plan would be created.

Those steps are followed by increasingly larger and, Barton said, more expensive plans such as redeveloping Metropolitan Park, Kids Kampus on the Northbank and Friendship Fountain on the Southbank.

full article: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/011408/bus_235936233.shtml

[thelakelander]

"You always have to look at the silver lining, and that's that our downtown is not overbuilt," Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton said.

Actually, an overbuilt downtown would probably be better off.  I say this because the new empty storefronts and residential units would have to be leased at lower prices to reduce the developer's financial losses.  This means it would be easier for the average resident and mom & pop businesses to open up shop.

In an underbuilt downtown that has not saved a significant amount of existing building stock, a lull in the market means the downtown remains in a desolate zombie-like state until the market improves.

[tufsu1]

"You always have to look at the silver lining, and that's that our downtown is not overbuilt," Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton said.

Actually, an overbuilt downtown would probably be better off.  I say this because the new empty storefronts and residential units would have to be leased at lower prices to reduce the developer's financial losses.  This means it would be easier for the average resident and mom & pop businesses to open up shop.

In an underbuilt downtown that has not saved a significant amount of existing building stock, a lull in the market means the downtown remains in a desolate zombie-like state until the market improves.

tell that to Miami and their empty Brickell area!

[thelakelander]

I said that primarily because I was just down there this past weekend.  Despite the poor market, what the city has been left with will pay huge dividends in the upcoming years.  Look for images to come in the next week or so.

[Jason]

I just hope that they stick to the plan and make all of these upgrades and modifications to the infrastructure as promised in preparation for the next big boom.

[thelakelander]

I'm concerned about this latest plan.  Unless I overlooked something, I did not find anything mentioned about how much each item would cost or the identification of funding sources.  Most "Action" plans include this type of information.

[Noone]

Public Pier improvements underway. What happened there?
Is Ted Carter still around?