Jacksonville fights to keep fleeing young professionals

[Anti redneck]

I've tried to stay offline in the past because of my position with the City and now to keep my nose clean; but, this is something I feel strongly about.  Capital is more mobile than it has every been. It's not just mobile regionally or nationally, but globally. Today's young professional is more likely to make a location choice based on lifestyle issues than ever before. It doesn't take much research to figure out they are locating in cities that offer a dynamic urban lifestyle with a variety of mobility choices.

CEOs for Cities published a report they call the Talent Dividend. Their research indicates that for every %1 increase in college attainment there is a $763 increase in per capita income. Some simple math indicates that just striving for average would net 2.5 billion dollars for Duval County annually.  That's a powerful argument for Jacksonville adding a vibrant urban product to it's real estate portfolio.

However, there's more.  This is a group that clearly values education. I leave it to you to discuss whether we provide a market that values education ...

Bill

Great post.  I could see young professionals living in and enjoying life in Riverside, Avondale and San Marco.  Unfortunately transplants new to town are never shown these neighborhoods (instead most realtors automatically bring them to the beach or to a subdivision/gated community).  The city and the individual communities also don't really have the money for necessary upkeep and code enforcement, and as a result even the "nicest" pockets of the city look extremely trashy when compared to nice pockets of similar metros. 

Also, visitors to the city, from business travelers to convention attendees to tourists and vacationers see the following of our city:

1) A great/easy airport
2) A HORRIBLE stretch of 95, no matter which side of town (and add I-10 and basically any major thoroughfare)
3) An absolutely cryptic downtown with no life
4) Pristine suburbs, but nothing different from suburbs elsewhere
5) The beaches, which outside of Atlantic Beach and old PVB are not what I would consider showcase beaches (and most just see Jax Beach, which is iffy at best when compared to other FL beaches)

The city has not learned that its most visible parts are most important for attracting business and people.  Once it gets that down, it has to pay more attention to the neighborhoods surrounding the core which will be more popular for 21st century young professionals and empty nesters (the people the city should attract and look after).

What is equally as bad as crime and blight is complete and utter emptiness.  When the city demolishes buildings in the name of cleaning up or public safety or whatever the reason, it just creates more emptiness, which is absolutely horrible for producing the right image to visitors.

The city also has made too many bad choices of locating ugly government buildings on prime developable riverfront land and then building action centers (such as arena, stadium, convention center, etc) scattered all over the place in empty land areas.  Basically, the city has nearly made too many bad decisions in 50 years to really come back from it, but there is always hope.

And let's not forget that while the top private schools in the city are inexpensive compared to similar product in larger cities where transplants may be relocating from, they are still out of reach for 99%.  AND nobody in their right mind is going to want to start a family and send their kids to a Duval public school (unless they can "win" the lottery and attend Stanton or DA).  Still, education is probably not as dire of a situation as the city's image and policies for growth/development/lack of money for incentives or anything.  Plenty of large cities have horrible public schools, private schools that cost as much as Harvard and still tons of young professionals and young families.

Perhaps more job creation right there? Someone to promote or advertise the more urban parts of Jacksonville? Put someone in charge of beautifying 95 and 10? A creative young mind would could do that well.

[Bill Hoff]

Perhaps more job creation right there? Someone to promote or advertise the more urban parts of Jacksonville? Put someone in charge of beautifying 95 and 10? A creative young mind would could do that well.

That's pretty darn easy. I, and others, have been heavily promoting the more urban areas of Jax for years. Heck, buy a few bill boards, strategic online/magazine ads, and get on a few specific local morning tv/radio shows and you'd have one heckuva campaign.

But, unless it's COJ funded, it would take coordination between area organizations and agencies, which are too territorial, IMO. They don't see the bigger picture that if someone moves to X in the urban core, it's also good for Y in the urban core.

One example, Springfield has nice parks with amenities bordering Downtown. Yet, DVI won't promote them or the events held in them. It's outside of their technical boundry, even though they're literally next to one another. So, instead of DVI promoting the dog park, disc golf course, baseball field, duck pond, and potential historic tourism of Klutho & Confederate Parks, which would draw people into Downtown as well, to visit or live, they pretend these desirable amenities don't exist. Or when was the last time you saw SMPS promoting a RAP event? Etc.

When people move to the general urban core, many do so for what's within a few miles distance, not just what's around the corner from them. And if you live in San Marco, Springfield, Riverside or Downtown, all are just a few miles (or less) away from one another.


   

[Anti redneck]

Perhaps more job creation right there? Someone to promote or advertise the more urban parts of Jacksonville? Put someone in charge of beautifying 95 and 10? A creative young mind would could do that well.

That's pretty darn easy. I, and others, have been heavily promoting the more urban areas of Jax for years. Heck, buy a few bill boards, strategic online/magazine ads, and get on a few specific local morning tv/radio shows and you'd have one heckuva campaign.

But, unless it's COJ funded, it would take coordination between area organizations and agencies, which are too territorial, IMO. They don't see the bigger picture that if someone moves to X in the urban core, it's also good for Y in the urban core.

One example, Springfield has nice parks with amenities bordering Downtown. Yet, DVI won't promote them or the events held in them. It's outside of their technical boundry, even though they're literally next to one another. So, instead of DVI promoting the dog park, disc golf course, baseball field, duck pond, and potential historic tourism of Klutho & Confederate Parks, which would draw people into Downtown as well, to visit or live, they pretend these desirable amenities don't exist. Or when was the last time you saw SMPS promoting a RAP event? Etc.

When people move to the general urban core, many do so for what's within a few miles distance, not just what's around the corner from them. And if you live in San Marco, Springfield, Riverside or Downtown, all are just a few miles (or less) away from one another.


   

I say if COJ starts funding stuff like this and gets the right guy/girl in there, they will get the results that they've been looking for. If anything, it might even turn into profit for them.

[Tacachale]

Anything on the specific recommendations of the consultants?

[Purplebike]

I just had an epiphany. CoWork Jax.

It's a hub for creative professionals, young and old. Networking and collaboration opportunities. A step in the right direction of keeping young professionals in Jacksonville, yes?

I mentioned in some earlier posts in this thread that I wish there were more late night bookstores & cafes. One main reason being, so I can work at night...on creative stuff, on teaching stuff, etc. While CoWork Jax isn't a cafe or bookstore, I can see putting in night owl work hours there, when I don't feel like working at home. Which I never do feel like doing, it's too distracting.

Have any of you checked it out yet? If yes, what are your thoughts?

http://www.coworkjax.com/

[krazeeboi]

Jacksonville didn't have the visionary and progressive business leadership a couple of decades ago that's largely responsible for Charlotte being what it is today. It doesn't have the high-caliber universities that have resulted in significant amounts of private investment like the Raleigh-Durham area and Austin, nor is it the epicenter of certain cultural expressions like Nashville and New Orleans. It will have to take a page out of the playbooks of cities like Charleston and Greenville that started with visionary civic and political leadership which actually, in turn, made the urban cores of those cities economic development tools in and of themselves. Jacksonville has built-in advantages that some of its peer cities would absolutely KILL to have, but the lack of leadership over the years resulted in those cities doing more with less.

[vicupstate]

Jacksonville didn't have the visionary and progressive business leadership a couple of decades ago that's largely responsible for Charlotte being what it is today. It doesn't have the high-caliber universities that have resulted in significant amounts of private investment like the Raleigh-Durham area and Austin, nor is it the epicenter of certain cultural expressions like Nashville and New Orleans. It will have to take a page out of the playbooks of cities like Charleston and Greenville that started with visionary civic and political leadership which actually, in turn, made the urban cores of those cities economic development tools in and of themselves. Jacksonville has built-in advantages that some of its peer cities would absolutely KILL to have, but the lack of leadership over the years resulted in those cities doing more with less.

I think you hit the bullseye on this topic.

[ben says]

Jacksonville didn't have the visionary and progressive business leadership a couple of decades ago that's largely responsible for Charlotte being what it is today. It doesn't have the high-caliber universities that have resulted in significant amounts of private investment like the Raleigh-Durham area and Austin, nor is it the epicenter of certain cultural expressions like Nashville and New Orleans. It will have to take a page out of the playbooks of cities like Charleston and Greenville that started with visionary civic and political leadership which actually, in turn, made the urban cores of those cities economic development tools in and of themselves. Jacksonville has built-in advantages that some of its peer cities would absolutely KILL to have, but the lack of leadership over the years resulted in those cities doing more with less.

Can I hear an amen?

[cline]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

[mtraininjax]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

Go look in the mirror, change starts with each of us. You want a different city, go make it happen.

[Purplebike]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

Go look in the mirror, change starts with each of us. You want a different city, go make it happen.

+100

[Anti redneck]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

Go look in the mirror, change starts with each of us. You want a different city, go make it happen.

+100

OK. Wonderful. Where do we start? How do we do it? How can we get our ideas across a city that goes out of its way to hold itself back?

[fsquid]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

Go look in the mirror, change starts with each of us. You want a different city, go make it happen.

I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways.

[Bativac]

We still don't have the visionary and progressive business leadership.

Go look in the mirror, change starts with each of us. You want a different city, go make it happen.

I think lots of people make it happen by just going to a different city. It takes a long time to make any positive headway in Jacksonville and there are few wanting to waste their youth hoping that a city (which so far has failed to make any real improvements in any of the urban qualities so desired by young professionals) will magically transform.

[JFman00]

Some of us are stuck here, and if I'm going to be stuck here, I'm going to do what I can to make it better.