Hanjin not building $300 million Jaxport terminal

[aaapolito]

Disappointing, but not surprising...

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2013/03/21/hanjin-not-building-jaxport-terminal.html

[Ocklawaha]

Yes a major setback for certain, though they tried vainly to put it in a new and better light, that announcement was the sound of $300M leaving town along with hundreds of jobs that would have been created.

There is an old Naval FACT which is little understood by science. Rat's don't just abandon a 'sinking ship' the rats actually abandon a ship in port BEFORE it sinks, perhaps they have a 6Th sense? We could see this coming.

[thelakelander]

Not surprising indeed. I came away highly skeptical of the amount of growth being sold to the community when port officials made their presentations to the transportation transitioning team two years ago.

[billy]

There is an article in Business News about use of eminent domain to acquire land for container transfer facility.

[Hayley]

JCCI did a pretty illuminating study on JAXPORT that was also dubious regarding its economic potential:
http://www.jcci.org/jcciwebsite/documents/95%20Jaxport%20Expansion.pdf

[thelakelander]

^Looking at that 1995 JCCI study, what ever happened to the idea of expanding on the former contaminated Kerr-McGee property? I do believe there is potential for significant growth, not only for JAXPORT but also private companies such as Keystone. I'm just not sold on the ideal that we can't have significant growth without first spending hundreds of millions to dredge to 47 feet.

[JayBird]

Not to start this whole conversation again but will this bolster Mayport residents in their fight against a Cruise port?  I mean wasn't the Hanjin deal the motivator for moving the cruise ships?  That being said, has anyone heard any recent progress or information on a cruise port ... or are we relegating that to 2025 as well?

[thelakelander]

The motivation for a cruise port in Mayport was the limiting height of the Dames Point Bridge.  The bad thing about killing the cruise port idea at Mayport is it's probably the one thing that could have generated enough traffic to save the ferry.

[Charles Hunter]

Where is the Kerr-McGee property?  At last month's Urban Core CPAC meeting, there was a presentation by the company that wants to use the Keystone property to build a lime processing plant.  Limerock would be shipped in, processed in a four (or was it 12) story high plant, and lime would be trucked out.  I believe this is working its way through the environmental and City Council approval processes.

[thelakelander]

Kerr-McGee is the old fertilizer plant site that separates JAXPORT from Crowley. The Keystone property is the former paper mill site, a mile or so north.

The former Kerr McGee Chemical Company was located on 31 acres bordering the St. Johns Rever at 1611 Talleyrand Avenue.

The site operated as a fertilizer formulating, packagine, and distributing facility from at least 1893 to 1978. Pesticide formulation operations were added in the 1950s. Previous owners of the site include Wilson and Toomer Company (1893 to 1950s), Plymouth Cordage (1950s-1965), Emhart Corporation (1965-1970) and Kerr McGee Chemical Company, now Tronox LLC (1970 to present). 

Kerr McGee Chemical Company operated two plants at the site that formulated, blended, and packaged pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers until the site was closed in 1978.  Kerr McGee also produced sulfuric acid in an on-site plant for use in the fertilizer manufacturing process and for a time operated a steel drum reconditioning facility near the pesticide storage warehouse.  Sulfuric acid production was discontinued in 1972, superphosphate fertilizer production was discontinued in 1976, and fertilizer-blending operations ceased in 1978.  The site's buildings were demolished in 1989, with the exception of three raised foundations.  The site is currently vacant and undeveloped.

http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/nplfln/kerrmgee_proposedplan.pdf

[Noone]

JCCI did a pretty illuminating study on JAXPORT that was also dubious regarding its economic potential:
http://www.jcci.org/jcciwebsite/documents/95%20Jaxport%20Expansion.pdf

Welcome to the forum. Heck of a first post. I'd say fix Mile Point ASAP.  There is Federal funding at 45'. Take it and run. Tell everyone that our rail logistics and overland infrastructure is improving. Tony Nelson is in Federal prison. Our city still has close to a two billion dollar unfunded pension liability. The biggest public corruption investigation in the state. The JPA director just left.

So let's take the small positive steps with little economic benefits that will add back to our credibility and the restoration of the PUBLIC TRUST that has just been totally destroyed in this community.

[Hayley]

JCCI did a pretty illuminating study on JAXPORT that was also dubious regarding its economic potential:
http://www.jcci.org/jcciwebsite/documents/95%20Jaxport%20Expansion.pdf

Welcome to the forum. Heck of a first post. I'd say fix Mile Point ASAP.  There is Federal funding at 45'. Take it and run. Tell everyone that our rail logistics and overland infrastructure is improving. Tony Nelson is in Federal prison. Our city still has close to a two billion dollar unfunded pension liability. The biggest public corruption investigation in the state. The JPA director just left.

So let's take the small positive steps with little economic benefits that will add back to our credibility and the restoration of the PUBLIC TRUST that has just been totally destroyed in this community.

Visit Jacksonville-  Our child molesters get pensions too with Board Approval.

Thanks!  I was lurking for about a year, but I figured it was time. 

[Ocklawaha]

I didn't see the JCCI study as negative as some of y'all apparently do. To me it's simply a rather broad sweeping critique with a lot of constructive criticism.

I think we should:

Take the 45' and run with it, meanwhile start a full court press to bump it to 50-55' in the future.

Take municipal/state control of the rail lines accessing the port and install a neutral operator.

Extend the Blount Island rail link west through Dinsmore to Westlake with possible extension to Cecil.

Build a pocket cruise terminal downtown housing Visit Jacksonville, reception area, visitors center, marine welcome station as well as preview center for regional theme parks.

Create a big ship cruise terminal in Mayport working to preserve the theme, function and flavor of the historic village.

Get the damn JEA power transmission lines raised.

This along with the suggestions to work with JTA, JAA, JEA and the COJ actually becoming part of the community and working as a team to pull in the big fish and the little fish. Quit trying to be the exclusive planner/developer because in the end, the jobs generated and the tax base expansion would justify efforts to become part of TEAM JACKSONVILLE. I continue to believe based on our railroad infrastructure and opportunities, along with our interstates, Jacksonville could easily become the number one port in the south.

[jaxjags]

Wow. As I have been told many times at this site "stop thinking rationally". It just does not work in JAX.