DIA's Downtown Development Investment Strategy Draft Plan Released

[urbanlibertarian]

I've lived DT for over 10 years now and I can't think of anything beyond the jazz fest moving to the core and the superbowl that COJ has been involved with and has enhanced the DT living experience.  99% of the improvements have been by entrepreneurs risking their own money and NGO's like DVI.  I'm not holding my breath until DIA makes a difference.

[jaxbanker]

Having lived here for the past thirty years and having visited numerous other cities around the United States I make the following observations.

Tourism is essential to developing more restaurants, hotels, clubs and art galleys.......all you have to do is look at St. Augustine. St. Augustine has a myriad of attractions, none of them huge or overly dominate and they are somewhat concentrated in one general area.

I-95 brings thousands of tourist through Jacksonville every week. We have to give them reasons to stop downtown. Things that will attract tourist will also attract locals and day trippers. The city needs to show some commitment to some projects, once the some commitments are made private developers will follow. One project by it's self ( i.e. redeveloping the landing) will not stimulate enough immediate activity and will not be a significant enough tourist draw. Therefore, the city should commit to several large projects over an extended time period....say ten years, but not longer or people will not believe the projects will ever be started.

1)  Old court house property should be cleared for development of a state-of-the-art convention center. This location will lead to more activity at the Landing, on East Bay Street and on the north bank Riverwalk.
2) A portion of the Prime Osbourne is already planned to be part of an Amtrak Station. Turn the remainder into a Transportation Museum. Jacksonville is a significant multimodal transportation hub. Rail and transportation via ocean and river have been very active here for over a hundred years. This museum should focus on the history and future of rail in Florida and Jacksonville (need to acquire some locomotives for display), history and future of cruise lines and ocean going shipping in Jacksonville, air transport and the interstate highway system. Get corporate sponsors, we have numerous transportation companies headquartered here or with significant operations here; CSX, Florida East Coast RR, Landstar, Carnival Cruises, Crowley, Sea Star Line, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, JaxPort and Jacksonville Airport Authority.
3)Fix the amphitheater at Metro Park so its as nice as the amphitheater in St. Augustine and figure out how to creatively minimize the noise problem effecting the St. Nicolas area. St. Augustine is bringing thousands of locals and tourists every month to it's amphitheater. Improving this facility and the frequency and quality performers will bring a lot more people to downtown hotels and restaurants.
4) Do something with the Jacksonville Fire Museum. Needs more large and unique fire trucks, maybe a firefighting boat, maybe a gift shop, maybe a firefighter training tower or an old forest fire lookout tower; Florida has 160 still standing and most are idle.  Add exhibits on different types of fire fighting, fire fighting technology and significant fires in Jacksonville's history. Ask Firehouse Subs to be a sponsor of some sort. This is an existing attraction that needs to be much further developed and marketed......it's downtown, next to the river and Metro Park.
5) Move the School Board off the river and relocate those jobs to the downtown core. Sell the land for retail and residential condo tower development. Make sure the south bank Riverwalk extends down to it.
6) Develop a world class botanical gardens on the vacant JEA owned property next to the existing School Board building. It should include one or more unique glass conservatories visible from I-95, and make sure the south bank Riverwalk extends to it. Numerous cities smaller then Jacksonville have world class botanical gardens. Co-op with the University of Florida to develop and operate. Conduct research on rare and medicinal plants. Highlight carnivorous plants, bonsai, Florida native flora, a hedge maze, Koi ponds, Japanese zen gardens etc etc. Some how include the Treaty Oak Park as a component of the botanical gardens, even-though they won't be physically connected. The Treaty Oak is a very impressive specimen that should be better showcased and protected.
7) Develop a world class aquarium on a portion of the Shipyards property near the Jacksonville Fire Museum.
There's space for a giant Ferris wheel at Metro Park, but it won't be successful without having numerous attractions around it.
9) Persuade the Alhambra Dinner Theater to relocate to someplace on the southbank.
10) Get state and Federal funds to expand the Skyway so it goes farther.
11) Commit to extend the northbank Riverwalk to Memorial Park, which would help integrate the Five Points area and the Cummer Museum complex into the mix of attractions, retail and restaurants sites accessible from the north bank of the Riverwalk.
12) Get the State of Florida to allow a floating casino, styled as an old Paddle Wheeler and accessible from the Riverwalk, to sit on the river in front of the tiered building and parking lot located between the Main St Bridge and the Hyatt Hotel.
13 Get the Berkman Plaza tower #2 finished or torn-down.
14) Discus the possibility of locating the US Navy aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy(JFK) on the riverfront between Metro Park and the Hart Bridge. The JFK is the last super carrier that will be available for conversion into a museum/ public use facility because it was not built as a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. Checkout these sites if you want to see the potential that exists for developing an attraction that will definitely pull a lot of tourist of I-95;
www.intrepidmuseum.org  or  www.midway.org  or  www.patriotspoint.org  The JFK is still available, the one group in Rhode Island (www.ussjfkri.org) is far from raising the money necessary to convince the Navy it can maintain the ship. Jacksonville should request some funds from the State of Florida and use crowd funding to raise the $25 to $30 million that will be needed to bring the ship here and develop a respectable museum facility. $25 to $30 million is not really a big number when you consider that the City of Jacksonville just provided $63 million to further improve Everbank Stadium, and it's highly questionable whether that will really bring many additional visitors to Jacksonville. Jacksonville has a long history as a Navy town, the JFK's last home-port was Mayport NAS and Jacksonville is still vying for a nuclear powered carrier to be stationed at Mayport NAS in the near future.
14) Yes, the Landing needs to be redeveloped.
15) Put lighted fountains in the five retention ponds that will boarder I-95 when the road construction is completed just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge, see www.i95overlandbridge.com/images/2012-12-phase-6-large.jpg

[tufsu1]

Nice list

[Keith-N-Jax]

It is a nice list, but most of what is listed there has been discussed over and over!!!!

[urbanlibertarian]

Even if Mayor Brown gets a public-private partnership for a convention center, aquarium, etc., where does the city get the money for it's share considering the police/fire pension obligations we have and the huge number of parks we aren't maintaining.

[billy]

Will MJ be covering the upcoming seminar on the Northbank (held by ULI/AIA at the Hyatt)?

[tufsu1]

^ some regular posters will be there

[Noone]

Noone, Noone, paging Noone:

Water launch network
Priority: Mid-term, 2020-2030
Northbank and Southbank
''The plan update recommends the creation of a network of sustainable water launches and accesses for those who enjoy our waters in non-motorized boats. The network would help non-motorized boating Downtown be a less anxious experience; not just kayaks, but providing river access paddlers, rowers and small sail boat owners.''

We are so LOST.
2020- 6 years from now!!! What a joke. Open the RAM dock!!!! LPS- Let People Succeed!!!!
What the hell is the DIA? Downtown Investment Annuity!!! 10 year options. Pre Aundra Wallace.
2013-384 the armory for a buck a year and zero access to Hogans Creek.
2010-604-Shipyards III
Palms Fish Camp!! Palms Fish Camp!!! Palms Fish Camp!!! 10 year option. it's about time to cash in that bad boy for a million plus.
Will there be a kayak launch at MOSH?
My state of Florida favorite. The Jim Love, Kevin Kuzel, 26' Berkman floating dock compromise (Shipyards III) misrepresented by OGC during the 2013 FIND grant application process to Waterways. I will swear to that under oath in any court of law. It is BRILLIANT! And I had absolutely nothing to do with it. And a super duper follow up by councilwoman Lori Boyer.
$15,000,000 Southbank Riverwalk Project and we are ripping out and not replacing the Riverwalk behind the Duval County Public Schools building. WOW!
2007-451 needs to be amended.
And this is all happening on our St. Johns River our American Heritage River a FEDERAL Initiative in our super restricted (Food Truck, Kayak) DIA zone.

But on another positive note.
Mobro guys- Let's sing
No Shoes
No Shirt
No Money
No Problem
Visit Jacksonville! Paul Astleford is a hero.

A new Authority
Embrace It
Or
it will Embrace Us

Ben-JCCI we need to kayak Downtown before 2020