Aquarium could be coming to Jacksonville?

[AuditoreEnterprise]

Lots of people walk when there is something worth walking to on every single contiguous block. That's the thing that really stands out in Chattanooga. The environment there changes a lot when surface lots start dominating or equally sharing sidewalk frontage with buildings and green space. Apply this to the Shipyards or Metropolitan Park sites and you may discover we'll need 30 years and billions in private investment to create the scene shown in those Chattanooga images. Fill in the surface lots and underutilized spaces between the Hyatt and Acosta Bridge and such a scene could happen in less than 10.

Well said and great point. +1

[TimmyB]

I wonder if I could chime in, with the viewpoint of a complete outsider?  My wife and I are lifelong residents of Michigan, but we are nearing the end of our careers and have spent the past decade looking at warmer places to call home.  We have a long list of "must-have" and "should-have" items, but when it's all said and done, we decided on the metro-Jacksonville area.  It has almost everything that we are looking for, except two, and neither of those are deal-breakers.

The two?  First, it has no light-rail system to get into and out of downtown easily.  This makes "big-city" living SO much easier, but again, it's not a major issue, for us.  The second issue is, the lack of a vibrant downtown area.  I mean, if you get a block away from The Landings area, you (a) have not much to do and, (b) don't feel very safe.  We are avid runners and cyclists, and if you consider every place we have looked at, from Seattle, Portland, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, ... every single one has a place where active people feel safe and secure AND have something to do while they are in the CBD, whether it's a multitude of restaurants, or fish in a big tank!

Should someone build this aquarium?  That's way beyond me.  What I do know is, Downtown Jax doesn't have that feel that it should have, especially if you consider how much waterfront space there is at its disposal, and the size of the city, itself.  Hopefully, some bright individuals can come up with a shared vision to make this happen, instead of a piecemeal "build it, they will come" mentality.   

[AuditoreEnterprise]

I wonder if I could chime in, with the viewpoint of a complete outsider?  My wife and I are lifelong residents of Michigan, but we are nearing the end of our careers and have spent the past decade looking at warmer places to call home.  We have a long list of "must-have" and "should-have" items, but when it's all said and done, we decided on the metro-Jacksonville area.  It has almost everything that we are looking for, except two, and neither of those are deal-breakers.

The two?  First, it has no light-rail system to get into and out of downtown easily.  This makes "big-city" living SO much easier, but again, it's not a major issue, for us.  The second issue is, the lack of a vibrant downtown area.  I mean, if you get a block away from The Landings area, you (a) have not much to do and, (b) don't feel very safe.  We are avid runners and cyclists, and if you consider every place we have looked at, from Seattle, Portland, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, ... every single one has a place where active people feel safe and secure AND have something to do while they are in the CBD, whether it's a multitude of restaurants, or fish in a big tank!

Should someone build this aquarium?  That's way beyond me.  What I do know is, Downtown Jax doesn't have that feel that it should have, especially if you consider how much waterfront space there is at its disposal, and the size of the city, itself.  Hopefully, some bright individuals can come up with a shared vision to make this happen, instead of a piecemeal "build it, they will come" mentality.   

To jacksonville's credit... When I left for Los Angeles about 12 Years ago... You did not come downtown period, unless you had to. Now I live downtown and it is hands down one of the best places I have ever lived. As for vibrancy I do see a lot of it here, you just have to be down here at the right time such as during the Jazz fest, One spark, art walk ect. I can see the florida theatre from my bedroom window and they have something going on there almost every night. From Thursday until Saturday most all of the bars over there are packed. The Landing is a little sad, but it itself is even better than it used to be. I would go out on a limb here since i walk downtown a lot and say its more in the range of a 20 block radius that you can walk and be fine. The southbank isn't too bad either so that only extends the range. I see tons of people running the main street bridge every night.

As for Light rail there is another thread here somewhere maybe someone will link it here, but the city is currently planning that for the future. So I think if you were to move here then you could also be a part of something really great that is going on here Welcome to the forums by the way! I do hope you stick around and explore what people are saying! after all the saying is Downtown is on Fire!!!

[TimmyB]

I wonder if I could chime in, with the viewpoint of a complete outsider?  My wife and I are lifelong residents of Michigan, but we are nearing the end of our careers and have spent the past decade looking at warmer places to call home.  We have a long list of "must-have" and "should-have" items, but when it's all said and done, we decided on the metro-Jacksonville area.  It has almost everything that we are looking for, except two, and neither of those are deal-breakers.

The two?  First, it has no light-rail system to get into and out of downtown easily.  This makes "big-city" living SO much easier, but again, it's not a major issue, for us.  The second issue is, the lack of a vibrant downtown area.  I mean, if you get a block away from The Landings area, you (a) have not much to do and, (b) don't feel very safe.  We are avid runners and cyclists, and if you consider every place we have looked at, from Seattle, Portland, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, ... every single one has a place where active people feel safe and secure AND have something to do while they are in the CBD, whether it's a multitude of restaurants, or fish in a big tank!

Should someone build this aquarium?  That's way beyond me.  What I do know is, Downtown Jax doesn't have that feel that it should have, especially if you consider how much waterfront space there is at its disposal, and the size of the city, itself.  Hopefully, some bright individuals can come up with a shared vision to make this happen, instead of a piecemeal "build it, they will come" mentality.   

To jacksonville's credit... When I left for Los Angeles about 12 Years ago... You did not come downtown period, unless you had to. Now I live downtown and it is hands down one of the best places I have ever lived. As for vibrancy I do see a lot of it here, you just have to be down here at the right time such as during the Jazz fest, One spark, art walk ect. I can see the florida theatre from my bedroom window and they have something going on there almost every night. From Thursday until Saturday most all of the bars over there are packed. The Landing is a little sad, but it itself is even better than it used to be. I would go out on a limb here since i walk downtown a lot and say its more in the range of a 20 block radius that you can walk and be fine. The southbank isn't too bad either so that only extends the range. I see tons of people running the main street bridge every night.

As for Light rail there is another thread here somewhere maybe someone will link it here, but the city is currently planning that for the future. So I think if you were to move here then you could also be a part of something really great that is going on here Welcome to the forums by the way! I do hope you stick around and explore what people are saying! after all the saying is Downtown is on Fire!!!

Thanks, AE!  I hope your observations are more correct than ours have been.  Like I said, our checklist is quite long and JAX checked off almost all of them, so we are very excited to be coming down!  Can't come soon enough, sadly.  <sigh>   

[AuditoreEnterprise]

I wonder if I could chime in, with the viewpoint of a complete outsider?  My wife and I are lifelong residents of Michigan, but we are nearing the end of our careers and have spent the past decade looking at warmer places to call home.  We have a long list of "must-have" and "should-have" items, but when it's all said and done, we decided on the metro-Jacksonville area.  It has almost everything that we are looking for, except two, and neither of those are deal-breakers.

The two?  First, it has no light-rail system to get into and out of downtown easily.  This makes "big-city" living SO much easier, but again, it's not a major issue, for us.  The second issue is, the lack of a vibrant downtown area.  I mean, if you get a block away from The Landings area, you (a) have not much to do and, (b) don't feel very safe.  We are avid runners and cyclists, and if you consider every place we have looked at, from Seattle, Portland, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, ... every single one has a place where active people feel safe and secure AND have something to do while they are in the CBD, whether it's a multitude of restaurants, or fish in a big tank!

Should someone build this aquarium?  That's way beyond me.  What I do know is, Downtown Jax doesn't have that feel that it should have, especially if you consider how much waterfront space there is at its disposal, and the size of the city, itself.  Hopefully, some bright individuals can come up with a shared vision to make this happen, instead of a piecemeal "build it, they will come" mentality.   

To jacksonville's credit... When I left for Los Angeles about 12 Years ago... You did not come downtown period, unless you had to. Now I live downtown and it is hands down one of the best places I have ever lived. As for vibrancy I do see a lot of it here, you just have to be down here at the right time such as during the Jazz fest, One spark, art walk ect. I can see the florida theatre from my bedroom window and they have something going on there almost every night. From Thursday until Saturday most all of the bars over there are packed. The Landing is a little sad, but it itself is even better than it used to be. I would go out on a limb here since i walk downtown a lot and say its more in the range of a 20 block radius that you can walk and be fine. The southbank isn't too bad either so that only extends the range. I see tons of people running the main street bridge every night.

As for Light rail there is another thread here somewhere maybe someone will link it here, but the city is currently planning that for the future. So I think if you were to move here then you could also be a part of something really great that is going on here Welcome to the forums by the way! I do hope you stick around and explore what people are saying! after all the saying is Downtown is on Fire!!!

Thanks, AE!  I hope your observations are more correct than ours have been.  Like I said, our checklist is quite long and JAX checked off almost all of them, so we are very excited to be coming down!  Can't come soon enough, sadly.  <sigh>   

Alot of people look at big leaps as evidence of progress, but after being gone for that amount of time the improvements to me were greater than the way someone who has been watching the progresses view I guess.

[AuditoreEnterprise]

Also if you are ever in town in the future and want to look around just let me know. You can swing by my office and I will be more than happy to show you around better.

[InnerCityPressure]

Odd thread as my two previous homes are Chattanooga and Baltimore.

A few random thoughts off the top of my head:

1 - Both cities have a concentration of college students downtown.   Baltimore (Johns Hopkins/MICA) Chattanooga (UT-C)
Built in art/music/restaurant/bar scene.  UNF would have done wonders for this city had it located downtown in what I assume would have been an easy move in the 70s.  I'm sure there are reasons, though.

2 - Both cities have historic neighborhoods directly surrounding the vibrancy.  Baltimore (Fells Point/Federal Hill) Chattanooga (North Shore) 
I think Springfield sort of fits this aside from the Union/State St. Expressway.

3 - Both cities have a long history of tourism. Baltimore (Federal Hill/Ft McHenry) Chattanooga (ChooChoo/Rock City/Ruby Falls/Civil War Sights)

How do we fit in?

[AuditoreEnterprise]

that is actually a good point... NY has BYU and Los Angeles has UCLA and USC... All of those cities are exactly as you described... I completely omitted that fact. I do know a couple schools have talks about putting things into the Barnett building when it is done. I think FSCJ downtown would have been better served as a UNF. Who knows why they never came down here.

[ProjectMaximus]

Great pics, Lake! You and Field make a couple of excellent ambassadors for Jax. Couldn't have been a better duo!

Lots of people walk when there is something worth walking to on every single contiguous block. That's the thing that really stands out in Chattanooga. The environment there changes a lot when surface lots start dominating or equally sharing sidewalk frontage with buildings and green space. Apply this to the Shipyards or Metropolitan Park sites and you may discover we'll need 30 years and billions in private investment to create the scene shown in those Chattanooga images. Fill in the surface lots and underutilized spaces between the Hyatt and Acosta Bridge and such a scene could happen in less than 10.

You've been saying this since the day I met you. And you've been right about most things you say.
Connectivity and complementary uses will go so much further than investing in disparate parts of the CBD and creating competing services. And point #2, lets go for some singles and play small ball rather than depending on one big swing to bail us out.

Thanks, AE!  I hope your observations are more correct than ours have been.  Like I said, our checklist is quite long and JAX checked off almost all of them, so we are very excited to be coming down!  Can't come soon enough, sadly.  <sigh>   

What city are you coming from? I'm glad you've decided to come here despite the issues. I'm glad you are attracted by all Jax has to offer and I'm glad you recognize and agree with those couple deficiencies. This is really an exciting time and I anticipate huge change and improvement in the next few years.

The Jax2025 Vision Plan found that most residents put public transit and a vibrant downtown as two of the top 3 or 4 priorities facing the city over the next decade. It'll be great to have a couple more citizens who feel the same way and will push for these improvements.

I'm sure you already know this but Riverside or Brooklyn may be the best bet for you to find the lifestyle you seek. Skyway extension into Brooklyn is almost certainly the next step we'll see in fixed transit of any form, and further down the road some type of light rail from Riverside will probably happen before there is commuter or light rail anywhere else.

Also if you are ever in town in the future and want to look around just let me know. You can swing by my office and I will be more than happy to show you around better.

I'll take you up on this some time. I don't need anyone to show me around but I wouldn't mind chatting about the city.

that is actually a good point... NY has BYU and Los Angeles has UCLA and USC... All of those cities are exactly as you described... I completely omitted that fact. I do know a couple schools have talks about putting things into the Barnett building when it is done. I think FSCJ downtown would have been better served as a UNF. Who knows why they never came down here.

Yeah and FSCJ Downtown is completely fenced off from its surroundings. The skyway extension was originally supposed to run straight into the third floor right outside my father's office. I can only assume the college changed its mind after realizing they might have "undesirable" foot traffic through their doors.

And JU began downtown before moving out to Arlington, iirc. Another missed opportunity was when Florida Coastal moved its campus six or seven years ago and had considered downtown. Instead they selected their shared suburban site with the Art Institute.

[thelakelander]

I'm game for meeting up and narrating tours of the city as well. I like showing people the good, bad, and ugly of our urban core.

[TimmyB]

Maximus, we are in the thriving (ha!) metropolis of Battle Creek.  You know, the one that used to make your Frosted Flakes, before kellogg's started moving their operations out and laying off 10,000 workers!

Jacksonville has SO much to offer.  Every time we come back for a visit, we keep looking for something that will make us say that we made the wrong choice; haven't found it, so far!!!

[AuditoreEnterprise]

That is a shame, but I do understand it is a college none the less and I completely get that they didn't want the undesired foot traffic. I am just hoping people can get together and take the steps to make the city better in the end. Just takes enough like minded people to make a difference. Who knows maybe we all can be that forming group to take it from getting a payday back to simply making a difference. My doors are always open to all who come with suggestions I welcome people to come by with ideas and see what can be done

[Tacachale]

Maximus, we are in the thriving (ha!) metropolis of Battle Creek.  You know, the one that used to make your Frosted Flakes, before kellogg's started moving their operations out and laying off 10,000 workers!

Jacksonville has SO much to offer.  Every time we come back for a visit, we keep looking for something that will make us say that we made the wrong choice; haven't found it, so far!!!

Welcome to Jacksonville and the forums, Timmy. My wife is originally from Battle Creek and a lot of her family lives there now. Beautiful part of the country. I've found a lot of similarities between the Jax area and Western Michigan in terms of a friendly, laid back culture and natural beauty. You'll probably really appreciate the winters but watch out for the summers. We do have it a lot better than most of Florida, however.

Your list identified what may be Jacksonville's two biggest downsides: a struggling Downtown environment and weak public transit. However, part of this forum's purpose is helping improve both those things, and we're making progress.

If you're interested in urban areas supportive of active life styles, there are some great ones right near downtown. You'll definitely want to check out Riverside, Avondale, San Marco, and Springfield if you haven't yet. Lots of opportunities for runners and cyclists, not to mention great restaurants and bars. We also have some very nice suburban areas; the Beaches is probably the best for folks who like to get their exercise out of doors.

Again, welcome to Jacksonville, Metro and otherwise.

[TimmyB]

Welcome to Jacksonville and the forums, Timmy. My wife is originally from Battle Creek and a lot of her family lives there now. Beautiful part of the country. I've found a lot of similarities between the Jax area and Western Michigan in terms of a friendly, laid back culture and natural beauty. You'll probably really appreciate the winters but watch out for the summers. We do have it a lot better than most of Florida, however.

Your list identified what may be Jacksonville's two biggest downsides: a struggling Downtown environment and weak public transit. However, part of this forum's purpose is helping improve both those things, and we're making progress.

If you're interested in urban areas supportive of active life styles, there are some great ones right near downtown. You'll definitely want to check out Riverside, Avondale, San Marco, and Springfield if you haven't yet. Lots of opportunities for runners and cyclists, not to mention great restaurants and bars. We also have some very nice suburban areas; the Beaches is probably the best for folks who like to get their exercise out of doors.

Again, welcome to Jacksonville, Metro and otherwise.

Small world, eh?  Thanks for the welcome!  We have visited some of those neighborhoods, already, but we have our heart set on living near the water, so Beaches it is! 

[ProjectMaximus]

Welcome, Timmy. I don't know Battle Creek but it looks like it's not far from Chicago, where I used to live. And I'm not saying you shouldn't move to the beaches, but there is plenty of water away from the beach too!!