Breathing Life back into the Jacksonville Landing

[Driven1]

imo, the landing ain't doing crap for sometime.  the local economics don't support it.

[Driven1]

cool...can you pull up the renderings from 2005 that were supposed to happen back then?  i loved those.

[Downtown Dweller]

Downtown does have a ton of parking, its just unmarked.  However, in the Landing's case, they believe they need a certain number of dedicated spaces to attract national chains that demand dedicated parking.  This would basically mean taking a garage somewhere and dedicating all of its parking spaces to the Landing, as opposed to having general public parking or leasing a certain amount of spaces to nearby offices, etc.  The closest city owned public parking garage is the Water Street garage, but its separated from the Landing by a few blocks of surface parking, making the walk between the two structures undesirable.  A solution to this problem could be a streetcar line down Water from the Prime Osborn to the Hyatt.  While the streetcar line would bring other benefits, it would also directly tie in several garages and parking lots with the Landing, Omni, TU Center, Hyatt and the Convention Center, thus enabling them to take advantage of what's already in place.  However, I don't see people here seriously thinking outside of the box and moving forward with something before Sleiman's garage goes vertical.

Funny I just got back from a small town in CA that has national chains right downtown without any dedicated parking...In fact the options of stores and eateries in this small town of 58K BLOWS Jacksonville away! There must be something besides parking holding downtown and the landing back.

[thelakelander]

What's the name of the town?  Does it have rail transit, is it dense or a part of a larger metropolitan area?

[Downtown Dweller]

San Luis Obsipo, it is 58K pop, with a college so most likely doubles in pop once a year. It is a stand alone city (although five cities and Atascadero, Morro Bay, Paso Robles are all very close). They are very "anti chain" and it took them about 10 years to get a home depot! I took pics of downtown, including the new proposed "China Town" developement area, and of course "Bubble Gum Alley" I just need to give them to Stephen. This is the same town that had HORRENDOUS vagrant and homeless feeding issues downtown just five years ago, a new day center outside the city limits, and a few loitering/cruising laws have created a booming downtown center.


BTW the biggest employer in SLO is the State of California and the county itself (about one hour north of Santa Barbara)


Oops... they have Amtrak, but no "metro rail", they do have a pretty aggresive bus and van pool system, and great bike lanes on every single road.

[Downtown Dweller]

I did not take a pic of the day center, but I can maybe ask someone to do so... I'll see maybe I can map it too

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

If you had out of town visitors staying with you, would you take them to SJTC or the Landing?         

I wouldn't take them to either unless I hated them and wanted to ruin their visit.

Haha! I think I love you Easy E

[Dapperdan]

My suggestions are:
1) to make the entire front as much glass as possible, adding vibrant signage and lighting
2) Install custom LED lights around the top horseshoe roof that can change to any color depending on events and seasons
3) completely redo all exterior and interior appearances just like the much improved Orange Park mall did

[Jax2024]

Two Words: Irish Pub.  Not a fake Irish Pub that confuses Mc and O' with legitimacy.  Just a real, not chain, Irish, pub where people can go after work for a drink without feeling like they should have changed into their gold-pinstriped muscle shirt (Twisted) or their jean shorts (Hooters).  Preferably it would have a small soundstage and enough sound insulation to block out the blaring DJ music coming from the fountain.  Honestly, the Twist is a cool song and all, but seriously? that loud? 

[blizz01]

As much as I hate chains - BAHAMA BREEZE!  TILTED KILT!  UNO!  LANDRY'S!  CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN!

Weekend Farmer's Market - NOT A FLEA MARKET or BAZAAR -  inside & out - Fresh meats, herbs, seafood, produce, spices, artisans, musicians, street performers, wine, microbrews, chocolate, baked goods - NO CARNIES; NO Seedy types selling boiled peanuts, 3 watermelons, some "greens" & cross-stitched Florida/Georgia wall art or silk screened T-shirts or ferrets ...................oh yeah, no pit bull puppies either!

The interior/facade doesn't bother me as much considering that when I was @ Harborplace in Baltimore it seemed to have the same aesthetic feel (I swear the Landing may have been assembled with spare parts from that project), but with more life OUTSIDE to supplement.  For the record, I'd still take JAX over Baltimore ANYDAY.......

[civil42806]

What was the story about the landing forcing Fat Tuesdays out?  If I remember correctly the landing refused to renew there lease.  Fat Tuesdays was always crowded, can anyone referesh my memory or shed some light?

[thelakelander]

any reader suggestions for the Landing?

1. Add glass storefronts to the NW side, as indicated in the rendering Janice supplied.  The direct exposure to the Independent Drive and Hogan Streets, enhances the value of space that currently sits vacant and under utilized.

2. Add enough sidewalk space in front of those storefront for outdoor use, thus turning the under utilized pocket park into another activity center.

People attract people. Decent sidewalk space would allow for activities such as outdoor dining to become a part of the Independent Drive scene.  If you can fill the sidewalks, others will have an urge to come over to take part in what looks like people having a great time.

3. Target locally based established businesses like Mojo BBQ, Peterbrooke, etc. to consider opening outlets in the remaining available vacant spaces.


Boston's Faneuil Hall is an attractive place, partially because of the ability to house a decent number of local dining establishments that cater serving guests locally based cruisine.

4. A public locally themed marketplace (as Stephen suggested earlier) along the Independent Drive side that stretches from Laura Street to the new glass storefronts and Mongos on the NW side.


a market with attractive uniform tents can be used to turn the north side of the center into a popular place that pulls people into the complex from Downtown's streets.

5. A spring cleaning of the interior with a little money spent on updating the decor and lighting of the structure.

6. Publicly support the idea of running a streetcar down Water Street.  This would enable to city/Landing to use the Water Street Garage for additional parking, as well as connect the center to the Convention Center, Omni, Hyatt and TU Center.  It would be cheaper to set up than building additional parking garages, plus it would bring significant exposure to the center, making it more viable and attractive for additional private investment.

I think these are some things can be done for an affordable price, yet have a great positive impact on the center without having to immediately physically alter the facility's footprint.

[vicupstate]

Greenville has a DT Saturday Market from April-October, from 8:00 am until noon.  There is a Farmer's Market just outside the city limits that is more like the Beaver St. facility in Jax. This is more of a niche market.

Offerings include: Produce (of course), seafood, plants, fresh cuts flowers and arrangements, cooking demonstrations, live music, fresh baked bread, Locally processed Coffee, Gourmet Pet treats/toys, candles and the like, etc.

Since the DT restaurants don't open for breakfast by and large, the market brings people DT during an otherwise slow period.  The street reopens just as the Saturday lunch crowd starts arriving.  A corporate sponsor contributes towards expenses. 

















   

[triclops i]

I dont post often... but...

start from scratch. Make it an art museum or aquairium.

Any one that has been here from around day one knows it always has been, and always will be, crap.

Make it a public school.

My word...

[David]

Well Mr Ian,

you obviously haven't had the bbq chicken from the cajun express son!

it's worth 5.99.


naw i'm playin. just raze it. build  a mega-memorial park in it's place.