Downtown on the verge of a development boom?

[Metro Jacksonville]

Downtown on the verge of a development boom?



So you think nothing is happening in downtown Jacksonville? If so, you should reconsider. Downtown is on the verge of its largest multi-family infill development boom in decades. 1,279 residential units could be under construction in the downtown proper by the end of the year. Moderncities.com takes a look at 8 downtown projects and few more options headed to the city's urban core.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2016-aug-downtown-on-the-verge-of-a-development-boom

[mtraininjax]

Great article about residential development!

Wait, there are new apartments going in around JTB, are you sure you don't want to include the Southside with Downtown?

Downtown is Lavilla, Northbank, Brooklyn, Springfield, and well, downtown (32202). Its not fair to lump the southbank into this as it has a lot more progress and living towers. Great article, but why is Herschel/St. Johns added to this list? 4000 St Johns Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32205 is almost 5 miles from each other. Again, why not add 5 more miles and you have JTB in the mix?

It would be far better to see more SFR in the downtown space. Lavilla and infill of more SFR, but no one wants to build these, its either a 250 unit building or nothing.

[thelakelander]

^The urban core is more than just the Northbank and Southbank. I generally refer to the core city as what's shown as the "old city" in this map below:



This is the part of the city that was actually built at human scale and before autocentric growth engulfed Duval County after World War II. Here's a better map showing preconsolidated Jacksonville, which was largely built out before World War II:



Although 8 of the 11 projects mentioned listed fall within the DIA's downtown boundaries, a few (East San Marco, Springfield Lofts, St. Johns Village) on the peripheral in adjacent historically pedestrian friendly neighborhoods are worth mentioning. A part literally separates Sprinfield Lofts from downtown and East San Marco is less than a walkable mile from the Southbank. St. Johns Village is further but is easily bikeable from Brooklyn and the Northbank. Nevertheless, subtract St. Johns Village, and you still end up with more units possibly breaking ground this year than what downtown has witnessed in decades.

[marty904]

^The urban core is more than just the Northbank and Southbank. I generally refer to the core city as what's shown as the "old city" in this map below:

Although 8 of the 11 projects mentioned listed fall within the DIA's downtown boundaries, a few (East San Marco, Springfield Lofts, St. Johns Village) on the peripheral in adjacent historically pedestrian friendly neighborhoods are worth mentioning. A part literally separates Sprinfield Lofts from downtown and East San Marco is less than a walkable mile from the Southbank. St. Johns Village is further but is easily bikeable from Brooklyn and the Northbank. Nevertheless, subtract St. Johns Village, and you still end up with more units possibly breaking ground this year than what downtown has witnessed in decades.

Lake, all due... the title of the article is "Downtown is on the verge..." perhaps if this article really means to include the extended boundaries of the "Urban Core", the title of the article should be changed. I certainly wouldn't include Riverside as "downtown" and definitely not Avondale.

[thelakelander]

I think it's fine. The introduction also states it's showing examples of projects in the urban core. The inclusion of St Johns Village doesn't change what's happening in downtown. However, limiting things to the Northbank does not provide an accurate image of what's actually taking place in and around our central business district either.

[thelakelander]

To avoid further confusion, I went ahead and added up the combined units in the projects mentioned in the article and edited the introduction text to this:

So you think nothing is happening in downtown Jacksonville? If so, you should reconsider. Downtown is on the verge of its largest multi-family infill development boom in decades. 1,279 residential units could be under construction in the downtown proper by the end of the year. Moderncities.com takes a look at 8 downtown projects and few more options headed to the city's urban core.

I came up with 1,279 in downtown (Northbank, Southbank, Brooklyn) and 541 between St Johns Village, East San Marco and Springfield Lofts.

[Adam White]

I, for one, am glad we're addressing the important aspect of this story.

[Kerry]

What is downtown and not downtown is a matter of perspective.  I live in Brooklyn and have no problem distinguishing between Riverside, La Villa, Springfield, Northbank, Southbank, and San Marco.  On a pedestrian scale the boundaries are pretty clear and Jax's 5 skylines are pretty easy to identify - Southbank, Northbank, Brooklyn, Riverside, and whatever the area around UF Shands is called (not comfortable calling that Springfield's skyline).  However, before I moved to Brooklyn from a home near St John's Town Center everything within 2 miles of the Main St bridge was downtown to me.  My ex-wife still thinks I live downtown (because she lives life at the automobile scale).  Most people don't distinguish between downtown and downtown-adjacent neighborhoods.  I have a friend who works on the Southbank and even he thinks he works downtown.

[Captain Zissou]

Elena flats and Beaver street are well on their way and broadstone will hopefully go vertical soon.

If only half of the remaining projects get completed (which is still probably optimistic), I'd like to see East San Marco, 200 Riverside, lofts at La Villa, and FSCJ.

[KenFSU]

What remains most interesting to me is how simple connectivity between all of these seemingly disparate projects in the old city could make them so much more than the sum of their parts. Some of the projects are right along the Skyway (Lavilla Lofts, FSCJ Dorm and Cafe, etc.), but so many more are just outside of its reach and the potential synergy that connectivity could provide.

Find the money now, rather than 10 years from now, and prevent all of these emerging areas from turning into isolated stops for drivers and parkers. Can you imagine what a giant leap forward it would be for the entire urban core if we were to build a no-frills Skyway station in Brooklyn, expand service to the stadium district, and perhaps extend the southern line down into the District. Add a few shuttles or trolleys feeding Riverside/Avondale/San Marco residents onto the Skyway (along with First Coast Flyer passengers arriving at shiny new Regional Transportation Center), and all of a sudden, you go from a system that goes from "nowhere to nowhere" to a red hot, future-proof transit service that connects genuine population centers to genuine destinations and encourages infill everywhere in between.

It feels like something that should have already been happening yesterday. Transit seems like something that you just can't afford to be reactive, rather than proactive about. Brooklyn is exploding. Our new state-of-the-art Amphitheater and flex event space is going to bring up to 100 events downtown each year, with Shad Khan already publicly stating that he's planning further development in the area. The District is set to break ground by year's end. Progress on the Shipyards, U.S.S Adams, and Doro/Iconic is inevitable, and businesses like Intuition are already well on the way. We want to stimulate more use of Hemming Park and the Landing. And we're about to break ground on an iconic new Regional Transportation Center.

What better time.

[thelakelander]

What remains most interesting to me is how simple connectivity between all of these seemingly disparate projects in the old city could make them so much more than the sum of their parts. Some of the projects are right along the Skyway (Lavilla Lofts, FSCJ Dorm and Cafe, etc.), but so many more are just outside of its reach and the potential synergy that connectivity could provide.

Find the money now, rather than 10 years from now, and prevent all of these emerging areas from turning into isolated stops for drivers and parkers. Can you imagine what a giant leap forward it would be for the entire urban core if we were to build a no-frills Skyway station in Brooklyn, expand service to the stadium district, and perhaps extend the southern line down into the District. Add a few shuttles or trolleys feeding Riverside/Avondale/San Marco residents onto the Skyway (along with First Coast Flyer passengers arriving at shiny new Regional Transportation Center), and all of a sudden, you go from a system that goes from "nowhere to nowhere" to a red hot, future-proof transit service that connects genuine population centers to genuine destinations and encourages infill everywhere in between.

It feels like something that should have already been happening yesterday. Transit seems like something that you just can't afford to be reactive, rather than proactive about. Brooklyn is exploding. Our new state-of-the-art Amphitheater and flex event space is going to bring up to 100 events downtown each year, with Shad Khan already publicly stating that he's planning further development in the area. The District is set to break ground by year's end. Progress on the Shipyards, U.S.S Adams, and Doro/Iconic is inevitable, and businesses like Intuition are already well on the way. We want to stimulate more use of Hemming Park and the Landing. And we're about to break ground on an iconic new Regional Transportation Center.

What better time.

In addition to beginning construction on the JRTC, the JTA is developing a plan to retrofit and possibly expand the Skyway:

On December 10, 2015, the JTA Board approved the recommendation to approve a resolution (RESOLUTION NO. 2015-30) supporting the continued operation of the Automated Skyway Express and development of a Skyway Modernization Program.  The Skyway Modernization Program will include replacement of the existing vehicles and evaluation of future extensions.

Skyway Modernization Program will include:

A Capital Plan to support vehicle replacement and upgrades the operating system and infrastructure. The capital plan should consider innovative technologies available to replace the existing vehicles.

A System Plan identifying the optimal downtown circulator system that connects with existing and emerging downtown developments and nearby neighborhoods. This should include evaluation of options, including different modes, for an East-West corridor from Riverside to the Stadium/Shipyards and a corridor connecting San Marco to the Southbank. System planning should be conducted in a manner that allows the JTA to pursue FTA Section 5309 New Starts funding.

An Operating Plan for the existing and expanded system that includes service hours, frequency of service and fleet requirement. This should consider expansion of Skyway service hours on evenings and weekends.

A Financial Plan identifying funding needs for modernization, potential system expansion, and long-term operations and maintenance. The financial plan will include a strategy to secure state and federal funds; explore joint use development; transit oriented development and public private partnerships to assist in funding, financing and delivering projects and services; and evaluate fare policy.   Funding opportunities will be explored with the U.S.

JTA staff will report quarterly to the Board of Directors and provide the final Skyway Modernization Program to the Board of Directors and Members of the Skyway Advisory Group by December 2016.

http://www.jtafla.com/blueprint-2020/skyway-modernization-program/

[Downtown Osprey]

What remains most interesting to me is how simple connectivity between all of these seemingly disparate projects in the old city could make them so much more than the sum of their parts. Some of the projects are right along the Skyway (Lavilla Lofts, FSCJ Dorm and Cafe, etc.), but so many more are just outside of its reach and the potential synergy that connectivity could provide.

Find the money now, rather than 10 years from now, and prevent all of these emerging areas from turning into isolated stops for drivers and parkers. Can you imagine what a giant leap forward it would be for the entire urban core if we were to build a no-frills Skyway station in Brooklyn, expand service to the stadium district, and perhaps extend the southern line down into the District. Add a few shuttles or trolleys feeding Riverside/Avondale/San Marco residents onto the Skyway (along with First Coast Flyer passengers arriving at shiny new Regional Transportation Center), and all of a sudden, you go from a system that goes from "nowhere to nowhere" to a red hot, future-proof transit service that connects genuine population centers to genuine destinations and encourages infill everywhere in between.

It feels like something that should have already been happening yesterday. Transit seems like something that you just can't afford to be reactive, rather than proactive about. Brooklyn is exploding. Our new state-of-the-art Amphitheater and flex event space is going to bring up to 100 events downtown each year, with Shad Khan already publicly stating that he's planning further development in the area. The District is set to break ground by year's end. Progress on the Shipyards, U.S.S Adams, and Doro/Iconic is inevitable, and businesses like Intuition are already well on the way. We want to stimulate more use of Hemming Park and the Landing. And we're about to break ground on an iconic new Regional Transportation Center.

What better time.

Amen.

[FlaBoy]

What remains most interesting to me is how simple connectivity between all of these seemingly disparate projects in the old city could make them so much more than the sum of their parts. Some of the projects are right along the Skyway (Lavilla Lofts, FSCJ Dorm and Cafe, etc.), but so many more are just outside of its reach and the potential synergy that connectivity could provide.

Find the money now, rather than 10 years from now, and prevent all of these emerging areas from turning into isolated stops for drivers and parkers. Can you imagine what a giant leap forward it would be for the entire urban core if we were to build a no-frills Skyway station in Brooklyn, expand service to the stadium district, and perhaps extend the southern line down into the District. Add a few shuttles or trolleys feeding Riverside/Avondale/San Marco residents onto the Skyway (along with First Coast Flyer passengers arriving at shiny new Regional Transportation Center), and all of a sudden, you go from a system that goes from "nowhere to nowhere" to a red hot, future-proof transit service that connects genuine population centers to genuine destinations and encourages infill everywhere in between.

It feels like something that should have already been happening yesterday. Transit seems like something that you just can't afford to be reactive, rather than proactive about. Brooklyn is exploding. Our new state-of-the-art Amphitheater and flex event space is going to bring up to 100 events downtown each year, with Shad Khan already publicly stating that he's planning further development in the area. The District is set to break ground by year's end. Progress on the Shipyards, U.S.S Adams, and Doro/Iconic is inevitable, and businesses like Intuition are already well on the way. We want to stimulate more use of Hemming Park and the Landing. And we're about to break ground on an iconic new Regional Transportation Center.

What better time.

In addition to beginning construction on the JRTC, the JTA is developing a plan to retrofit and possibly expand the Skyway:

On December 10, 2015, the JTA Board approved the recommendation to approve a resolution (RESOLUTION NO. 2015-30) supporting the continued operation of the Automated Skyway Express and development of a Skyway Modernization Program.  The Skyway Modernization Program will include replacement of the existing vehicles and evaluation of future extensions.

Skyway Modernization Program will include:

A Capital Plan to support vehicle replacement and upgrades the operating system and infrastructure. The capital plan should consider innovative technologies available to replace the existing vehicles.

A System Plan identifying the optimal downtown circulator system that connects with existing and emerging downtown developments and nearby neighborhoods. This should include evaluation of options, including different modes, for an East-West corridor from Riverside to the Stadium/Shipyards and a corridor connecting San Marco to the Southbank. System planning should be conducted in a manner that allows the JTA to pursue FTA Section 5309 New Starts funding.

An Operating Plan for the existing and expanded system that includes service hours, frequency of service and fleet requirement. This should consider expansion of Skyway service hours on evenings and weekends.

A Financial Plan identifying funding needs for modernization, potential system expansion, and long-term operations and maintenance. The financial plan will include a strategy to secure state and federal funds; explore joint use development; transit oriented development and public private partnerships to assist in funding, financing and delivering projects and services; and evaluate fare policy.   Funding opportunities will be explored with the U.S.

JTA staff will report quarterly to the Board of Directors and provide the final Skyway Modernization Program to the Board of Directors and Members of the Skyway Advisory Group by December 2016.

http://www.jtafla.com/blueprint-2020/skyway-modernization-program/

Lake, you think there is a chance to turn the Skyway into a more affordable street car system?

[thelakelander]

Physically, I believe it can be done. However, if I had to put cash down, I'd put it on JTA keeping it a peoplemover and only figuring out how to expand to the stadium, San Marco and Brooklyn. 

[KenFSU]

Physically, I believe it can be done. However, if I had to put cash down, I'd put it on JTA keeping it a peoplemover and only figuring out how to expand to the stadium, San Marco and Brooklyn. 

^Aside from maybe shifting the sports complex stop a bit further to the east, this is pretty much perfect.

Sincerely hope the state recognizes it as such.