Mayor Curry & Shad Khan in talks about Metro Park Development

[KenFSU]

As signs over the last year have indicated, Mayor Curry is in talks with Shad Khan and the Jaguars about developing Metropolitan Park, potentially into a hotel & convention center, via a possible land swap with Shipyards property. Sounds like both sides want to move aggressively on the plan. The benefits being that a Met Park development is closer to the entertainment zone being envisioned around the stadium district, it would not be delayed by remediation, and that ultimately, it would be less expensive to develop Met Park and remediate a portion of the Shipyards property for park space rather than to try to remediate the entire Shipyards property for residential/commercial use.

Please read the full article here:

http://jacksonville.com/metro/2016-11-11/mayor-curry-eyes-met-park-possible-site-riverfront-development-tandem-shad-khan

Mayor Curry eyes Met Park as possible site for riverfront development in tandem with Shad Khan

The high-pitched canopy roof is gone from the amphitheater at Metropolitan Park, leaving behind the well-worn stage as the only remnant of the venue where symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles and rock bands played concerts for crowds spread across the park's sloping lawn.

The half-dismantled amphitheater could be a sign of more far-reaching changes coming for Metropolitan Park and the downtown riverfront.

Mayor Lenny Curry is in talks with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan about developing a long stretch of valuable, city-owned land that encompasses Metropolitan Park and The Shipyards, two tracts that haven't lived up to their potential for pumping activity into downtown.

"I will tell you everything is on the table and we are in discussions with Shad Khan and his organization about how to get the whole entire area developed, which could include some new use for Met Park," Curry said.

But if the city decides it wants to open Metropolitan Park to some form of private development, there is a catch.

The city would need approval from the National Park Service because back in the early 1980s, federal Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars were used for the park. That $1.7 million grant came with strings attached: a binding commitment to preserve Met Park as an outdoor recreational area that's open to the public.

However, even "forever" has an escape hatch. The federal government will allow conversion of such recreational areas to other uses, provided there is a swap of land that has comparable value and hasn't previously been used as a place for outdoor recreation.

Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa said if the city seeks to develop Met Park, the city would create parkland elsewhere so river access isn't diminished.

"Any waterfront development, I'm sure, will include some riverfront park that could replace Metropolitan Park, so all of that is being taken into consideration," Mousa said.

The Shipyards, located immediately next to Met Park, could fit the bill for such replacement land.

In 2015, the Downtown Investment Authority picked Khan to be the master developer of The Shipyards. But after facing delays because of environmental contamination on The Shipyards site, Khan shifted gears and joined the city to finance construction of an amphitheater and indoor practice field next to EverBank Field.

Met Park is directly across the street from where where that new amphitheater, which will be called Daily's Place, is being built.

"Mr. Khan has publicly expressed his interest in developing the Met Park site," said Khan's spokesman Jim Woodcock. "He and the Jaguars have also repeatedly stated their commitment to support the continued revitalization of downtown Jacksonville, with a focal point being a seamless connection between EverBank Field and the St. Johns River. Daily's Place is the first step in that direction and development of Met Park would be a logical next phase."

Khan spoke of his interest in further development at an August groundbreaking ceremony for the new amphitheater.

"We have, across (the street), a great opportunity for a high-end hotel/convention center, which this town really needs," Khan said at the groundbreaking. "It's something we'll try and work with the city on. As you move toward downtown, the city is wrestling with a lot of challenges environmentally. As that's addressed, you can really have growth. It's absolutely important."

The Shipyards and Met Park are comparable in size. The Shipyards covers 46 acres when counting both uplands and river-submerged property. About 30 acres of The Shipyards is high and dry. Met Park is roughly 27 acres.

City Councilman Bill Gulliford said he thinks Met Park is a better location than The Shipyards for what Khan is doing to expand the entertainment zone around the football stadium.

In addition, Met Park isn't plagued with environmental cleanup costs like The Shipyards, which takes it name from the bygone era when it actually was a working shipyard.

"The big gorilla in the room is the fact that we've got contamination on the site, and $13 million or so set aside to address that," Gulliford said.

He said that might not be enough money to clean up the property for the large-scale development that's been envisioned for The Shipyards. But $13 million could be sufficient to get the property in shape for a passive park, and the large-scale development could shift to Met Park, Gulliford said.

If the city tries to convert Met Park to a different use, it won't be the first time Jacksonville has made that attempt.

Back in the late 1990s, the city went through an agonizing attempt to lift the regulations so it could build a new amphitheater with more ticketed performances at the park. University of North Florida President John Delaney, who was mayor at the time, said the city could have found the replacement land, but the city's application faced constant challenges from St. Nicholas neighborhood residents who objected to sound from the concerts.

"We just had very organized community opposition to it, and it was going to take too long and take too much energy, so I pulled the plug on it," he said.

In 2013, City Council President Lori Boyer pored through boxes of documents when the city again assessed the future of the park's amphitheater. A City Council committee determined the city could not afford at that time to obtain other land that could be substituted for Met Park.

Boyer said she's open to considering that option again, provided the city ensures the public has access to the riverfront. She said the city of Louisville is a model for how Jacksonville can do it.

"They've got this great riverfront public space," she said. "Some of it is kids' activities. Some of it is just a grass lawn where people are throwing Frisbees. Some of it is riverwalk. The idea is that the people in the condos and the people in the offices are overlooking this landscaped area and it's lovely, so it's an amenity for them."

She said Met Park is a long way from the downtown core, so moving it closer would be more convenient. But the flip side is that if relocating park space results in pushing new development farther from the core, that adds to one of downtown's biggest weaknesses: it's spread out over such a large area that it's hard to achieve "critical mass" where projects feed off each other, Boyer said.

For instance, a longstanding criticism of the current convention center, located on the side of downtown in the LaVilla neighborhood, is that it's too far out of the way.

The city doesn't have a timeline for bringing forward a proposal, but Curry said he wants to move aggressively.

He said voter approval of the Aug. 30 half-cent sales tax referendum for paying down the city's huge pension debt has injected confidence in private investors about Jacksonville.

"Let's embrace the power we have now," he said. 'We'll be smart about it, but we've got to move. We've got to get things done."[/b]

[Bill Hoff]

"But the flip side is that if relocating park space results in pushing new development farther from the core, that adds to one of downtown's biggest weaknesses: it's spread out over such a large area that it's hard to achieve "critical mass" where projects feed off each other, Boyer said."


Yup.

Downtown already suffers from deconsolidation of its popular venues/assists. This would add to the sprawl, with large gaps in between.

But, I guess beggars can't be choosers, eh.

[Gamblor]

^^ No they'll be moving the park closer to the active parts of downtown which would see it get more use, and a hotel or convention center by the stadium would further cluster the sports and entertainment area....

[jaxjaguar]

If we do create a large park space here I hope that they incorporate larger shady trees into it. Even if That means waiting years for them to fill out and using something temporary in between. I can't stand seeing Florida parks that try to emulate northern open space parks. It's simply too hot most of the year here for people to take advantage of. At the very least the walkways need to be shaded. Baldwin Park in Orlando has been mentioned several times as a place we should try to emulate in one of our upcoming urban projects. While I agree, there is a severe lack of shade here (I'm a BP resident). The parks are pretty to look at, but hardly anyone uses them March-October because it's simply too hot and there's nowhere to get away from the sun. Even the benches are in the open.

[Bill Hoff]

^^ No they'll be moving the park closer to the active parts of downtown which would see it get more use, and a hotel or convention center by the stadium would further cluster the sports and entertainment area....

That's one (incorrect) way of looking at it. Most others, including Boyer, see spreading such development further towards the stadium as moving it further away from the core.

[vicupstate]

If we do create a large park space here I hope that they incorporate larger shady trees into it. Even if That means waiting years for them to fill out and using something temporary in between. I can't stand seeing Florida parks that try to emulate northern open space parks. It's simply too hot most of the year here for people to take advantage of. At the very least the walkways need to be shaded. Baldwin Park in Orlando has been mentioned several times as a place we should try to emulate in one of our upcoming urban projects. While I agree, there is a severe lack of shade here (I'm a BP resident). The parks are pretty to look at, but hardly anyone uses them March-October because it's simply too hot and there's nowhere to get away from the sun. Even the benches are in the open.

A very valid point.

The lack of critical mass with the Northbank is indeed an issue.  I assume this means the Prime Osborn becomes something else?  What impact does this have on the Hyatt? What is the current Hotel occupancy DT on the Northbank and the Southbank?  This Convention Center would need to be pretty big and expensive to bring the kind of events that would bring ADDITIONAL visitors rather than cannibalize existing Hotel business.

 

[FlaBoy]

Nothing to see here until we have a real plan.

[Jtetlak]

This will be great because the extension to the sky way is going to go over there, right?! HAHA!

[Keith-N-Jax]

Further from the core?? Some people act like the stadium is across the Hart Bridge. Its what a ten minute walk at best. I was just home in Oct and walked from The Landing to the stadium in no time. Guess we should just let it stay empty waiting for some miracle to happen on 34th street. I hope all goes well and a good plan is reached and then lets see some cranes.

[vicupstate]

Further from the core?? Some people act like the stadium is across the Hart Bridge. Its what a ten minute walk at best. I was just home in Oct and walked from The Landing to the stadium in no time. Guess we should just let it stay empty waiting for some miracle to happen on 34th street. I hope all goes well and a good plan is reached and then lets see some cranes.

It is further from the Landing than the current Convention Center. How is that working out?  It would help if the Jail was moved. With the Jail and Maxwell House serving as an impenetrable wall between the Northbank core and the Stadium district, it had better be one helluva of a great park on the other side of Bay St.   

[ProjectMaximus]

Further from the core?? Some people act like the stadium is across the Hart Bridge. Its what a ten minute walk at best. I was just home in Oct and walked from The Landing to the stadium in no time. Guess we should just let it stay empty waiting for some miracle to happen on 34th street. I hope all goes well and a good plan is reached and then lets see some cranes.

No one is saying you can't handle the walk. But clustering is about activating adjacent (preferably denser) spaces to amplify the vibrancy. In more successful urban spaces, during a 10-minute walk you might pass by 100 storefronts with activity, rather than the half a dozen or so that we would have.

[thelakelander]

I guess it's about time for me to finally finish up that Baltimore article ;-)

[acme54321]

Further from the core?? Some people act like the stadium is across the Hart Bridge. Its what a ten minute walk at best. I was just home in Oct and walked from The Landing to the stadium in no time. Guess we should just let it stay empty waiting for some miracle to happen on 34th street. I hope all goes well and a good plan is reached and then lets see some cranes.

It is further from the Landing than the current Convention Center. How is that working out?

There is a lot less between The Landing and the Convention Center than The Landing and Everbank.  You've got the Hyatt, multiple bars/restaurants along Bay St (and Forsyth/Adams), Churchwell Lofts, Berkman, etc then a half mile walk and you hit Intuition, Manifest Distilling, The Arena, Baseball Grounds heading east.  What's in between the Landing and the Convention Center?  Then once you get there other than the CC you're in a ghost town.

Then the train station can go back to being a train station.

[vicupstate]

You make a good point about everything West of The Landing being a dead zone and the East side being better for the first few blocks. However, once you pass Liberty Street you have a substantial walk before you get to Intuition. After Intuition it is another 1/4 mile plus to the Metropolitan Park property line.  Unless there is something really positive breaking up those distances, it is going to be a problematic to create pedestrian linkage and synergy.       

The rule of thumb is that 1/4 mile radius is the max distance someone will walk to reach a destination.

[thelakelander]

Between the Landing and Convention Center you have Omni, Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, multiple restaurants along Forsyth/Adams and a direct shot on the Skyway to bridge the mile between the two. Soon, there will be two or three additional multi-story residential developments (at least one with street retail) and the first phase of JAXIS. With that said, neither a convention center in its current location or at Metropolitan Park is ideal.  Just more of the same with additional tax money being thrown into the pot. However, at this point all we can do is wait to see what type of proposal actually materializes.