Jaguars State of the Franchise 2019

[Lostwave]

It seems to me, the problem with the stadium district isn't the distance so much as its completely separated from downtown.  That whole area from the jail to maxwell house is a dead zone.  If they took all the ramps down and cleaned up hogans creek and redevelop/energize that area, the stadium district would feel like its part of downtown.

If they are going to take down the ramps, they should take them all the way down and make a bar/restaurant district around hogans creek.  Tie the stadium district to downtown.  Also move the jail and JSO.

[vicupstate]

^^ +1000

[RatTownRyan]

Totally agree with Lostwave. If you are going to tear down the ramps then tear them all down. It is really a half assed job as planned. Doing the part in front of the shipyards but then totally turning a blind eye to the other end of the ramps. They will probably be taken down 20 years from now anyway. This is just one more example of how a master plan for downtown needs to be implemented. Spending money on the ramps now and also starting plans for the emerald trail at the same time. And yet these two project literally overlap but aren't being planned for together.

[Ken_FSU]

^Agree in principal, but if you spend an additional $12 to $20 million finishing the job on the ramps, you might not have enough money left in the coffers to buy out stripmall barons and spitefully demolish their riverfront malls.

[thelakelander]

It seems to me, the problem with the stadium district isn't the distance so much as its completely separated from downtown.  That whole area from the jail to maxwell house is a dead zone.  If they took all the ramps down and cleaned up hogans creek and redevelop/energize that area, the stadium district would feel like its part of downtown.

If they are going to take down the ramps, they should take them all the way down and make a bar/restaurant district around hogans creek.  Tie the stadium district to downtown.  Also move the jail and JSO.

At the end of the day, it's over a mile away from the heart of the Northbank. Buildings or not, it will take a good generation or two to fill in with development and adaptive reuse to make them cohesive at the pedestrian scale.

[fieldafm]

^Agree in principal, but if you spend an additional $12 to $20 million finishing the job on the ramps, you might not have enough money left in the coffers to buy out stripmall barons and spitefully demolish their riverfront malls.

Nailed it!

[Ken_FSU]

Probably the most detail we've heard yet on the proposed development agreement:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/whats-next-for-lot-j-the-jaguars-dollar500-million-development-proposal

[Lostwave]

At the end of the day, it's over a mile away from the heart of the Northbank. Buildings or not, it will take a good generation or two to fill in with development and adaptive reuse to make them cohesive at the pedestrian scale.

I agree that its over a mile away.  In Seattle the two main nightlife areas are Pioneer Square and Belltown.  They are up to 2 miles apart depending on where in the district you are.  Pioneer Square is just north of the stadium district.  In my youth we often went to both districts in the same night.  The distance isn't that big of a deal if you are bar hopping or whatever.  Its a HUGE deal if there isn't an engaging walk between them... its an even bigger deal if its sketchy, dark and empty between them. 

I am just stating that if we could lost all the ramps and fill in that area with an engaging nightlife (I know we need residential first) it would make it much more vibrant and make the distance matter less and less.

[thelakelander]

Oh I agree. When there's life, a mile is nothing (excluding Florida's weather related issues of course). Just acknowledging that given the state of current conditions east of Liberty Street, the process (if done right) would likely take +15 to 20 years.