DIA wants the Landing to start with a park

[Tacachale]

Has an opening date for the park been set yet?  It looks close.

Yes! Soft opening is November 29 for the tree lighting. Completion of the remaining Phase I elements will continue but hopefully it'll all be up and running by year's end, and on to Phase II.

https://www.jacksonville.gov/welcome/news/city-to-host-holiday-river-fest-on-november-29,-20

[Ken_FSU]

Curious if you know what the plan for lighting is, Bill. I saw some evening drone shots of the park that looked awesome and made it appear as though the park would be brightly lit at night. Do we expect Riverfont Plaza to be a place that people could safely hang in after a late show at the TU Center or after Volstead closes? Or a lights-off at 10 pm type of situation?

[Tacachale]

Curious if you know what the plan for lighting is, Bill. I saw some evening drone shots of the park that looked awesome and made it appear as though the park would be brightly lit at night. Do we expect Riverfont Plaza to be a place that people could safely hang in after a late show at the TU Center or after Volstead closes? Or a lights-off at 10 pm type of situation?

Currently the plan is to have it open and lit at night but not sure how late. It may not be decided yet. I'll check into it.

[BridgeTroll]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

It'll be a private vendor. Should be picked relatively soon with whatever further interior buildout needs to be done after that.

Fudruckers?      

Mooneyhan Studios and Cafe!

It's easy to see who has been around here for a long time.... 

[Steve]

Went down to check it out. I'd say with the park - like much of downtown - you're STARTING to see it come together. The operative work there being START:

-Good call advertising this as a soft opening. Playground and restrooms aren't open yet (and the cafe is a bit off). I think little things like the "phase 2" construction phasing was good to have up, so people can clearly see there's more to it.

-We've got to get the rest of the riverwalk there finished. It makes the whole vision really limiting right now with that also under construction.

-All of that to say, it seems pretty well done.


Other thoughts
-Clearly the One Independent Drive owners, absent an anchor tenant, are going to wait to do anything. Aside from the River Club and the Mon-Fri restaurant, it's a gigantic dead block. Restaurant Space on Laura would be HUGE. Activating the ground of the BofA building will make One Independent look even worse.
-Odd that the Hogan St. VyStar garage was closed for the event. While the Forsyth one was open, I saw multiple people trying to park there. Seems like that could be a discussion with VyStar given they're generally a great community partner.

[Ken_FSU]

Went down to check it out. I'd say with the park - like much of downtown - you're STARTING to see it come together. The operative work there being START:

-Good call advertising this as a soft opening. Playground and restrooms aren't open yet (and the cafe is a bit off). I think little things like the "phase 2" construction phasing was good to have up, so people can clearly see there's more to it.

-We've got to get the rest of the riverwalk there finished. It makes the whole vision really limiting right now with that also under construction.

-All of that to say, it seems pretty well done.


Other thoughts
-Clearly the One Independent Drive owners, absent an anchor tenant, are going to wait to do anything. Aside from the River Club and the Mon-Fri restaurant, it's a gigantic dead block. Restaurant Space on Laura would be HUGE.

Me and my 11-year old daughter went down to Friendship Fountain/St. John's Park the night before Thanksgiving, and I had a very similar experience. 64 degrees out, fountain programmed with a light show to Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard, tons of families on the playground at like 9:00 PM. Was a really cool scene, and you could really feel the vision starting to come together. I think the one thing all of these spaces badly need is a signature restaurant space either in park, or directly adjacent to the park. Its add to the vibrancy of the space, gives you somewhere to go, feeds people into the park, and most importantly, makes these spaces feel less like unpoliced, passive no man's lands (especially after dark) and more like active, all-inclusive, destination spaces. Really hoping to see the restaurant space at Friendship Park built out first, private development or restaurant space follow quickly at Riverfront Plaza, and a signature dining option at Shipyards West in the CRA space. Metro Park should be fine with the Four Seasons' restaurants/retail anchoring it, and riverfront restaurant space is inevitable at RiversEdge. Will take time, and continued investment, but I feel like we've finally kind of got the start of the thing that could make Jacksonville's downtown riverfront unique, vibrant, and marketable. If you give each of these major parks (Riverfront Plaza, Shipyards West, Friendship Park, RiversEdge, Metro Park) their own unique dining spot and unique showcase art installation (the Pearl, the Fountain, etc.), all tied together with the riverwalk and water taxi, that's something very unique to Jacksonville.

[jcjohnpaint]

Took a walk through it yesterday. Really nice. Not sure about the lighting. Looks like surveillance spots. Would have to see them at night. Will try and get some pictures on Wednesday

[thelakelander]

My kids were the generation that enjoyed Kids Kampus, which was taken away from them. Used to go there, then enjoy a meal at the Landing. Waited and waited for a downtown replacement. Now they are in their 20s. Glad the next generation can enjoy these new park spaces. Looking forward to seeing more interactive amenities like food & beverages being added as time goes on.

[Jankelope]

I have to agree with Ken. I had been thinking something really similar. I was at RiversEdge park with my kids the other day, and I was floored by the boardwalk. It is gorgeous and feels like you leave downtown altogether when you go on it.

Additionally, I saw the River Taxi out there and I imagined 10 of those running at the same time because tourists & residents were using them to go between parks. I imagined something like a food and wine festival with a different offering at each of 5 different stops (Riverfront Plaza, St Johns River Park, Rivers Edge, Met Park, Shipyards West. I do believe that has the potential to be something that doesn't quite exist anywhere else. It also allows us to truly live up to the "River City" moniker.

Also, I am imagining year round having a pop up bar at each of these parks with those special cups. We can support local breweries, and generate revenue to maintain the parks at a world class level.

It feels like we're really close to something amazing. We're not quite there yet but I'm starting to see it!

[Tacachale]

To me what it shows is none of this is rocket science. There was no innate failing of Jacksonville that kept us back, and it certainly wasn't a lack of support from the public or business community. The issue has always been a lack of leadership, vision and followthrough. When you don't have that, you get craters in place of buildings and a bunch of social media parrots telling you it's progress. But when you do, we're pulling off some incredibly cool things.

[Jankelope]

To me what it shows is none of this is rocket science. There was no innate failing of Jacksonville that kept us back, and it certainly wasn't a lack of support from the public or business community. The issue has always been a lack of leadership, vision and followthrough. When you don't have that, you get craters in place of buildings and a bunch of social media parrots telling you it's progress. But when you do, we're pulling off some incredibly cool things.

The city of Jacksonville has truly amazing "bones" that have just been completely neglected and ignored for a long time. Hopefully we can count on a 2nd term for our very popular mayor. After that, we'll see.

[Ken_FSU]

To me what it shows is none of this is rocket science. There was no innate failing of Jacksonville that kept us back, and it certainly wasn't a lack of support from the public or business community. The issue has always been a lack of leadership, vision and followthrough. When you don't have that, you get craters in place of buildings and a bunch of social media parrots telling you it's progress. But when you do, we're pulling off some incredibly cool things.

She got dragged a lot during her time leading the DIA, including by me, so I think it's worth giving credit where it's due. We owe Lori Boyer a lot of credit for what we're seeing happening right now on the riverfront. The "node" concept that we're starting to see take shape at RiversEdge, Friendship Park, Riverfront Plaza, and soon to be Shipyards West was her idea. Four Seasons doesn't come out of the ground without the solid development agreement they orchestrated and a very difficult land swap. Still think we missed out on the biggest opportunity we might ever see during the post-pandemic economic and immigration boom, but it's clearly night and day in terms of what the DIA has been able to accomplish alongside great city leadership vs. the previous administration.

[fsu813]

To me what it shows is none of this is rocket science. There was no innate failing of Jacksonville that kept us back, and it certainly wasn't a lack of support from the public or business community. The issue has always been a lack of leadership, vision and followthrough. When you don't have that, you get craters in place of buildings and a bunch of social media parrots telling you it's progress. But when you do, we're pulling off some incredibly cool things.

She got dragged a lot during her time leading the DIA, including by me, so I think it's worth giving credit where it's due. We owe Lori Boyer a lot of credit for what we're seeing happening right now on the riverfront. The "node" concept that we're starting to see take shape at RiversEdge, Friendship Park, Riverfront Plaza, and soon to be Shipyards West was her idea.

That's not correct. She knew a good idea when she saw it.

Scenic Jacksonville, a legacy quality of life advocacy organization, spearheaded the creation Riverfront Parks Now, an advocacy coalition of 14 different non-profits, focused on ensuring high quality public greenspace be a key part of our Downtown riverfront's near future. There was a unique opportunity and triggering events: https://www.riverfrontparksnow.org/about-us/

Met with two Mayoral administrations, DIA, Jags, Jax Chamber, Jax Civic Council, duPont, etc to share the opportunity and grow support. And it worked. Importantly, duPont became a key early torch bearer (and still is) to give it credibility and momentum. When it became clear there was buy in, the Riverfront Parks Conservancy was spun off from Riverfront Parks Now: https://riverparkjax.org/

The Conservancy's mission was to prepare to care for these future high profile parks. Surprisingly, or not, an enhanced level of maintenance for these spaces (vs a random Jax park) wasn't part of the city's original budgeting plan. The Conservancy had a MOU with COJ to move forward in this manner and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, but wasn't fully embraced by city leadership. City leadership came around to embracing the need for a conservancy, and the organization willingly handed over the keys, recently rebranded and revamped into the Jax Riverfront Alliance, shepparded by duPont, with a mostly new board. It received millions in the most recent COJ budget and has an active job opening now for CEO: https://www.conservationjobboard.com/job-listing-chief-executive-officer-jacksonville-florida/4364752195

Scenic Jacksonville is still working, not necessarily focused on riverfront issues. Riverfront Parks Now has succeeded enormously, seeing each of its main objectives completed - lots of public green space on the river (check), high level design (check), well funded (check). It's still operating low key, now pushing for a timely plan to finish the northbank riverwalk (there is no real time line). And the Jax Riverfront Alliance is set to formally announce itself any time now, though it's existence is already in the ether of public knowledge. It will be vitally important for that entity to succeed and have massive buy in for these show piece public spaces to thrive.

Savy, engaged members of public and non-profit leadership working together are the reason, ultimately, these public spaces are coming alive, and aren't The Berkman 2 or whatever else semi-good highrise development may or may not have gotten out of ground by now. The Deagan administration deserves a lot of credit for prioritizing these projects and staying focused on completion and quality. Looking forward to more of these ribbon cuttings.

[Tacachale]

To me what it shows is none of this is rocket science. There was no innate failing of Jacksonville that kept us back, and it certainly wasn't a lack of support from the public or business community. The issue has always been a lack of leadership, vision and followthrough. When you don't have that, you get craters in place of buildings and a bunch of social media parrots telling you it's progress. But when you do, we're pulling off some incredibly cool things.

She got dragged a lot during her time leading the DIA, including by me, so I think it's worth giving credit where it's due. We owe Lori Boyer a lot of credit for what we're seeing happening right now on the riverfront. The "node" concept that we're starting to see take shape at RiversEdge, Friendship Park, Riverfront Plaza, and soon to be Shipyards West was her idea. Four Seasons doesn't come out of the ground without the solid development agreement they orchestrated and a very difficult land swap. Still think we missed out on the biggest opportunity we might ever see during the post-pandemic economic and immigration boom, but it's clearly night and day in terms of what the DIA has been able to accomplish alongside great city leadership vs. the previous administration.

For real. Something I realized, having gone from writing about this stuff on the outside to being in a position to see where all the levers and brakes are, is that the criticisms have been valid but sometimes directed at the wrong place. DIA could make deals, offer certain incentives and make plans, but execution relied on a lot of other factors they didn't have control over. And those other factors were typically where things failed.

The riverfront parks is a perfect example. DIA would have moved on all that years ago, and has consistently worked through the planning and design as much as funding has allowed, but the actual execution is the purview of the mayoral administration. And frankly they just dropped the ball left and right. Same deal with things like two-way street conversions, the Park Street road diet, etc. Combine that with the admin forcing through bad projects like the LaVilla gas station and the Lot J deal, and it was kind of a perfect storm.

What we're seeing now is what the DIA and city has always been capable of. Lori deserves a LOT of credit for us getting this far, and ensuring we're not just starting from scratch every time there's a new mayor and City Council class.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Just providing more justification of how bad the Curry administration was.  Their agenda was about anything other than what was best for the City.  I will leave it to your imagination who they really were serving.