Live music venue planned downtown: Project 323

[thelakelander]

Another entertainment option may be on its way to Downtown Jacksonville's Elbow entertainment district. This Thursday, a plan to restore a historic East Bay Street building into a live music venue will go before the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) for conceptual approval. Here is a look at what is proposed.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/live-music-venue-planned-downtown-project-323/

[Peter Griffin]

Fantastic news. Looking at Street View you can't see any use of this property as far back as 2007, not sure when the last time it was occupied, but adding another venue in this location is great. There's several venues and bars/restaurants that host music on this strip, so this should complement them well.

[thelakelander]

It also further illustrates why the Hyatt/old city hall annex site should be the convention center. We say there's nothing to do downtown, but there are a number of restaurants, nightlife venues opening up around that vacant lawn and the Florida Theater. There's also the riverwalk and the nearby proposed locations of MOSH and the USS Orleck. While everyone has focused on Lot J, there's a cluster already forming in The Elbow.

[landfall]

I don't think you can really go wrong with the ford on bay either. That project has the chance to create energy on both sides of Bay St. Bay St also has the potential to be a great artery so to speak between the CBD and the Sports Complex as thee Jacksonville nightlife street. It has more natural energy in its pinky than the likes of Lot J or the District. Its well placed to attract both office workers and people attending sports and events or people just out for a stroll on the river front. Where as the likes of those and the Landing were geographically situated in a way which meant they were not able to take advantage of all the key visitor groups needed to sustain these places year round.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Is this the same building where Laveranues Coles was trying to develop a restaurant and bar years ago?

[thelakelander]

I don't think you can really go wrong with the ford on bay either.

That's another project we've have not heard much about over the past year. Is it still a thing? Since Spandrel was announced as the RFP winner, the losing team has found another site, proposed a project and is now working with the DDRB to get it underway on the Southbank. One thing that would be a potential worry about luxury residential at the old courthouse site would be new residents eventually complaining about nightclubs and live music venues on Bay Street.

[thelakelander]

Is this the same building where Laveranues Coles was trying to develop a restaurant and bar years ago?

Yes, the same exact building!

[landfall]

I don't think you can really go wrong with the ford on bay either.

That's another project we've have not heard much about over the past year. Is it still a thing? Since Spandrel was announced as the RFP winner, the losing team has found another site, proposed a project and is now working with the DDRB to get it underway on the Southbank. One thing that would be a potential worry about luxury residential at the old courthouse site would be new residents eventually complaining about nightclubs and live music venues on Bay Street.

I am curious if the goalposts have now shifted on the spandrel/hyatt land fight since it looks like the jags convention center bid is dead.

[CityLife]

Very cool project. Not sure how responsible the operators are for Club Space/Floyd/The Ground, but that place is right next to E11EVEN, so they should bring an interesting and fresh perspective to Jax.

I'm a little out of the loop, but does DVI ever run any weekend events in the Elbow area (or did they pre-Covid)? Or is it still just Art Walk? I've always been dumbfounded at how poorly Jax does at trying to create vibrancy Downtown. People will come Downtown if you just give them a reason to. One of the easiest ways to do so is to just program the heck out of that area on weekends. The beauty of the grid system is that you can close down a few streets for events, with minimal impact on auto traffic.

I know that Art Walk alone used to pay a lot (or all) of the bills for several operators back in the day. If there were monthly Art Walk Wednesday's, a monthly Friday event, along with an every Saturday night event (that ideally would be headlined by shows at Florida Theater, TUCPA, and 1904); that area would take off and operators could thrive. Hopefully new investors like this can help push things forward...

[urbanlibertarian]

I've heard that the main issue with putting a bar, restaurant or retail in that building is the lack of a rear exit and no space to create one.  I assume that this group has that figured out.

[thelakelander]

^In the plan, it does appear that they have figured out how to put in a rear entrance.