Sports Complex

[marcuscnelson]

For one, I'd argue that we probably have more historic building stock remaining in the vicinity of downtown than most other cities in Florida. Sure, it might not compare to Atlanta or cities elsewhere, but I don't think we're giving ourselves as much credit as we could be.

More importantly, most of the problems Field is describing here are policy issues that are completely solvable. It's a question of our political will to change the incentives. If we drop the parking requirements, institute neighborhood design standards, and include some degree of subsidy as we have for buildings in downtown, I don't see why we couldn't get some approximation of what these places used to have.

Sure, building individual mixed use buildings might not easily pan out, but why couldn't someone buy one or two empty blocks and build that out? And if more density actually makes sense for the area, what's wrong with that?

[Zac T]

I would love to see parking requirements completely eliminated for the entire city within the 295 loop. Really for the entire city but figured this would be a good way to start. It would allow for the natural development of more mixed-density infill housing without worrying where the parking lot/garage is going to be

[fieldafm]

I would love to see parking requirements completely eliminated for the entire city within the 295 loop. Really for the entire city but figured this would be a good way to start. It would allow for the natural development of more mixed-density infill housing without worrying where the parking lot/garage is going to be

One thing the code does not recognize, is the ability to bundle parking with shared facilities.  There are many instances, particularly in the neighborhoods in pre-consolidated Jacksonville, that there is abundant parking nearby that is unused during one user's off-peak time, that could be used for another user's peak-time parking needs.  The Code only allows you to provide the parking required entirely within your site.  So, a restaurant/bar that is open in the evening couldn't have a shared use agreement with the bank next door that is closed at 5pm in order to fulfill the restaurant's parking requirements.  No, that restaurant has to provide 100% or 50% (depending on where you are) of whatever the zoning code arbitrarily tells you is your parking requirement entirely within its own property line.   That's not free-market, whatsoever.


Although not entirely applicable, as these buildings are within 'Downtown' and therefore have different parking standards (or at least did, at the time), an interesting case study of the complete backwards economic incentives that the city imposes upon itself can be found along APR. 

After the Noland Plumbing building was successfully redeveloped (with Intuition and Manifest as tenants) and while the Doro building was trying (very hard) to be redeveloped... it was IMPOSSIBLE to use the existing parking garages right across the street to serve as non-event day parking.  Even though there were thousands of parking spaces that sat unused.   Why?  Well, because the owner of the parking garage actually makes more money when they lose more money... because their development agreement with COJ requires COJ to 'loan' them money to cover their losses and guarantee a fixed ROI.  The more money they lose, the more money they make.  Therefore, neither Intuition nor Manifest were able to PAY the parking garage owner for the use of their unused parking spaces.  Pretty insane, right?

So, a solution was found to take some money that had sat unused for over a decade for the Bay Street Town Center to upgrade an unused parking lot across the street.  The Bay Street Town Center was a Super Bowl-era plan to create an entertainment district along Bay Street.  It worked pretty well, and then the City decided to actually make the area less walkable by expanding Bay Street (the original design called for medians and mid-block pedestrian crossings) and now requiring whatever developer goes into the former Courthouse and City Hall site (both demolished for a few million bucks) to provide as little street level retail as possible.  But I digress..

Well, that parking lot was supposed to be free two-hour parking.  COJ decided they wanted to make it a paid parking lot (as if there is so much demand on non-event days that parking is somehow gobbled up around the sports district- thats sarcasm, btw) and installed a gate system on the lot.  Two years later, the parking lot had been torn up for the half-assed Hart Bridge ramp tear-down. 

I mean, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/downtowns-doro-district-secures-parking/

[Steve]

I've said this a MILLION times. 95% of the parking in the sports complex is owned by COJ.

For all events in the Sports Complex EXCEPT "Full Stadium Events" (Jags Games, Florida/Georgia, Monster Jam, etc.), add $2 to every single ticket and make parking 100% free. Open every city lot and garage and make it wide open. Use the $2 to make up for the lost parking revenue.

It isn't hard.

For the 15 days a year we have a full stadium event, no bar owner in the Sports Complex should struggle to make a killing those days.

This would also have the added benefit of reducing the economic benefit of the people selling parking in a random lot, thereby encouraging them to sell the property for development.

[fieldafm]

add $2 to every single ticket and make parking 100% free

Such a fee is already baked into Dailys Place events. Its how COJ helps pays for the bond money for the construction of the amphitheater, the never-used indoor practice facility and upgrades done to the stadium in 2015/2016 timeframe.  The bed tax money is basically tapped out, so the fee is a way to help pay for that debt service.   The Lot J proposal, which will come back again in 2022, had a similar parking fee mechanism.

This would also have the added benefit of reducing the economic benefit of the people selling parking in a random lot, thereby encouraging them to sell the property for development.

Many of the makeshift lots on the Eastside and in Fairfield are owned by people that don't live in the neighborhood.  There is zero incentive to sell and get those properties to more productive uses, as the carrying costs (basically, property taxes) are virtually nonexistent... and selling parking a few dozen times a year is a nice little cash business that flies under the radar of the IRS.   Again, the supply/demand is out of whack due to artificial forces.

[jaxjaguar]

We say it all the time here, but our city leaders need to look no further than Orlando for some examples of how to boost the vibrancy of downtown. I think something like The Yard https://theyardivanhoe.com/ would be great for either Brooklyn or the Sports District. It's a good combination of housing, shops, gym and food/beer hall. The shops cater to those who live there and nearby and the food hall helps draw in people from all over the city. It's right on the Urban Bike trail which makes it easy for people to walk, bike or drive there. 

The Doro project seems like it might be similar to The Yard, but the scale seems much smaller. Thoughts?

[thelakelander]

A. Philip Randolph as a corridor, can blow away anything in urban Orlando.....with the right planning and implementation. It's one of the streets the DIA and COJ should prioritize as a walkable retail corridor from Bay to 1st. This would mean intentionally having policies that keep pedestrian hostile uses and structures from being built. This way, we won't incrementally ruin the opportunity.

[jaxjaguar]

....with the right planning and implementation.

^This is the key. My main point was that there are completed projects nearby that could be used as a reference point for a successful larger scale mixed use space in a walkable / bikeable area. The food / beer hall in particular is something I think should be looked at. Its scale  / vertical design would fit nicely in Brooklyn, Lavilla, Sports District or former Landing site.

[jaxjaguar]

....with the right planning and implementation.

^This is the key. My main point was that there are completed projects nearby that could be used as a reference point for a successful larger scale mixed use space in a walkable / bikeable area. The food / beer hall in particular is something I think should be looked at. Its scale and vertical design would fit nicely in Brooklyn, Lavilla, Sports District or former Landing site.

[fieldafm]

....with the right planning and implementation.

^This is the key. My main point was that there are completed projects nearby that could be used as a reference point for a successful larger scale mixed use space in a walkable / bikeable area. The food / beer hall in particular is something I think should be looked at. Its scale  / vertical design would fit nicely in Brooklyn, Lavilla, Sports District or former Landing site.

As soon as the Park Street construction gets sorted out, a developer in Brooklyn will break ground on an adaptive reuse for a food hall, adaptive reuse of a historically designated church property, the reuse of the former Pennock Floral building.. as well as several new infill mixed-use structures.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jaxs-first-food-hall-coming-to-brooklyn-neighborhood/

[Tacachale]

A. Philip Randolph as a corridor, can blow away anything in urban Orlando.....with the right planning and implementation. It's one of the streets the DIA and COJ should prioritize as a walkable retail corridor from Bay to 1st. This would mean intentionally having policies that keep pedestrian hostile uses and structures from being built. This way, we won't incrementally ruin the opportunity.

As I said in this piece, I think this is an underappreciated benefit of the current Arena and Baseball Grounds. It took a long time to have much effect, but it puts much more emphasis on APR Blvd than when the Coliseum and Wolfson Park were just islands in the sea of parking.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/7-big-projects-that-moved-downtown-forward-and-how/

[acme54321]

....with the right planning and implementation.

^This is the key. My main point was that there are completed projects nearby that could be used as a reference point for a successful larger scale mixed use space in a walkable / bikeable area. The food / beer hall in particular is something I think should be looked at. Its scale  / vertical design would fit nicely in Brooklyn, Lavilla, Sports District or former Landing site.

As soon as the Park Street construction gets sorted out, a developer in Brooklyn will break ground on an adaptive reuse for a food hall, adaptive reuse of a historically designated church property, the reuse of the former Pennock Floral building.. as well as several new infill mixed-use structures.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jaxs-first-food-hall-coming-to-brooklyn-neighborhood/

What is going on with Park St?  I went to Brintons the other day and it's like they did one block and stopped

[fieldafm]

....with the right planning and implementation.

^This is the key. My main point was that there are completed projects nearby that could be used as a reference point for a successful larger scale mixed use space in a walkable / bikeable area. The food / beer hall in particular is something I think should be looked at. Its scale  / vertical design would fit nicely in Brooklyn, Lavilla, Sports District or former Landing site.

As soon as the Park Street construction gets sorted out, a developer in Brooklyn will break ground on an adaptive reuse for a food hall, adaptive reuse of a historically designated church property, the reuse of the former Pennock Floral building.. as well as several new infill mixed-use structures.

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jaxs-first-food-hall-coming-to-brooklyn-neighborhood/

What is going on with Park St?  I went to Brintons the other day and it's like they did one block and stopped

Construction bids came in over the allotted budget.  The property owners along Park have also been lobbying JEA for several years to bury utilities underground when the Park Street road diet eventually gets underway.  My understanding is that since the budget for the construction has already gone up (by necessity), that DIA is trying to also package in the JEA work now that they have a realistic idea what the cost of the project is going to be since bids are in. 

The one section that was 'completed' is a bit of an outlier because one side of the street had the sidewalk replaced because of a drainage issue, and the other side was paid for by JTA as part of the BRT bus service stations they have been incrementally added over the last couple of years. Going back to 2018, JTA/COJ has been installing ADA adherence at intersections and installing new concrete pads for bus stops. Since JTA was already going to spend money on that section, it was coordinated with COJ to ensure that the new sidewalk complied with the eventual road diet/lane reduction configuration.  When the Park Street road diet gets ramped up, that 'completed' section will also get some additional upgrades.   You can see those 'extras' here: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/plans-filed-for-park-street-road-diet/

[Lostwave]

Looks like the Doro is getting a real crane finally.  Plus its Red.

[Ken_FSU]

Last major hurdle in front of the Jags Four Seasons/Office project appears to have been cleared

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/state-agrees-to-move-grant-restriction-from-kids-kampus-to-future-shipyards-west-park

With it comes the guarantee and obligation that the city must build a 9-acre destination park at the Western Shipyards.

Acreage difference between the original Met Park and the new park is quite different because only Kids Campus acreage is included in the swap. Other adjacent acreage (including the new marina support facility) will still be considered park under the original grant.