Berkman Plaza 2

[stjr]

How about a 2 for 1 special:  Tear down Tower 2 and the $ky-high-way at the same time! 

Two failures, two eyesores, two blights - all gone in the blink of an eye. 

[Ocklawaha]

How about a 2 for 1 special:  Tear down Tower 2 and the $ky-high-way at the same time! 

Two failures, two eyesores, two blights - all gone in the blink of an eye. 

I kind of like that concept with a twist... With a new convention center at the old Courthouse site, why not turn Berkman 2 into a giant Skyway Station with built in TOD features...

On second thought, perhaps we could cover the sides with plastic sheeting and paint walls and windows on it, anything but a dead high-rise.

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

Maybe it could be used as the base of a giant tramway crossing the river...

[braeburn]

The city of Jacksonville gave that parcel of land to the developer (who developed BP1) on the promise that he would build another tower. It was supposed to be completed no later than the beginning of 2010, I believe.

The BP2 also had 70+ people who are still under contract to purchase units divided between two brokerages - Watson and Floridian Lifestyles.

I'd imagine class action lawsuits are being undertaken by the contract holders to receive their deposits back, all in addition to the lawsuits between the contractors and anyone else involved in the design aspect of the tower.

I highly doubt riverfront property in that section will just "sit" there forever.

[Lunican]

The Shipyards, adjacent to Berkman, has sat for 18 years (and counting).

[Dog Walker]

There was a multi-tower condo project on the tip of Treasure Island next to St. Petersburg that stopped construction in 1972 and wasn't completed until the early '80's.  The open concrete towers were used by many generations of seagulls for nesting.  They were a terrible eyesore for the whole time.

[Jimmy]

That's what I was afraid of.  This might actually be worse than the Shipyards.

[Ocklawaha]

The Shipyards, adjacent to Berkman, has sat for 18 years (and counting).

The Incentive...

The Shipyards was NOT the location of Jacksonville Shipyards Inc, rather it was the remains of a massive industrial complex that turned out some 100 M/L vessels for the allied war effort in WWII. It was still empty in 1980, you tell me how long it sat on the riverfront? The distinctive cast concrete buildings with HUGE - GIANT sloped ways on top that formed a cradle on top of each of 5 or 6 buildings. The north side of the buildings were a couple or three storys high and the backs (south side) sloped down right into the river. They had enough railroad track, foundries, metal shops, warehouses, and work floors in that place to build a medium size navy. 



The Ponce De Leon, first Liberty Ship built at "The Shipyards" east of Hogans Creek.

OCKLAWAHA

[Lunican]

A few shots of the crane coming down:

[reednavy]

I'm hoping that they're going to implode and rebuild. My thinking is that even though the garage collapse only affected a small portion of the tower, it may have compromised the structural integrity of the whole thing.

[Ocklawaha]

I'm hoping that they're going to implode and rebuild. My thinking is that even though the garage collapse only affected a small portion of the tower, it may have compromised the structural integrity of the whole thing.

I've kind of gone over that a few times myself, especially since that ground is really riverbed and the whole damn thing is on sand fill. The only reason the northbank isn't somewhere around Forsyth Street today is the City has been pushing that water back with junk, rock and finally sea walls and river walks. Watch what happens when we have another hurricane Dora... Glug, glug, glug...

OCKLAWAHA

[braeburn]

While it would be great to have a 2nd highrise there, with the amount of people wanting a refund on their deposits - why would there be a rebuild? With the economy the way it is, it would be more than tempting to get a 20% deposit back. Remember this project is over 2 years old, and property values have sunk tremendously while the 70 or so contract holders have had their money tied up in escrow this whole time.

The condo market is dead on the vine right now, and no one in their right mind is going to pay $200k++ for a condo when the first tower has short sales and comps under $100k...

Added to that, generally: highrises aim for a minimum of 50% of the units in the building to be under solid contract before breaking ground. That would put Berkman 2 at about 100 units. That quota was never reached.

The reason the building started BEFORE even 50% was sold was because the City of Jacksonville gave the developer that land under the promise that he build a 2nd tower, completed, by 2010.

[Scarlettjax]

I'm thinking we could use it for the Pretrial Detention Facility Annex.  Again. 

[Overstreet]

.............I've kind of gone over that a few times myself, especially since that ground is really riverbed and the whole damn thing is on sand fill. ..................

Sort of but not quite. Buildings in that area sit on deep foundations. (Piles, cassions, etc.) That puts the building down to what they call pile refusal. In this case is probably in the 60 to 90 feet below the  lowest floor foundations. Sidewalks, paving and small buildings are another matter.

[Ocklawaha]

.............I've kind of gone over that a few times myself, especially since that ground is really riverbed and the whole damn thing is on sand fill. ..................

Sort of but not quite. Buildings in that area sit on deep foundations. (Piles, cassions, etc.) That puts the building down to what they call pile refusal. In this case is probably in the 60 to 90 feet below the  lowest floor foundations. Sidewalks, paving and small buildings are another matter.

Yeah, I'm aware of the piles that support the true weight, most of which are pounded to the bedrock or limestone. Jacksonville Terminal sits atop something like 200 piles most at 75 feet deep, (what you newbies know as the "Prime Osbourne"). What I was having some fun poking at was the fact that if that Northbank seawall ever topples into the river, you better run NORTH and FAST. Talk about the missing quays, even the Modis building would look like it was built on a pier. LOL.

In the hurricane's of 1960-64 Bay street was completely under the river in downtown. We have never done a "New Orleans" and created a diversion route for excess water. One could imagine a giant box about the size of a downtown street in width and height, and running from around the Landing North to the Trout River or Talleyrand, Moncrief etc... Of course it would have to be under a street and of course it will never happen... Now about Global Warming and rising water levels... HA HA!

BTW, the piles and cores taken so deep is how they found the ancient Volcano cone that sits under the Orlando international Airport! Igneous Rocks in FLORIDA!

OCKLAWAHA