The Downtown jail fallacy

[marcuscnelson]

Ritz Theatre District? Anything about that? I don't think I've seen the concept before.

It always struck me as incredibly strange that the LaVilla School of the Arts is so intentionally sprawling. Just looking on a map I don't see why the school couldn't have been entirely contained to south of Church Street instead of using like eight blocks.

[thelakelander]

Unfortunately, it was very intentional to destroy (umm revitalize 1990s style) this area of LaVilla. I have articles, various plans, sketches, correspondence, etc. highlighting attempts to shut down long time businesses, taking of properties, and redevelopment ideas that were very suburban in nature. What's been done, has been done, but it's not too far gone if we (the City of Jax) are intentional about it and equitable at the decision making table about its future.

Regarding the theater district, there was a community push back in the 1980s to restore the Ritz and the Davis Street business district around in. The desire was to keep its old buildings and bring them back to life as a retail, dining and entertainment district, anchored by a revamped Ritz Theatre. At the time, some business owners had a fear that COJ would try and take their community away from them. Ultimately,  that fear came true. Today, Davis is a shell of itself and the Ritz is isolated and underutilized. Yet, if we can get our act together, it can be the Black history museum,  archives and cultural anchor than people really wanted decades ago.

I will scan some old articles and post them here.

[Jax_Developer]

LaVilla should be "next" after the usable land in Brooklyn is utilized.

Just as a note too, the land in LaVilla is not as "available" as it may seem at first glance. Because of the age of the area, there are very few full block assemblages. Most blocks are impacted by the Skyway, or the ownership is split amongst 0.1 acre parcels from the old style that existed there. The economics need to catch up to make these land assemblage activities profitable. I'm sure there are players doing it now, but I don't think that same theory is true even 5 years ago. (Lofts at Lavilla/Jefferson St is a perfect example of that).

So I hope your news is something like someone has some assemblages Lake lol..

[thelakelander]

^There's a lot you don't know that I'm not at liberty to say, regarding LaVilla right now. In time, things will be revealed. I'll just say that some of the things mentioned, like lot assemblage aren't major issues.

The players in Uptown LaVilla and Brooklyn are also different. To allow for true inclusive development, long time institutions that still have ownership of their properties are a plus. Much of the publicly owned parcels are also potential catalytic opportunities. Especially, with the recent mayoral and council election results.

Redevelopment in Brooklyn LaVilla, DT, etc. can co-exist, as they can be complimentary from a market-based perspective.

[marcuscnelson]

I'm curious how useful/relevant the Neighborhood Development Strategy or Heritage Plan have been, if at all, to these efforts.

[thelakelander]

^They've been in play......with revision of course. The heritage trail project is moving forward, but it will be larger and more nationally prominent than what GAI ever imagined.

[Jax_Developer]

I think LaVilla needs a successful private investment to lay down some ground work for the city assemblages to move, personally. I'm hopeful you're accurate on the assemblage opportunities, given the large % that COJ/State owns there. Johnson Commons is a good place to start but even those don't really demonstrate feasible private investment at this very moment. 

[thelakelander]

^That's what I can't reveal at this point but there's something in the works.

[thelakelander]

Ritz Theatre District? Anything about that? I don't think I've seen the concept before.

It always struck me as incredibly strange that the LaVilla School of the Arts is so intentionally sprawling. Just looking on a map I don't see why the school couldn't have been entirely contained to south of Church Street instead of using like eight blocks.

Here's some old newspaper clips:





The desire was to restore the entire Davis Street strip into a mixed-use district featuring restaurants, shops, entertainment venues, etc. that would have been anchored by a rehabilitated Ritz. COJ eventually came in, ripped everything down, built the Ritz and then took it out of community control. Decades have passed and much of the vacant lots still remain and the Ritz is completely underutilized.

[heights unknown]

Sad what they did to my old neighborhood. When me and my Mom lived there in the early to late 60's it was vibrant, people everywhere, music blaring out of the bars, taverns and clubs, and I went to the Ritz as a boy many times, and, the Ritz was not the only black owned theater in LaVilla; there was the Roosevelt Theater which was two blocks from where we lived on Duval (826 West Duval), and the Strand Theater which was further east on Ashley going towards downtown. That first photo brought back many memories as I used to run, and walk during the summer when school was out, all around that area of town. Many bars and taverns were on Davis, hat shops, Barber Shops (they had a Barber College on the corner of Davis and Beaver I believe), clothing shops, restaurants, the Roosevelt Theater had a small fast food type restaurant that was out of this world. I remember on Ashley a bar called "El Chico" that had a big neon cactus in front of it that lit up at night. Jacksonville was alive and abuzz in those days. Most all of the clubs and bars back then had neon lights in front of them as did the tall buildings downtown. LaVilla was also abuzz with activity in those days. We moved to Fort Myers in 1968 and the next time I visited LaVilla was after I had graduated from High School and joined the U.S. Navy (in mid 1975 I believe); it was run down and drug infested, and by that time many of the businesses were either boarded up and out of business or were just barely hanging on. Memories.

[Jax_Developer]

^That's what I can't reveal at this point but there's something in the works.

Hope the best for it! Will patiently wait haha.

[marcuscnelson]

The desire was to restore the entire Davis Street strip into a mixed-use district featuring restaurants, shops, entertainment venues, etc. that would have been anchored by a rehabilitated Ritz. COJ eventually came in, ripped everything down, built the Ritz and then took it out of community control. Decades have passed and much of the vacant lots still remain and the Ritz is completely underutilized.

Wow, real missed opportunity. Probably would have needed housing too but that looks like it would have been a great start. Looking at the area now I definitely get the sense of "we tried building a new suburban mall here, why didn't it work?"

Definitely hoping the community has a chance to actually develop a vision for the neighborhood.

[thelakelander]

^At the time, it was still a compact neighborhood with lots of housing. The change in density and built environment is staggering as a result of the 1990s River City Renaissance plan. Davis Street is completely unrecognizable today.

[marcuscnelson]

Channel 4 declared on Twitter that Jacksonville city leaders say the current Duval County Jail is falling apart and millions needs to be spent right now.

The article goes into more detail, calling for $16 million to be spent on short-term repairs for both facilities.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/11/17/millions-of-dollars-is-needed-to-fix-structural-and-safety-issues-at-duval-county-jail/

[thelakelander]

It costs money to maintain big buildings. I'm surprised its only $16 million, considering the decades of poor maintenance. It's not in danger of collapsing, which is how the headline makes it seem.