Downtown Development Update: What's rising, what's delayed

[thelakelander]

Unlike Savannah and Charleston, both of which have annexed quite a bit of suburban land, its highly likely that if consolidation did not happen and if we maintained our 30-square-mile developed limits, the city would have eventually fallen into the economic fall that a Detroit, Youngstown, OH experienced. We'd have more historic building stock, but not the resources or tax base to do much about it.

[jaxjags]

Before I retired, I did business in both Savannah and Charleston at least twice a month. Yes, SCAD in Savannah and tourism in both are big employment drivers in the DT areas. I was surprised when many young, employed people said they preferred Jax DT. It was real DT with office buildings and "real jobs". Surprisingly a lot of Savannah and Charleston residents did not like the tourism (short term rentals being a huge problem). I agree recruiting more business DT is the best approach. Corp and regional HQ may be difficult being in the same state as Miami. Small, medium sized and our own suburban companies need to be targeted. Stop supporting the suburbs completely. Most of those businesses would move or build without the support. We need to press forward with the current plan to make DT a safe, clean, well maintained and enjoyable place to live and visit.

[Ken_FSU]

Met Park Marina is now open, with the restaurant and Marina Shop looking to be getting close as well:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/aug/12/met-park-marina-opens-expanding-boat-access-to-downtown-near-everbank-stadium/

[Jax_Developer]

Another one from 2015. Its been over a decade since this editorial was written. The problem is still the same. At some point, there needs to be some real strategy implemented to address the issue:

During the late 20th century, changes in the nation's business policies and practices dramatically impacted our central business districts. Some, like Charlotte and Houston, came out as winners. Others like New Orleans and Jacksonville were dealt blows they're still working hard to overcome today. Ever wonder why Downtown Jacksonville has too much office space on its hands? Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with local leadership or the popularity of our rapidly growing suburbs.

https://archive.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-aug-seven-decisions-that-killed-downtown

Great article. Thanks for linking.

[thelakelander]

Thanks! When you look at the skyline, the impact of the loss of large companies locally headquarters is clearly visible. We went from a rapidly growing skyline to one frozen in the 1990s as mergers and acquisitions sent our jobs and civic pride to cities like Houston and Charlotte. Now we have an increasing glut of aging buildings and space we need to backfill.