The Jacksonville Landing: Parking Myths vs. Reality

[copperfiend]

FYI, Red Robin has indeed looked at expanding into Jacksonville... around the Hodges/Beach Blvd area.  So, certain national chains mentioned above that are currently not in Jacksonville have shown interest in our market.

Not shocking. I am sure they are also looking at the RCMP, SJTC and the beaches.

[thelakelander]

Those guys are playing with real money and not theory or a belief that parking, visibility and policy don't have a significant impact on site selection within a market.  To be honest, you can't blame them.  The demographics are better in that area and there are no public policies in place that have a negative impact on business.

[fieldafm]

Those guys are playing with real money and not theory or a belief that parking, visibility and policy don't have a significant impact on site selection within a market.

Exactly!

[copperfiend]

Those guys are playing with real money and not theory or a belief that parking, visibility and policy don't have a significant impact on site selection within a market.  To be honest, you can't blame them.  The demographics are better in that area and there are no public policies in place that have a negative impact on business.

I completely agree. I don't blame them either. I don't blame Darden for opening the first local Bahama Breeze at the SJTC.

[fsujax]

I went to Bahama Breeze last Thursday night and as I was sitting outside enjoying the lovely view of SJTC Parkway.....I thought to myself what a waste....being down on the river would be so much better!

[RockStar]

You know what would be nice? A casino or riverboat gambling. That would generate revenue and tourism.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I went to Bahama Breeze last Thursday night and as I was sitting outside enjoying the lovely view of SJTC Parkway.....I thought to myself what a waste....being down on the river would be so much better!

Every Bahama Breeze I've seen has had a similar view...how nice it would be to eat at a waterfront one. 

[JeffreyS]

I have an out of town friend who came into Jax for a meeting at Fidelity on the river and then ate dinner at Ruth's Chris over looking the river at night.  He always describes Jax in glowing terms as being gorgeous.  I wonder if they had booked the meeting at one of the JTB hotels and he had eaten at the SJTC how his picture would be.  I'll bet he would say nice and not think a second thing about it.

[duvaldude08]

The parking issue will be decided on tonight at the city council meeting at 5. Its open to the public. I hope they reticfy this and fufill their obligation to the landing. Thats only right.

[urbanlibertarian]

It appears the Mayor believes that the improvements to Metro Park will make DT more attractive to potential residents.  As a DT resident I've only been to Metro Park a few times in 7 years for special events.  I'm sure it's nice for families in Fairfield and Eastside.
What would make DT more attractive to potential residents is more businesses.  Mr. Mayor please make it easier and cheaper to open and operate a business in this city.

[JeffreyS]

Downtown needs a vibrant Landing and some retail, Drug store, Duncan Donuts type businesses on State and Union.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Well its not hard to beleive they cant get this done. This city is really start to wear on me, and having just visited Baltimore's downtown water front I'm really disappointed.

[tufsu1]

I went to Bahama Breeze last Thursday night and as I was sitting outside enjoying the lovely view of SJTC Parkway.....I thought to myself what a waste....being down on the river would be so much better!

Every Bahama Breeze I've seen has had a similar view...how nice it would be to eat at a waterfront one.  

the one in Tampa has a water view....but yes, most are just surburban locations

[tufsu1]

Baltimore's Inner Harbor has a significant amount of foot traffic that Jax does not, which can alter parking requirements for chains.  Nevertheless, there are a ton of garages in the immediate area.  Most are integrated with adjacent buildings.  I'm not too familiar with the origins of Cordish's Power Plant project but it would be hard to imagine that they don't have parking agreements with a couple of nearby lots.  Btw, Cordish just purchased another garage in the area to ensure the success of their investments in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

I only asked because you show a pic of the Power Plan project as part of the reasoning for retail needing dedcicated parking.

btw....I dn't think the Power Plant project itself was originally done by Cordish...pretty sure they took over later and then developed Power Plant Live across the street in the early 2000s

[thelakelander]

I only asked because you show a pic of the Power Plan project as part of the reasoning for retail needing dedcicated parking.

Outside of a select few ultra urban environments (ex. NYC, Chicago's Loop, San Francisco, etc.) across the country, you'll be hard pressed to find several examples of major chains opening up shop without adequate parking nearby.  

The Baltimore image was used to show examples of entertainment based chain retailers that typically require adequate parking as a part of their site selection process, not the Power Plant itself.  While Baltimore has decent pedestrian traffic (which can impact the ultimate number of dedicated spaces required by a private entity) there are also a number of garages and lots nearby.  They just happen to be integrated with adjacent buildings, similar to what was once proposed with Kuhn and the garage to accommodate Kuhn's project and the Landing's needs.  


Another shot taken from the Power Plant.  Across the street (behind Best Buy), there is a large parking garage that probably serves the needs of several projects in the area, including the plant's tenants.  While some of these developments may be newer, I would not be suprised if they replaced surface lots in the area.  By the same token, the same could happen with the lot Sleiman wants across the street when the time comes.


You can see another large multi level garage across the street from that one (on the right). Both of these structures are literally across the street from the Power Plant development.