QuoteBy LIZ FLAISIG,
The Times-Union
Jacksonville needs a larger convention center, but whether it should be an expanded or new building is a decision for city leaders.
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That was the consensus of the convention center task force, a body created at the request of Mayor John Peyton.
Since January, the group has met in full and in subcommittees, whose reports formed the basis for final recommendation the mayor and City Council will receive by mid-November.
At the final meeting Thursday night, 26 members spent an hour or so volleying the pros and cons of expanding the Prime Osborn Convention Center or building more space to compliment the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel downtown.
As in the past, those with a preference for the Prime Osborn, Hyatt or leaving the site decision open were outspoken.
Architect Jack Diamond spoke in favor of not choosing a site, because it would better allow the city to adopt a "first tier" mentality.
More than a few members mentioned the river's draw to visitors, and Ted Pappas said a "critical mass" exists from the growth along and around Riverside Avenue, near the Prime Osborn.
And Jacksonville Landing owner Toney Sleiman told the group downtown businesses would "boom" if the Hyatt site was chosen.
Discussions stemmed from the Return on Investment subcommittee's report, which recommended a 100,000-square-foot expansion of the Prime Osborn at the cost of $60 to $70 million.
Its second-ranked recommendation was to spend $90 to $100 million on a new, 120,000-square-foot convention center and 80,000-square-foot exhibit hall on city land near the Hyatt.
Any new convention center space should be paid with bed-tax money that will be available after the Prime Osborn's debt is paid off in 2009, the group said.
The subcommittee's third option was to choose a Northbank or Southbank location for a 500,000-square-foot convention center with at least 200,000 square feet of exhibit space.
The spirited discussion eventually turned to where investment in a convention center would most benefit downtown, whether it be in the city's core or the LaVilla area.
Although the meeting went past its usually prompt 7 p.m. completion, it ended with members agreeing Jacksonville needs more space to gain a more profitable share of convention center business.
liz.flaisig@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4640
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102607/bus_212128985.shtml.
Government by committee... What a joke! This is just a way for our boy wonder, Peyton, to kick the can down the road and do nothing. Thanks for wasting everyone's time, Mayor.
So a new 200,000sf center next door to the Hyatt would cost $90 to $100 million? Considering the Hyatt is already in place and it already has 100,000sf of meeting space, that compares well to spending $70 million to expand the Prime Osborn and then have to dish out extra incentives for a competing hotel in LaVilla.
I wonder why they ultimately chose to leave the site selection decision up to the Mayor's Office and City Council. Didn't this committee have more qualified people on it then the Mayor's Office and Council in making this decision?
maybe if we make the areas round the convention center more aplling we would get or conventions
To do so could cost just as much as building a new convention center in a spot where appealing things already exist. Also, trying to build things around the Prime Osborn to help with its viability, only means we'll then be dividing our resources into competiting downtown nodes, as opposed to building up one massive compact scene.