Suburban Jacksonville: Deerwood Center
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1411720392_66Bbzw6-M.jpg)
Baymeadow's Deerwood Center is home to several employers and educational facilities, making it the envy of many downtown Jacksonville advocates. After three decades of being in existance, the development's mature tree canopy, lakes and mix of uses combine to provide it with a different vibe from many of Jacksonville's suburban office parks.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-may-suburban-jacksonville-deerwood-center
I've wasted too many good years of my life at various locations in that office park. It was nice to read the article, but it made me a bit depressed, too :-[
^Adam, same here.
I worked in two of the buildings pictured when they were Citigroup. The building in the second to last photo and the Florida Coastal building with the big ball in front of it. I do miss being able to go out on the deck on a nice day.
I worked out there for a summer in one of AT&T's call centers (worst job ever)! I noticed there were limited sidewalks out there and everyone drove to Baymeadows Rd to eat lunch.
It speaks volumes that there is not a single person to be seen in any of these photos.
maybe they were taken on a Sunday??
Quote from: fsujax on May 01, 2012, 10:46:33 AM
maybe they were taken on a Sunday??
Even so, are scenes from "The Walking Dead" really something for many downtown Jacksonville advocates to be envious of? I mean, we've already got that.
While it definitely sucks out there, if you're into fishing at all, that lake is PACKED with huge fish. Tons. Like, spit in the water, you'll see 2 dozen 1-3 foot long fish rush to the surface. Kinda cool.
Quote from: fsujax on May 01, 2012, 10:46:33 AM
maybe they were taken on a Sunday??
A Saturday morning a few months back.
Quote from: finehoe on May 01, 2012, 10:45:26 AM
It speaks volumes that there is not a single person to be seen in any of these photos.
probably because it is an office park. just a hunch
I don't see why anyone would look at the Deerwood Center as an 'undesirable awful place'. It's just a typical suburban office park that you'll find in Anyplace USA. In fact, I think of it as a 'tranquil clean well kept area' and not a 'dreadful outpost to be banished at'. Deerwood wasn't meant to be a place with sidewalks, and bike lanes throughout; Even if had them, it would be a total waste of money, because no one would be out there using them. This is not an attack on anyone's opinions, just voicing mine, hopefully that's okay.
Quote from: fsquid on May 01, 2012, 11:52:34 AM
probably because it is an office park. just a hunch
+1000
For those of you not aware of Tyson's Corner in Northern Virginia, here is an overview of the plans to transform it from a suburban office park to a vital, vibrant urban center. Unlikely to ever be the case in Deerwood, but interesting nonetheless.
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/tysonscorner/tysonstaskforce.htm
Quote from: fsujax on May 01, 2012, 09:03:48 AM
I worked out there for a summer in one of AT&T's call centers (worst job ever)! I noticed there were limited sidewalks out there and everyone drove to Baymeadows Rd to eat lunch.
I worked at Citibank and at Convergys. Terrible jobs, but that wasn't due to the location, of course.
On the other hand, I went through a period where I had to commute home from work at Convergys via bus. It was terrible. I had to wait forever for the damn bus and then it took ages to crawl up Phillips Highway. I eventually realised I could get off at the foot of the Acosta bridge, walk to Riverside and get home quicker than transferring to another bus downtown.
Lake - Fantastic, now we have found what Downtown is missing, a GIANT LAKE with 1-3 foot long fish dominated by sidewalks all around it. If we only had a lake downtown, oh yeah, the people would come, they most certainly would come.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 01, 2012, 02:57:26 PM
Lake - Fantastic, now we have found what Downtown is missing, a GIANT LAKE with 1-3 foot long fish dominated by sidewalks all around it. If we only had a lake downtown, oh yeah, the people would come, they most certainly would come.
Don't forget the nutria.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 01, 2012, 02:57:26 PM
Lake - Fantastic, now we have found what Downtown is missing, a GIANT LAKE with 1-3 foot long fish dominated by sidewalks all around it. If we only had a lake downtown, oh yeah, the people would come, they most certainly would come.
LOL. Keep quiet. Someone might actually try to pick that up and run with it.
Quote from: thelakelander on May 01, 2012, 04:09:46 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 01, 2012, 02:57:26 PM
Lake - Fantastic, now we have found what Downtown is missing, a GIANT LAKE with 1-3 foot long fish dominated by sidewalks all around it. If we only had a lake downtown, oh yeah, the people would come, they most certainly would come.
LOL. Keep quiet. Someone might actually try to pick that up and run with it.
Maybe Hemming Plaza can be flooded. That ought to keep the homeless out. You can't swim and play chess/checkers at the same time. And even if they did swim in Hemming Pla.. err Pool, they would at least smell better after getting out of the water.
FBC could do baptisms there too.
To publicize the new and improved Hemming Pool, the mayor could ski on it, just like Tommy Hazouri (or was it Jake Godbold) skied on the St. Johns to prove it wasn't polluted any more.
I think the idea has merit.
Stephen and Ron Chamblin should take it to the Hemming Plaza committee.
Yes if only downtown had some large body of water next to it that people would enjoy looking at and/or using. ::)
On the subject at hand, isn't Deerwood Center largely unoccupied now? I looked around about a year ago, and saw so many empty spaces and "for lease" signs.
QuoteMaybe Hemming Plaza can be flooded. That ought to keep the homeless out. You can't swim and play chess/checkers at the same time. And even if they did swim in Hemming Pla.. err Pool, they would at least smell better after getting out of the water. FBC could do baptisms there too. To publicize the new and improved Hemming Pool, the mayor could ski on it, just like Tommy Hazouri (or was it Jake Godbold) skied on the St. Johns to prove it wasn't polluted any more. I think the idea has merit. Stephen and Ron Chamblin should take it to the Hemming Plaza committee.
+1
Actually it was Hans Tanzler who skied on the river.
Tanzler's greatest contribution to downtown was healing a sick and neglected St. John's River. In 1968, industrial and agricultural pollution, toxic chemicals and 15 million gallons per day of untreated sewage flowed from 77 untreated outfalls into the river and its Duval County tributaries. The city increased sewer taxes, replaced outdated sewer lines and closed ineffective sewage treatment plants. The mayor celebrated the closing of the last of the untreated outfalls in June 1977 by skiing on the river with performers from Cypress Gardens.
Quote from: vicupstate on May 01, 2012, 05:23:35 PM
Quote from: thelakelander on May 01, 2012, 04:09:46 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 01, 2012, 02:57:26 PM
Lake - Fantastic, now we have found what Downtown is missing, a GIANT LAKE with 1-3 foot long fish dominated by sidewalks all around it. If we only had a lake downtown, oh yeah, the people would come, they most certainly would come.
LOL. Keep quiet. Someone might actually try to pick that up and run with it.
Maybe Hemming Plaza can be flooded. That ought to keep the homeless out. You can't swim and play chess/checkers at the same time. And even if they did swim in Hemming Pla.. err Pool, they would at least smell better after getting out of the water.
FBC could do baptisms there too.
To publicize the new and improved Hemming Pool, the mayor could ski on it, just like Tommy Hazouri (or was it Jake Godbold) skied on the St. Johns to prove it wasn't polluted any more.
I think the idea has merit.
Stephen and Ron Chamblin should take it to the Hemming Plaza committee.
Build a Bass Pro Shop on that lake and you might have yourself a deal.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 02, 2012, 12:07:15 PM
Tanzler's greatest contribution to downtown was healing a sick and neglected St. John's River. In 1968, industrial and agricultural pollution, toxic chemicals and 15 million gallons per day of untreated sewage flowed from 77 untreated outfalls into the river and its Duval County tributaries. The city increased sewer taxes, replaced outdated sewer lines and closed ineffective sewage treatment plants. The mayor celebrated the closing of the last of the untreated outfalls in June 1977 by skiing on the river with performers from Cypress Gardens.
How much was driven by Mayor Tanzler and how much by the Clean Water Act? Congress created a major public works financing program for municipal sewage treatment in the 1972 CWA. A system of grants for construction of municipal sewage treatment plants was authorized and funded in Title II. In the initial program the federal portion of each grant was up to 75 percent of a facility's capital cost, with the remainder financed by the state.
I worked there for 4 years and even took the occasional bus. A pretty dreadful place. The fact that, as one of you wrote, it is a "typical suburban office park" just shows how dreadful the competition is.