Via a tweet from Christopher Hong the Mayor suggested that there is a major downtown development in the works. Any idea what this is? Hope it's the trio and Barnett!
https://twitter.com/ChrisHongTU/status/793108759925125120 (https://twitter.com/ChrisHongTU/status/793108759925125120)
Lemme guess. Shad's recent basement bargain buy, ie the Barnett Bank building? Interested to see what's proposed.
Per a later tweet, details to come early next year.
Or how about, razing all of the blocks that comprise LaVilla, and building 10 story parking garages, filling up each block and built on each block; that'll take care of the parking problem, and, it will be a development like no other city has...10+ blocks in LaVilla with 10 story parking garages. Alright, that's not funny, but I hope its something very valid, useful, and will standout not only where it is built, but hopefully add to the skyline and bring people downtown; don't need to be all vertical, but must be productive for downtown core and the city as a whole.
Fuddruckers is finally opening...wow guys. Cannot believe it.
Quote from: pierre on November 02, 2016, 02:48:24 PM
Fuddruckers is finally opening...wow guys. Cannot believe it.
YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS
Quote from: KenFSU on November 02, 2016, 09:34:02 AM
Per a later tweet, details to come early next year.
Seriously...? What a tease.
Quote from: KenFSU on November 02, 2016, 09:34:02 AM
Per a later tweet, details to come early next year.
In MJ-speak, "Shortly."
If we have to wait until at least January to find out what it is, it BETTER be good.... and it better actually happen.
Wait, this is Jacksonville, so maybe that last part is too much to ask.
Quote from: pierre on November 02, 2016, 02:48:24 PM
Fuddruckers is finally opening...wow guys. Cannot believe it.
Nope, gotta be downtown is getting a Publix, before San Marco.
Publix opening downtown is a big development? Don't think so...but wait, we're talking Jacksonville here, even a portable coffee and snack kiosk is a big development.......isn't it? I think it's something that none of us are even thinking about or has come to our mind. Don't think it's the Trio. I think it's something new that when announced will knock our socks off (we all hope).
Quote from: blfair on November 02, 2016, 08:44:14 PM
Quote from: pierre on November 02, 2016, 02:48:24 PM
Fuddruckers is finally opening...wow guys. Cannot believe it.
Nope, gotta be downtown is getting a Publix, before San Marco.
Getting a Publix would be a big deal as it signals that the residential base has reached an important critical mass. I assure you it hasn't, so whatever it is, it isn't that.
This is good news. If Curry has focused on a problem, and if he has been working on it for a while, I doubt it is a project vulnerable to the usual rise & fall syndrome. If it is a private investment venture, it must be solid, as Curry would not want to be involved in a project with even a moderate probability of failure.
But I am hoping that it will be a solid infrastructural improvement, which, if of proper shape and planning, could have profound effects on the rate at which the downtown travels the road to true vibrancy. Whereas a single investment project, private or semi-private, would certainly have a good effect on the core, a solid infrastructural program could have a profound affect on "many" projects.
Although I've not spoken much with Curry, and have not followed in detail the media about him, I have, by casual exposure, accumulated the opinion that he is definitely not a fool, or one to be swayed by anything approaching hogwash. He strikes me as an individual who perceives the serious nature of the job before him, and that he loves the challenge of it. In my short exposure to him, he always seemed very alert ... seeking accurate perceptions, as if hungry for input. He is not about to accept mediocrity, nor a partial solution to any problem before him. Few accountants accept a partial solutions.
Although the problem of the failure to achieve downtown vibrancy was thrust upon him many months ago, the complexity of it seems to have encouraged a long period of learning on his part. A complex problem often involves several related solutions. Perhaps the upcoming "surprise", might be one of his first "solutions" of several to come.
Here's the full piece:
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/20156-11-03/ron-littlepage-cranes-downtown-bring-them
I'm inferring from the language used & sites referenced that the hypothetical development will be closer to the river (ie, not the Laura Street Trio).
Quote from: Bill Hoff on November 03, 2016, 09:15:08 PM
Here's the full piece:
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/20156-11-03/ron-littlepage-cranes-downtown-bring-them
I'm inferring from the language used & sites referenced that the hypothetical development will be closer to the river (ie, not the Laura Street Trio).
Based on everything that Curry has said in the last few months, combined with what we already know, it sounds like the vast majority of the new proposed development being teased will take place east of the northbank core, between the Shipyards and the Stadium.
I'm predicting:
1) Metro Park is turned over to the Jaguars for private development.
2) At the State of the Franchise Address, the Jaguars formally announce development plans for Metro Park - an entertainment zone which includes an upscale hotel, retail and dining, public green space, and mooring for the USS Adams, linked to the stadium/Daily's place with a fancy pedestrian overpass.
3) We hit the ground running on Shipyards remediation early next year.
4) A portion of the Shipyards property is designated public parkspace - the much-discussed land swap necessary to close Metro Park. And other proposed development of the site is outlined.
5) Curry, perhaps in conjunction with the Jaguars, announces his intent to build a new convention center somewhere in the Shipyards/stadium district. Don't know where it fits, but the Jaguars have beat the convention center drum a few times now, and with Khan, where there's smoke, there tends to be fire.
6) The Berkman is the x-factor for me. Can't see a developer taking on this project without heavy incentives from the city, but based on how Curry is talking, I'm guessing he finds a developer willing to finish her out. Maybe the Coastline Drive project - particularly if handled well - is the catalyst for Berkman.
Anyway, I
really like the tone that Curry is taking in these last couple of weeks. "Fuck the Landing, not going to get bogged down in that nonsense, let's make something huge happen elsewhere instead."
^^ Shipyards remediation is quite expensive and the city is broke. A Convention Center would cost four times as much. Tax increases are off the table and the existing Sales Tax is not an option as it is already spoken for. DT Property values have yet to recover from the crash of 2008. I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Quote from: pierre on November 02, 2016, 02:48:24 PM
Fuddruckers is finally opening...wow guys. Cannot believe it.
Is that going to be next to Macy's???
Quote from: vicupstate on November 04, 2016, 08:06:51 AM
A Convention Center would cost four times as much.
Yes, but with the convention center there are PPP available, so let's say the owners of the Hyatt front the money and the City pays them over time.
Financing...the American dream!
Quote from: vicupstate on November 04, 2016, 08:06:51 AM
^^ Shipyards remediation is quite expensive and the city is broke.
1) We've got a very large chunk of the money already set aside specifically for remediation.
2) An Environmental Engineer may be able to correct me on this, but I'm pretty sure parkland has more relaxed standards for remediation than residential or commercial, which could drive total costs down if a section of the Shipyards is appropriated for that use.
3) If you read the article, Curry is heavily emphasizing private development, not public. Who's to say that there isn't a private developer out there - perhaps bolstered by all the activity in the area (Daily's Place, the District across the river, and whatever the Jaguars are planning for Metro Park) - willing to front a portion of the remediation cost.
Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the cynicism, but I don't know, Curry has always been a relatively straight-shooter, and he's shifted 180 degrees from saying, "no money for downtown," to throwing around words about massive, unannounced, transformational change coming to our downtown. He's also casting lots and lots of shade at past failures to actually get anything done with properties like the Shipyards, and saying that's about to change.
Color me intrigued.
I like your style, attitude, and demeanor KenFSU; we must be hopeful, have faith and a positive attitude. Keep our fingers crossed.
Quote from: heights unknown on November 04, 2016, 11:46:42 AM
I like your style, attitude, and demeanor KenFSU;
Oh, I'm a trainwreck in person ;)
But thanks buddy!
Like I've mentioned previously, I honestly do think that we're getting to a point of critical momentum where it actually becomes easier for at least a couple of these projects to happen than it does for the city to find a way to screw them up.
Only thing that can slow us down is economic downturn.
Praying we get some shovels in the ground before the market turns south.
Quote from: KenFSU on November 04, 2016, 09:52:47 AM
Quote from: vicupstate on November 04, 2016, 08:06:51 AM
^^ Shipyards remediation is quite expensive and the city is broke.
1) We've got a very large chunk of the money already set aside specifically for remediation.
2) An Environmental Engineer may be able to correct me on this, but I'm pretty sure parkland has more relaxed standards for remediation than residential or commercial, which could drive total costs down if a section of the Shipyards is appropriated for that use.
3) If you read the article, Curry is heavily emphasizing private development, not public. Who's to say that there isn't a private developer out there - perhaps bolstered by all the activity in the area (Daily's Place, the District across the river, and whatever the Jaguars are planning for Metro Park) - willing to front a portion of the remediation cost.
Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the cynicism, but I don't know, Curry has always been a relatively straight-shooter, and he's shifted 180 degrees from saying, "no money for downtown," to throwing around words about massive, unannounced, transformational change coming to our downtown. He's also casting lots and lots of shade at past failures to actually get anything done with properties like the Shipyards, and saying that's about to change.
Color me intrigued.
First time I have heard anything about money being set side for Remediation. The District is a 10-20 year project. It isn't going to all go up at once.
I football practice field isn't going to do much.
Also, I thought Park Service regs prevent Metro Park from changing hands?
I've been critical of the city for the last year or two for not showing any urgency with remediation of the Shipyards property. The more that I learn about remediation though, the more that I can at least understand the city's stance of waiting until a site development plan is set in stone before beginning to remediate. It would be insanely expensive to go in and bring 100% of the property up to commercial or residential standards when in truth, much of the land wouldn't require that level of excavation. In fact, if a portion of the property was established as a riverfront promenade/park, I'm pretty sure a cap alone would be enough for that area.
Specifically, I've been reading a lot about the historic remediation of Baltimore's Harbor Point. It's probably amongst the most analogous projects to the Jacksonville Shipyards:
(http://harborpointbaltimore.info/files/cache/1b405dad929f4003760e70f79a2533bb.jpg)
Unlike the Jacksonville Shipyards - where even though environmental contamination makes the property unfit for residential or commercial use, it's not inherently dangerous to humans - the chromium levels present at the former processing site in Baltimore were high enough to be considered a cancer risk.
The actual remediation and development story for Harbor Point was really interesting in the way that the developers and environmental agencies worked so closely together. The challenge was that environmental work tends to happen very slowly, and developers tend to want to do things very quickly. The way that they were able to expedite the process together, and the generous provisions offered to the developer limiting their liability in the event that future remediation was necessary, would be a really great model for Shipyards development.
Here's the site plan, with waterfront park.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2I-F-Oa0DjA/VpMAtUBjnXI/AAAAAAAAi2E/BhP5ztEkLQM/s1600/HarborPoint%2Bmodel.jpg)
Well done, KenFSU. This site can sometimes be so damn reflexively juvenile.
Ron Chamblin, great post. It doesn't cost anything to meet the mayor halfway *or* to be optimistic.
Wow; great rendering for Baltimore's Harbor project; wish the shipyards could field at least half a project like the Harbor; check out those towers; we need a couple of those in our skyline and half of all else that went into that project. That would infuse some life in downtown and the Northbank for sure; wishful thinking though, we're talking Jacksonville, but hey, anything is possible and things CAN change.