I'll preface as always by saying that I tend to lean optimist. That said, am I wrong to think that 2017 has the potential to be the most catalytic year in decades for Downtown Jacksonville and the surrounding neighborhoods?
Strictly off the top of my head, the below projects are on the record to either break ground or be completed in 2017:
Daily's Place (Amphitheater + Flex Space) ($90 million)
Lavilla Lofts ($22 million)
East San Marco (residential + Publix) ($60 million)
200 Riverside ($42 million)
Broadstone River House/Alliance Southbank Apartments ($26 million)
The District (Phase One, ~$200 million)
JTA Regional Transportation Center ($33 million)
Venture Southbank Apartments adjacent to Aetna (~$30 million)
Coastline Drive Project ($37 million)
Cowford Chophouse ($10 million)
FCSJ Cafe & Student Housing ($8 million)
Further, preliminary (or even actual) work on the below projects is within the realm of possibility for 2017:
Shipyards remediation
Metro Park development
Berkman 2 completion
Doro District
Additional Vestcor housing near Lavilla Lofts
Demo & redevelopment of Old Courthouse property
Sale & redevelopment of old Riverside YMCA property
Sale & redevelopment of Times-Union property (they just moved even more employees to Morris HQ in Savannah)
The list satisfies a lot of long-standing needs (a mid-sized entertainment venue, more residential, workforce housing, an additional grocery store, Liberty Street solution, etc), significantly strengthens LaVilla, Brooklyn, and San Marco, and potentially opens up very lucrative property for further development.
Throw in very strong growth on the Southside, big 2016 wins like Amazon and Ikea for the city, and a focused effort to get a new HRO passed by early next year, and dare I ask:
Could Jacksonville finally be on the right track?
You forgot about Houston Street Manor. It's a 7-story affordable senior residential project proposed at Jefferson and Houston Streets. I'm surprised it hasn't already broken ground.
LOL. At first I thought this said "2017 - A Cataclysmic Year for DT Jax?" ;D
Here's hoping 2017 is better to downtown Jax, than 2016 was.
We won't see everything we'd like, but I imagine we'll see some pretty good things starting to happen downtown and in the urban core this year. If we experience another recession in the near future, however, it'll greatly hamper how much is able to get off the ground.
QuoteIf we experience another recession in the near future, however, it'll greatly hamper how much is able to get off the ground.
On the other hand, if a meteor hits us, we won't have to worry about the recession.
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 12, 2016, 05:24:36 PM
QuoteIf we experience another recession in the near future, however, it'll greatly hamper how much is able to get off the ground.
On the other hand, if a meteor hits us, we won't have to worry about the recession.
Dynamite drop in, Monty.
Progress is progress. All good things.
Quote from: thelakelander on December 12, 2016, 01:39:14 PM
You forgot about Houston Street Manor. It's a 7-story affordable senior residential project proposed at Jefferson and Houston Streets. I'm surprised it hasn't already broken ground.
Sounds like it's all systems go, per the Daily Record today:
Quotehttp://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=549042
Sarasota-based Beacon Communities closed last week on the final parcel of land needed for Houston Street Manor, a seven-story, 72-unit apartment building for seniors at Houston and Jefferson streets near the courthouse.
The $18.8 million project will receive $15.8 million in tax credits from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. and $115,000 from city housing funds.
Construction is scheduled to begin as soon as February, with the project expected to be complete by April 2018, said Kim Purtee, Beacon development and construction coordinator.
Please help me understand how senior housing and low income housing projects spur growth? While I appreciate the movement I guess I fail to see how that's going to attract a more mid-scale development in the core area?
Question for you guys.
It'd be easy to list off examples of inside-out development over the last 50 years in America, where downtown redevelopment has sparked gentrification and infill in surrounding neighborhoods.
What's interesting in looking at all of these projects proposed for Jacksonville is that almost all of them are on the periphary of the downtown core. We've seen tons of development to the west of the CBD in Riverside and Brooklyn. We're about to see a lot more in the stadium district to the east of downtown proper. LaVilla is poised for major development between Houston Street, the LaVilla Lofts, and the JTA RTC. And the Southbank if set to explode with the District and additional residential.
Can anyone think of any examples of outside-in development, where development on the periphary sparks redevelopment in the central core?
Tampa. Harbour Island, the Channel District, Hyde Park, SoHo, UT and Tampa Heights all came back faster than Tampa's CBD (which is just now starting to take off).
^Really interesting response, Stephen.
Had not really thought about it this way before.
Much appreciated.
I understand your point Stephen. Then how would you say this is different from Cathedral Residences (Tower, Terrace, etc) which have been around for a while. I feel like the residences there other then going to the Harvey's and the Dollar Store are not very interested in leaving the building because of a fear (whether rational or not) of the area. I understand the rational behind more new buildings equals more infrastructure equals more new buildings to come.
But will there be new security preparations or employability planned?
I am also wondering has this been the case with other cities of our size that have had growth?
Quote from: stephendare on January 03, 2017, 12:36:09 PM
Quote from: jaxlore on January 03, 2017, 12:26:02 PM
Please help me understand how senior housing and low income housing projects spur growth? While I appreciate the movement I guess I fail to see how that's going to attract a more mid-scale development in the core area?
Because bodies on the street create economic fabric. And no mid scale development in core areas happens without the security preparations that follows senior citizens or the employability of the lower income housing dwellers.
Its simply economics and social ecology.
And they usually come first.
Senior and low-income housing have little impact, IMO. The Cathedral projects have been around for decades with no appreciable benefit to the surrounding area. Retail and entertainment go where the population that can afford such things are already living or at the very least 'hanging out'. The urban renaissance happens when the middle class and above start to move in or spend money in the core.
Of course, anything is better than vacant lots (especially JAX style scabby vacant lots) but at the same time, it does usually preclude that same land from one day being something else. There can and should be a mix of income levels in an urban neighborhood, but right now the senior and lower income levels are over-represented generally on the Northbank. That isn't the case in Riverside and San Marco and that is a part of why they have been more successful.