http://thegreyrestaurant.com/
A weekend in Savannah gives great perspective on downtown Jax. I saw The Grey featured on Chef's Table Saturday morning in Jax, and had lunch there that afternoon. Savannah attracts downtown entrepreneurs. The owner of the Grey (met him; nice guy) is from Manhattan. He took a risk on a bombed out 1930s art deco greyhound station. The place is outstanding. Savannah, of course, decided long ago to NOT knock down old buildings. The result is pretty awesome.
I mentioned to the owner that downtown Jax needs a little action. "So I heard," was the reply. Nice to have a reputation.
Just got back from another fun filled weekend in Savannah... they are even in the process of re purposing the old riverfront power plant... 8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/6eQCABdJ4Xg
Quote from: BridgeTroll on February 26, 2019, 10:36:16 AM
Just got back from another fun filled weekend in Savannah... they are even in the process of re purposing the old riverfront power plant... 8)
...into a JW Marriott, right?
Quote from: downtownbrown on February 26, 2019, 01:39:16 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on February 26, 2019, 10:36:16 AM
Just got back from another fun filled weekend in Savannah... they are even in the process of re purposing the old riverfront power plant... 8)
...into a JW Marriott, right?
I believe so... we dynamited our riverfront power plant many years ago...
If you saw Savannah 15 years ago you wouldn't recognize it today. Savannah developed a realistic plan to re-urbanize downtown one block at a time and then stuck to it. Not a silver bullet project to be seen. Jax is the exact opposite - no plan, no stick-to-it-izness and endless silver bullet projects that NEVER materialize (and if they did materialize they wouldn't work).
Savannah does set the bar as the un-Jax. But they intended to be the un-Jax throughout their history. So now Jax will have to become something more like Norfolk. Which is fine...
15 years ago downtown Jax had already destroyed the old waterfront... LaVilla and anything else deemed old and decrepit. Jax can NEVER be like Savannah because they destroyed most of it years ago... and keep doing it...and doing it... and doing it... rofl... ::) :-[
Quote from: downtownbrown on February 26, 2019, 03:37:14 PM
Savannah does set the bar as the un-Jax. But they intended to be the un-Jax throughout their history. So now Jax will have to become something more like Norfolk. Which is fine...
Jax won't be like Norfolk either. Its DT is pretty compact and that city's revitalization efforts appear to be coordinated. Jax will simply be a growing Sunbelt city with a slower CBD than its peers until the time comes that our approach to redevelopment changes. On the other hand, Jax's urban core neighborhoods will become the place to be for the next generation. The trend is heading towards authenticity and local. Not sure that can be achieved with a Cordish or Rouse mass produced model. Nevertheless, time will tell.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on February 26, 2019, 03:49:30 PM
15 years ago downtown Jax had already destroyed the old waterfront... LaVilla and anything else deemed old and decrepit. Jax can NEVER be like Savannah because they destroyed most of it years ago... and keep doing it...and doing it... and doing it... rofl... ::) :-[
It's a little strange thinking about that and realizing that 15 years ago was 2004.
Quote from: thelakelander on February 26, 2019, 07:46:33 PM
Quote from: downtownbrown on February 26, 2019, 03:37:14 PM
Savannah does set the bar as the un-Jax. But they intended to be the un-Jax throughout their history. So now Jax will have to become something more like Norfolk. Which is fine...
Jax won't be like Norfolk either. Its DT is pretty compact and that city's revitalization efforts appear to be coordinated. Jax will simply be a growing Sunbelt city with a slower CBD than its peers until the time comes that our approach to redevelopment changes. On the other hand, Jax's urban core neighborhoods will become the place to be for the next generation. The trend is heading towards authenticity and local. Not sure that can be achieved with a Cordish or Rouse mass produced model. Nevertheless, time will tell.
The definition of the term "sunbelt city" changed, and it left Jacksonville behind. It used to be defined by sprawling cities with freeways instead of mass transit, subdivisions instead of urban density, and malls instead of street-front retail. Now it just means warm weather climate because other warm weather cities are densifying, implementing rail mass transit, and reverting to street-front retail.
While I agree that Jax's future lies in it's downtown adjacent neighborhoods, those neighborhoods have announced themselves "Closed for Business" - which means downtown Jax is essentially closed for business. That alone should probably be a reason to get behind Lot J, because for better or worse, it is the only game in town.
I'm thinking about opening a historic downtown Jacksonville hop on, hop off trolley tour like they have in Savannah, Charleston, and cities across America and the world.
Wait. No I'm not.
Quote from: Kerry on February 27, 2019, 11:00:56 AMWhile I agree that Jax's future lies in it's downtown adjacent neighborhoods, those neighborhoods have announced themselves "Closed for Business" - which means downtown Jax is essentially closed for business. That alone should probably be a reason to get behind Lot J, because for better or worse, it is the only game in town.
I see places like Murray Hill, Durkeeville, Rail Yard District, Eastside, Kings Avenue/Philips Highway as places of opportunity. I don't think they're closed for business. It's quite the opposite. They're being rediscovered.
Quote from: downtownbrown on February 27, 2019, 11:24:23 AM
I'm thinking about opening a historic downtown Jacksonville hop on, hop off trolley tour like they have in Savannah, Charleston, and cities across America and the world.
Wait. No I'm not.
Oops, Lenny Curry already ripped up Bay Street for you and your game changer. Please hold while we rebuild the street while not doing anything to plan for any other transportation or urban renewal alternative. Sure, it'd make more sense to do it now, but that's not what THE
BOLD CITY is about!
Quote from: Kerry on February 26, 2019, 03:16:33 PM
If you saw Savannah 15 years ago you wouldn't recognize it today. Savannah developed a realistic plan to re-urbanize downtown one block at a time and then stuck to it. Not a silver bullet project to be seen. Jax is the exact opposite - no plan, no stick-to-it-izness and endless silver bullet projects that NEVER materialize (and if they did materialize they wouldn't work).
I lived in Savannah about 10 years ago and if u think that city has become what it is in 15 years, I have a NBA franchise to sell u
Quote from: civil42806 on February 27, 2019, 11:52:17 AM
Quote from: Kerry on February 26, 2019, 03:16:33 PM
If you saw Savannah 15 years ago you wouldn't recognize it today. Savannah developed a realistic plan to re-urbanize downtown one block at a time and then stuck to it. Not a silver bullet project to be seen. Jax is the exact opposite - no plan, no stick-to-it-izness and endless silver bullet projects that NEVER materialize (and if they did materialize they wouldn't work).
I lived in Savannah about 10 years ago and if u think that city has become what it is in 15 years, I have a NBA franchise to sell u
I know it has been a process that Savannah has been executing for a l8bg time but 15 years ago Broughton St was all boarded up.
Imagine it back in the late 1980s and early 1990s! It took Savannah a while to revitalize to the point where Ben Carter got fed up with Jax, sold his share in SJTC and shifted his focus to redeveloping Broughton Street.
Let's face it, Jacksonville is from another planet. We just haven't figured out which one yet.