Suburban Jacksonville: Cecil Commerce Center
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/513298088_k5D9w-M.jpg)
Representing more than 3 percent of the land area in Duval County (17,000 acres), Cecil Commerce Center is a significant, long-term economic development asset to the City of Jacksonville.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/1061
Now to be fair, you really have to keep things in perspective.
3/4ths of that list of employers that you posted in the article were either businesses that COJ had to offer incentives to get them to move to Cecil from an existing location within the county (Translation = No actual jobs gained), or they're just city or governmental agencies that COJ relocated there to try and use the space.
And I think the most telling statistic in your article is that 4% of the land area in a county with 1 million residents is only responsible for 2500 jobs. More people than that live on my street in Riverside. We're talking 4% of the land area in the entire county, and at any given time it contains less people than a large office tower.
I am happy to see the City finally coming to its senses and handing it over to a private developer. That's exactly what should have happened right from the beginning.
Is it safe to assume you believe the Navy should have been allowed to return a few years ago?
I'm so sick of people being so pessimistic about EVERYTHING in Jacksonville... Cecil Commerce Center is an economic engine for the otherwise lackluster Westside. With time, it is sure to become the Westside's primary hub of light industrial activity.
Well if the Navy returned, I certainly don't think it would be a bad thing. It would definitely benefit the local economy, and revitalize that area of the Westside.
But aside from that, I think the current plan of giving it over to a private developer is probably the smartest option, as the private guys aren't saddled with the complacent attitude that a steady stream of tax dollars tends to generate over at City Hall. They will probably get things going over there, much better than the City has ever been able to.
I mean, let's face it, COJ has spent 15 years and a couple hundred million dollars trying to get something going at Cecil, when it probably should have just been given over to private developers to begin with. We're pretty much right back to square one with that place, except now it's almost two decades later.
Also, don't get me wrong, I do agree Cecil is an asset. I just don't think it has been properly utilized by COJ.
They really could've come up with a better name than Cecil Commerce Center Parkway. It just rolls right of your tongue!
Cecil Commerce Center Parkway. CCCP? :D
Who owns the cool funky building near the top of the photographs?
Although I believe the Navy should have been allowed to return, I still see immense potential at Cecil. The city was smart to pass off the development and marketing to the private sector. Once the economy gets rolling forward again I think we'll start to see that potential revealed.
Oh, and I agree Reed. Cecil Parkway would suffice.
^^Deuce, that's FCCJ.
I would like to see a large portion of that land set aside as a preserve. I disagree with the notion that land in the city limits is nothing more than a resource that should be exploited for profit. That has led to the sprawling mess we have today. I know that there is already development on the site, I'm merely suggesting that we re-develop the existing brownfield sites available before mowing down the rest of it.
JAA really needs to try and get some big cargo companies to this airport. We now have competition opening next May in Panama City.
What exactly is in that RFP? Is the city selling the land to a developer or just contracting for marketing/development services? I assumed it was the later.
QuoteJAA really needs to try and get some big cargo companies to this airport.
I think this will happen with better connectivity to I-10
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3230/2592160772_691f6c0d4a.jpg)
Removal of the Railroad Line was a real stroke of Genius...
Whoever did it, gets the Ockla-IDIOT award for the Century!
Put it back, do it fast, do it now, and extend it BEYOND the CSX to the NS just to the North, Lease the operation to one of our 45 headquartered railroad companies.
OCKLAWAHA
The rail ROW has been preserved to rebuild the spur on the land north of Normandy Blvd. However, if someone could find a way to get that line down to the runways, it would enhance Cecil as an air cargo site. Here is an air-to-rail cargo yard at Hunstville, AL's airport.
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/523346010_zLPpb-O.jpg)
Damn! Ock and Lake, that's helluva good idea you got there.
Quote from: Doctor_K on April 28, 2009, 09:45:53 AM
Cecil Commerce Center Parkway. CCCP? :D
Good catch, Dr. But I'm not sure how many readers got your joke. For those on the outside, our former bastion of national defense and, now, American capitalism has its main road bearing the Russian acronym for that great advocate of communism, the USSR! Way to go, marketing guys!!! :P
From Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union ):
QuoteThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union,[1] from Советский Союз, Sovetskiy Soyuz. A soviet is a council, the theoretical basis for the socialist society of the USSR.
Maybe the entrance could be adorned with this sculpture to reflect the shortened name!:(http://www.icypole.net/russia/CCCP-Sculpture.jpg)
The Huntsville Facility has been one of the leading Bulk Transfer / Intermodal Centers in America, and they started from less then we already have. This is why it's so important to get neutral shortline or terminal company switching, with a choice of trunkline railroads to destination, at our Port and Cecil. The shipper will only get one bill and the advantage of the shortline is they are hungry for business and very proactive in keeping a standard of excellence. This really comes into play when a shipper with a double cargo door or unloading dock gets 12 rail cars in all at once. Only one car is lined up with the door so the shipper MUST call CSX or whoever for a switch move. This comes with a fee. Good luck on getting it done quickly. The reality is, the shortline is there for you every time and on time. Just don't make them captives of one trunkline like we've done at most of the port.
Lake, getting the track around to the aircraft aprons should be easier then building another of those giant parkways. There are specialty companies that build and operate these centers for profit, we'd be crazy not to go after them.
OCKLAWAHA
From the looks of these photos, if I went driving around the Commerce Center, I wouldn't recognize it. I was stationed at NAS Cecil Field in 1975, 76, 77, 78, 86, 87, 88, 92, 93 and 94. I clearly remember how the old base was situated with the buildings, barracks, hangars, etc. I also notice that some of the old hangars, from the looks of the photos I believe, are from the VA and VFA squadrons. Also noticed some of the old enlisted housing are also still out there; wonder are there families actually living in them or maybe they are office space?
Brings back old memories; next time I'm in Jax I must go out to the Commerce Center and look around. Is it easy to access without security, etc.?
Heights Unknown
Air Kaman/Signature FBO and Air One FBO are gone, replaced by the Jacksonville JetPort (also a Fixed Based Operator or FBO). Symphony is gone, too.
I wish I knew someone was coming out. I might have been able to help...
For Cecil, JAA seems to be going after the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market.
A preserve? That land is so littered and contaminated. Animals would probably rather live in those recently closed Villager Apartments in Arlington...
Also, no mention of the spaceport?
Quote from: CMG22 on April 29, 2009, 12:57:35 AM
Air Kaman/Signature FBO and Air One FBO are gone, replaced by the Jacksonville JetPort (also a Fixed Based Operator or FBO). Symphony is gone, too.
I wish I knew someone was coming out. I might have been able to help...
For Cecil, JAA seems to be going after the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market.
A preserve? That land is so littered and contaminated. Animals would probably rather live in those recently closed Villager Apartments in Arlington...
Also, no mention of the spaceport?
Actually, quite a bit of wildlife at Cecil, have seen red foxes and there kits there, lots of deer, red tails, and saw a huge turtle there. thats just in the area of the air field. Suspect there is a lot in the more remote areas. Animals really don't care about litter. There is no spaceport.
Trust me, I manage the wildlife program at the airport. It was said in jest. I know how many animals are out here--it doesn't make them particularly healthy. I know I wouldn't eat anything that is hunted out here. I simply think that one would like a preserve to be slightly more prestine, and not necessarily littered with unexploded ordinance, nor any radioactive materials that may or may not have been leaked at the Yellow Water site.
Correct, there is no spaceport. But it is definitely in the works... The environmental study came back as a virtual green light from that end. The airspace corridor has been discussed. Hopefully, things will come together.
The post office at CCC will probably be closing this summer. The retail and PO Box operations would be consolidated into another post office in the area, perhaps Murray Hill. USPS is conducting a public discussion meeting July 7 6pm at the West Regional library on Chaffee Rd.
I probably really have my head above the clouds but think about this. Las Vegas is home to many casinos. What if Jacksonville's Cecil Field could be turned into a space port utilizing horizontal launches and the ships go to a space casino or space hotel?
Don’t shake your head and say “No, that's impossible.†This is an “article of faith†with me: Most, if not all, Science Fiction becomes Science Fact.
I sure wish I could figure out how to get in on that kind of development. I keep remembering that Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon managed to locate his launch point for in Florida, not far from the Cape.
An interesting point: Since the casino or hotel itself would be located at the L-5 Obit, it would be beyond any city, state or National jurisdiction â€" but, if the port were in Jacksonville, the city might benefit mightily just from its being located here. Anybody know who I could contact regarding this. Someone may have suggested possible contacts in a previous post elsewhere but I’m not used to finding things in metrojacksonville.com (http://metrojacksonville.com). Also, I woke up a few minutes ago with an urge to say this and it’s awfully early for me. Just think what kind of story that would be.
Just think about investing in such a program. The sky would only begin the limit because it could, conceivably, reach beyond the stars and Jacksonville could be just the beginning.
I'm with you on that one Macbeth. There have been some discussions on the proposed spaceport to be spearheaded by Virgin Galactic. Mainly intended for tourism type trips it could also act as a commercial port for the launce of satellites, supplies for the spacestation, and experimental equipment.
I would think that there would be a descent amount of supporting companies that would want to locate nearby the spaceport bringing with them highpaying jobs. Not to mention those that are financially able to take a private flight through space would surely be staying in our hotels and enjoying our city.
Here is some old info on the spaceport proposal and discussions over at MetJax.com.
http://www.metjax.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5868&highlight=virgin
QuoteI think the the eventual frequency of commercial launches will warrant multiple stations. Jax has a leg up on many others because of its vicinity to the Kennedy Space Center, IMO. Note also that these launches are done by a large plane "piggy-backing" the smaller launch vehicle from a runway. After a certain altitude is reached, then the spaceship is released and fires off into space. These aren't rockets.
Here is Virgin Galactic's Spaceship One
(http://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0612/ac38f6670e9978ec9467.jpeg)
(http://lastheplace.com/images/article-images/writers/Jane/VIRGIN_GALACTIC/Virgin-Galactic-sub-orbital_1.jpg)
(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061110/061110_virgingalactic_hmed11a.hlarge.jpg)