QuoteConstruction workers have been marking the pavement and sidewalks and digging holes along Laura Street for several weeks. Work will go into high gear in late October when the improvement project to transform the streetscape between the Landing and Hemming Plaza will become part of Downtown’s daily routine.
That was the report from Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Deputy Executive Director Paul Crawford at Wednesday’s Downtown Vision, Inc. quarterly operations meeting.
full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=52745
QuoteConstruction project becomes urban archaeology
Pedestrians walking on Laura Street in front of the Bank of America Tower have for years been treading daily over the site of an artifact from long ago. While performing the preliminary site survey for the Laura Street improvement project, workers discovered a three-foot in diameter, 10-foot long fuel storage tank buried under the sidewalk. Paul Crawford, deputy executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said the vessel and its contents must be removed to mitigate any possible environmental issues. “It’s just a good thing they (construction workers) didn’t drill through it,†he said. Crawford also suggested the tank was connected to the building that was demolished on the site more than 20 years ago before the Bank of America Tower was built.
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=52748
When they built all of the parking lots on the downtown waterfront, they found entire ships under the mud and sand. I remember seeing a ships wheel that was believed to have come from the riverboat steamer "City of Jacksonville". Sure wish she would have been kept as a historic ship and for overnight cruises to Sanford. Passengers could disembark for charter buses to the resorts in Orlando. I'd be first in line for a ticket.
OCKLAWAHA
No telling what else they might "drill into" in preparing Laura Street for its transformation. Anyone know when this project will be finished? I'll be glad when its finished to see what the finished product will look like. Hope the transformation helps in some way in bringing more people downtown and/or in making downtown more pedestrian friendly.
Heights Unknown
What about the rest of Laura St? It is by far the worst street to drive/bike on in springfield...
How about tax incentives for those who invest in buildings and business along this corridor? People need something other than an empty, pretty streetscape to look at and engage with.