The renaissance that Riverside has been having has been refreshing to see. Already an attraction area because of Five Points, the development to south has been a boost to the area. I think that by adding a few more things, it could really become a hot magnet, especially to a 20's-40's crowd very quickly.
Kids Science/Exploratorium/Art/Music Something
Where: Renaissance at Riverside Building next to Memorial Park
Why: Saves building, Gives a DESTINATION for Parents with Kids
an LA Fitness style gym
Where: Maybe Margaret Street or Riverside Ave North of RAM
What: 2 story structure, Indoor basketball, swimming pool, kids klub, cardio, free weights, machines, etc.
Why: Always jam packed, they literally are a guarranteed positive economic impact. People would
come from all over Jax to use it there'd be nothing like it in town. Health care peopl
Barnes n Noble/Borders
Why: Attracts lots of students and young people, Cafes are always packed late
Where: Perhaps where Wendys is.
A FUN attraction for KIDS - a REAL Pizza Palace!
Build an awesome looking castle exterior, gardens, fountains, a birthday zone for kids! Couple knights and princesses in costume kids wold LOVE IT and right next to RAM it would blow up!
Make Riverside Park ACTIVE!
Fountain shooting up from the lake, a tennis court and IMPROVED basketball court WITH LIGHTS (2 actually) Make it more garden-esque and light it up like CRAZY at night with Christmas lighting, lamps, etc. Make it ACTIVE instead of just a WOODS in the middle of a neighborhood.
Trolley Streetcar
Connecting it all together would obviously be a major draw
So basically what we've done if you've paying attention is to create even more nodes of activity starting from Riverside Park all the way down Margaret Street.
(http://i853.photobucket.com/albums/ab96/rjp2010photo/RiversideNextLevelPlan.jpg)
And can we get a water park A la that park in Murray Hill/Metro Park? Just some fountains the kids can play in? That'd be awesome. I don't understand why the little park in Murray Hill can have one, but Riverside Park doesn't. Hardly anyone uses that little park and it's a really neat thing for the kids on a hot day.
Riverside is doing well already, why not put some of these things in an area that really needs it, like Brooklyn, LaVilla, Northbank or Springfield? The Kids Exploratorium, in particular.
Brooklyn or Bay Street Station could be possible for those two big anchors, but those projects are on the shelf now. They wouldnt be viable elsewhere on the Northbank or Springfield, and naturally as a business they want to be in high density not poor areas to start.
But yeah, a Kids Expo would be cool maybe next to Sweet Pete's?
I think that the part of Riverside adjacent to Avondale is already fairly family friendly. I would say that Willowbranch Park could use some sprucing up including possibly lighting the existing basketball courts. My other complaint about the park is that people often take their dogs for walks through Willowbranch Park, but they don't clean up after their pets. Perhaps making a few more garbage cans and a plastic bag dispenser would encourage more people to clean up after their pets. For this reason, I tend to take my kids to Boone Park more often. Plus, there is that one homeless guy who has set up camp right there by the playground equipment at Willowbranch which makes me a mite uncomfortable taking my kids there. I'd also recommend making the playgrounds at the public schools available to kids afterhours.
As far as attractions go, my kids love the Kids Connection in the Cummer and we're only a 10 minute drive from MOSH, too. Honestly, quality schools, park space, quiet pace of life, and convenience to basic amenities are the most important draws for a young family like mine. The other stuff is nice, but not essential. As a parent, I'm not taking my kids to the museum everyday or even every week. Five Points is already oriented to a young adult crowd with the nightlife and funky shops while the rest of Riverside and Avondale seems to be oriented to everyone else. Streetcars and a good bookstore would be very welcome though.
Riverside is successful in terms of Jacksonville's standards, but when other cities our size, even smaller, and of course larger, have similar neighborhoods with said improvements, Riverside's success is only relative to a much smaller scale. I think Riverside can be A LOT better. There are no nice "chain" gyms in Jax like LA Fitness. Where I live in Atlanta there are probably 5 within 3 miles. There are no "urban" Barnes and Nobles in Jax...once again where I live there are 2 Barnes and 2 Borders within 2 miles of where I live, all in urban environments. Riverside park could be beautiful (and once was), but currently SUCKS. The parks in Jacksonville are horrible when compared to parks in just about any other city. The only park that I can call decent is Memorial Park, and there is no excuse for that. Jax always touts its park system, but it is the worst park system I have ever seen. Here in Atl, where we have Piedmont, Chastain, Candler, Centennial Olympic, and countless other heavily used wonderful parks, people still say it's horrible and not enough (so we're building a $3B park called the Beltline).
The one thing Riverside has on that list already is a children's museum (in the Cummer) unless that is gone now. However, Jacksonville does not have a real "Children's Museum" and perhaps a good place for that would be Riverside. The only problem with all of this is that there are no nearby universities to put said "students" into these places, but I think there are enough other people to provide demand for a real book store (doesn't have to be chain) and a nice gym and an independent coffee shop (I can't believe how scare those are in Jacksonville considering all the neighborhoods that they would fit into).
Bottom line: Great Ideas and they need to happen in Riverside before stuff like that can happen in Brooklyn. Growth will spread out from Riverside and I think city leaders envision a "Brickell Ave" type environment for Brooklyn (which I laugh at because that's probably 50 years away).
Very, very true Simms. You can place much of the blame on sprawl for why Jax is 20 years behind major metropolitan areas (in terms of development) like where you are (Atl) and my hometown (SoFla).
It's tragically sad there is no RIVERSIDE COLLEGE. I would gladly trade a couple blocks of historic homes for a college there that could one day BECOME historic.
Quote from: rjp2008 on August 10, 2010, 05:25:49 PM
Very, very true Simms. You can place much of the blame on sprawl for why Jax is 20 years behind major metropolitan areas (in terms of development) like where you are (Atl) and my hometown (SoFla).
It's tragically sad there is no RIVERSIDE COLLEGE. I would gladly trade a couple blocks of historic homes for a college there that could one day BECOME historic.
I am beginning to get the feeling you do not like anything historic?
I actually worked on restoring one on Herschel ten years ago.
I like a healthy mix of both new and old. Not everything old is historic, and not everything new is good. A well placed college in Riverside would be AWESOME for the area, and hopefully it could be done with losing as little history as possible BUT if need be, there are so many homes there it wouldn't hurt the big picture to transform a fraction into a college.
^ I think you're looking for a bunch of magic bullets to solve the 'riverside problem'.
Just as you said not everything old is historic, not every college is worth having. Our city already has 3 four year colleges. Why have none of them created a neighborhood that caters to young adults and young professionals. One more college wouldn't do that for Riverside, especially when you consider the type of footprint it would have and what would need to be destroyed for it to work.
The problem is not just riverside, the problem is Jacksonville and its people. If you build a college in Riverside, people will just commute from Kernan and no problem is solved, just a new traffic jam will develop. What we need to do is grow and improve our current colleges, not build new ones. We also need to create city policies that will facilitate urban development, not transplanting suburban stores into an urban area.
Let me rephrase then - I think Riverside would be a tremendous place to start a very small, unique college, offering things that neither UNF nor FSCJ nor JU does. Something like 50-100 students working out of a couple re-purposed homes or a single block building that sort of thing.
It'd be great to get an art school somewhere in the vicinity of the Cummer and RAM. That could create a lot of synergy.
Quote from: Fallen Buckeye on August 10, 2010, 07:04:39 PM
It'd be great to get an art school somewhere in the vicinity of the Cummer and RAM. That could create a lot of synergy.
That idea has merit for sure! Area could be self feeding and the Riverside Art Walk could be a tie in!
I agree with Captain Zissou that we should just expand our current colleges. I also agree that a small non-4 yr trade school college could work, probably related to Art or Culinary training. Of course Art Institute has to be in an office building like they are most other places, too, but perhaps a small footprint office building that is around 4 floors and provides street level activity would work.
The problem is that we are not a large enough city to have 2 Art Institutes and the current Art Institute is not going to move from their current location for a long time, and would an investor really try to compete with Art Institute when opening a new art school? It's a quandary that could only have been fixed 2 years ago when the city had the chance to do something to entice them to stay in the core.
CS Foltz - exactly, re: RAM tie-in.
I didnt know Jax had one already, just looked it up. Southpoint Baymeadows location (go figure - typical). A branch of Miami International.
I disagree the city is too small for more. Specialized private colleges enhance a city no matter the size. It will draw MORE people because of it's character, courses and reputation.
Who's going to move to Jax for "The Art Institute of Miami Branch in a Baymeadows Shopping Center"?
^^^The Art Institute is a national chain of schools. Maybe the original is in Miami (I know someone who went to the one in Miami, and the one in Fort Lauderdale). I have seen probably 5 Art Institutes, and they are all in 80s style office buildings. There are 2 in Atlanta, a city of almost 6 million people in the metro. One is is an older 60s or 70s style office building in Decatur (urban environment), the other is in a modern 90s office building way out in the far end of Perimeter (even more suburban than our location). Atlanta also supports SCAD Atlanta (best art school in the south, it's like the Parson of the South, but the main campus is in Savannah), and Georgia Tech has the best architecture program in Atlanta (and probably the South). So Atl really only has 2 local art schools for 6 million people and the rest of Georgia and parts South that don't have an Art Institute.
FYI, the two girls that I knew went to Art Institute are from here and could have gone to the one here. And I know people that go to SCAD from here (the one in Savannah). I also know one person (and I know there are more) that went to the architecture program at Tech from here. We are bleeding our own people to other places. I doubt we are taking in as many people as we are bleeding. We most likely 90% chance don't have the demand for more than one "art school."
Besides it would be soooo hard to just start one up. Art Institute has history, reputation, and runs commercials. It's hard to compete with that. If you are at high school in town with a good art program, then you are going to SCAD, Parsons, or any other place, not AI. So that's the dilemna there.
I don't think that Jax has a leCordon Bleu Culinary Institute. Most large cities have one, it's like Art Institute for foodies. Maybe we could attract one to Riverside. Sometimes it likes to be near Art Institute, though, because I think they may be part of the overall same program. We definitely could not attract another "law school" because who is going to compete with Florida Coastal?
The idea of creating a specialized school in Riverside IS a good one, especially an art school. It just may be infeasible right now.
Better yet, just make an offer (that they can't refuse) to an existing school to relocate or expand in the urban core. This method worked for Charlotte and Orlando.
Here is an idea that I have been supporting for several years for a well-known old school in the Riverside area. A school still holding up despite awful vandalism and a school with a connection/easement to Riverside Park.
Delray Beach had two abandoned schools adjacent to each other. One built in the 1913 era and the other in the 1920s. In the mid-1980s the schools were abandoned and crumbling. However, a group of people of vision worked for over ten years to convince the city that this could be the revitalizing point for the struggling downtown area. Using city funds and grants from private and government agencies the schools were restored and now provide the following benefits:
-An art museum and art workshop area for visiting artists and summer school art education
-A performing arts area in the the former auditorium attracting big name stars as well as local performers and guest lecturers.
-A gymnasium with adjacent food prep area which is available for rent for dancing, dinners, graduation activites, weddings, etc.
-An outdoor amphitheater for concerts or plays with a grassy seating area
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/dellwooddaisy/Delray%20Beach%20Art%20School/HSBldg_before.jpg)
The 1920s high school before
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/dellwooddaisy/Delray%20Beach%20Art%20School/HSBldg_after.jpg)
High school today
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/dellwooddaisy/Delray%20Beach%20Art%20School/Crest-Theatre-2.jpg)
Lobby for the theater
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/dellwooddaisy/Delray%20Beach%20Art%20School/Crest-Theatre-3.jpg)
Crest Theater
(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/dellwooddaisy/Delray%20Beach%20Art%20School/Pavilion-3.jpg)
Outdoor theater
Timkin and supporters of Annie Lytle preservation, what do you think? It took years for this to happen but if you're gonna dream -dream bigger.
Quote from: rjp2008 on August 10, 2010, 06:14:59 PM
Let me rephrase then - I think Riverside would be a tremendous place to start a very small, unique college, offering things that neither UNF nor FSCJ nor JU does. Something like 50-100 students working out of a couple re-purposed homes or a single block building that sort of thing.
Jones College is pretty close to Riverside. Across from Moon River on Edgewood.
Quote from: Jumpinjack on August 11, 2010, 10:52:12 AM
Here is an idea that I have been supporting for several years for a well-known old school in the Riverside area. A school still holding up despite awful vandalism and a school with a connection/easement to Riverside Park.
Delray Beach had two abandoned schools adjacent to each other. One built in the 1913 era and the other in the 1920s. In the mid-1980s the schools were abandoned and crumbling. However, a group of people of vision worked for over ten years to convince the city that this could be the revitalizing point for the struggling downtown area. Using city funds and grants from private and government agencies the schools were restored and now provide the following benefits:
-An art museum and art workshop area for visiting artists and summer school art education
-A performing arts area in the the former auditorium attracting big name stars as well as local performers and guest lecturers.
-A gymnasium with adjacent food prep area which is available for rent for dancing, dinners, graduation activites, weddings, etc.
-An outdoor amphitheater for concerts or plays with a grassy seating area
Timkin and supporters of Annie Lytle preservation, what do you think? It took years for this to happen but if you're gonna dream -dream bigger.
Toss in Skyway Station (actually within 100' of the original recommended route!) multi-modal with bus and streetcar connections and you'd have an instant audience. OCKLAWAHA
"Here is an idea that I have been supporting for several years for a well-known old school in the Riverside area. A school still holding up despite awful vandalism and a school with a connection/easement to Riverside Park."
Jumpin you Magnificent Genius! ;)
First, its not Delray. Old School Square sits on a prime corner of a major shopping/entertainment district heading right to the beach. But it can be perfect for Jax's needs.
Did you know RAM plans to EXTEND ITSELF further up the overpass? That might link up to the school. http://www.riversideartsmarket.com/future.html
Do you also realize that the school is entirely VISIBLE from I-10/95? Can you say HUGE SIGN "RIVERSIDE ARTS MARKET" on top of it? I can.
Does RAM actually have a date on that? It would be great if the undersides of that bridge where cleaned up all the way to Riverside park to connect it to the water.
Don't forget to add a few more sushi restaurants... ; )
Quote from: thelakelander on August 11, 2010, 10:14:56 AM
Better yet, just make an offer (that they can't refuse) to an existing school to relocate or expand in the urban core. This method worked for Charlotte and Orlando.
Annie Lytle would be perfect for such a school and rehab a historic building.
Maybe we could persuade Riverside Presbyterian Church to expand it's great school and open a high school in the old Annie Lytle Building. There are no good private schools on this side of the river and all of the students from here have to commute over the bridges to Kenny, Episcopal, Bolles, etc.
Bringing the old building up to modern code and conditions could be done for less than new construction (est: $135.00/sq/ft. and the two schools are just across the park from one another.
Douse it with a firehose blast of holy water by a priest first.
It's not scary, it's just sad inside.
I think if you could offer a suitable building plus a partnership with the Cummer where the school were able to use the museum as an extension of the classroom you'd have a good chance of convincing an Art school to locate in Riverside. RAM would benefit by virtue of increasing the resident art community. I think a similar partnership to this is already happening between MOCA and UNF.
I think RAM itself will spur great transformation in Riverside.
I can see a day where some of those non-descript legal offices in front of the Cummer - (what genius allowed that to happen there??) the little bank on the corner, and maybe even that little medical office park moves out to 200 Riverside or elsewhere so that more greenspace, more RAM space is gained. The schools would stay obviously. A massive park sandwhiched between Five Points and a New Ent/Ret/Art district right there along Gilmore Street.
Quote from: rjp2008 on August 11, 2010, 03:09:12 PM
I think RAM itself will spur great transformation in Riverside.
I can see a day where some of those non-descript legal offices in front of the Cummer - (what genius allowed that to happen there??) the little bank on the corner, and maybe even that little medical office park moves out to 200 Riverside or elsewhere so that more greenspace, more RAM space is gained. The schools would stay obviously. A massive park sandwhiched between Five Points and a New Ent/Ret/Art district right there along Gilmore Street.
Though I agree that this wouldn't be a bad idea, that's a lot to look forward to. My job's corporate office is located on Riverside Park Place next to the bank, they're pretty stuborn and have been around for quite sometime with no need for expansion, so unless they are given an incentive, I don't see them moving.
It would be nice if the Art Institute of Jax moved to Riverside.
It would be awesome. If RAMS grows, I think AIJ would go for it.