Downtown improvement plan clears first hurdle

[fsu813]

Mayor John Peyton’s plan to spend $23 million improving three downtown Jacksonville landmarks appears poised for City Council approval.


The council’s Finance Committee approved all three bills Monday, though only one received unanimous support. However, a majority of council members have indicated their intent to back the measures.


If approved during next week’s  full council meeting, Metropolitan Park, Friendship Fountain and the Southbank Riverwalk would all undergo major overhauls.


Councilman Clay Yarborough initially cast doubt on the projects, questioning if they were a proper use of taxpayer funds during tough economic times.


“It’s just very hard to justify right now doing things like this when we are in the time we are as a city, with the other needs we have out there,” he said.


But Yarborough later surprised his colleagues by voting in favor of a $3.2 million appropriation to fix Friendship Fountain and make the surrounding park greener.


Yarborough said he decided to support the project because it’s funded by the Southbank Tax Increment District, which targets projects in that part of town.


Peyton and his staff have spent the past several weeks lobbying council members to drum up support for the downtown improvements â€" proposals that received a cold response during last summer’s budget deliberations. Peyton included the majority of the projects in the city’s Capital Improvement Program, but council members voted to remove funding until the mayor could justify the expenditures.


Yarborough voted against the other two bills, which draw funding from various city accounts or money that would be borrowed and paid back using general fund dollars. He was the lone dissenter on the Southbank Riverwalk project, which would be rebuilt using $11.8 million in new appropriations and about $3 million already earmarked for the job.


Yarborough and Councilman John Crescimbeni voted against the Metro Park renovation. Under the mayor’s plan, $8.2 million would be used to rebuild the western half of the park known as Kids Kampus, increasing the amount of green space.


Other areas of the park, including the tent and great lawn space where most special events are held, are not part of this first phase of improvements.


After the meeting, Crescimbeni complained that the city seemed to lack a clear vision for the Kids Kampus space, created about a decade ago with the support of the council.


“We either screwed up 10 years ago or we screwed up now, and we need to acknowledge one or the other,” he said.


Councilman Don Redman, who broke his leg while cycling on the Southbank Riverwalk on Thanksgiving, has been told by doctors that the metal pin running from his knee to his hip will be a permanent reminder that the aging wooden boardwalk is dangerous. The city plan calls for rebuilding the scenic pathway with more permanent materials, likely to mirror its sturdier Northbank cousin.


Redman said all three bills are important because they signal an investment in downtown parks that haven’t received the attention they deserve over the years.


“We’ve let them go,” Redman said.


Peyton had initially obtained the support of a majority of council members after 10 signed on as co-sponsors of the bills, but that number includes John Meserve. He was suspended from the council by Gov. Charlie Crist last month after he was charged with a felony.


Council Vice President Jack Webb offered to become a co-sponsor to again signify the mayor has the support of a majority of the council ahead of next week’s vote.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-01/story/downtown_improvement_plan_clears_first_hurdle

[fsu813]

Gosh I hate the Metro Park Plan.



"After the meeting, Crescimbeni complained that the city seemed to lack a clear vision for the Kids Kampus space, created about a decade ago with the support of the council.

“We either screwed up 10 years ago or we screwed up now, and we need to acknowledge one or the other,” he said."




That $8.2 is much better served towards somewhere that will be visited and used everyday, ie the Hoagn's Creek Park renovations

[mtraininjax]

That $8.2 is much better served towards somewhere that will be visited and used everyday, ie the Hoagn's Creek Park renovations

Put turnstiles on the Hogan Creek park and see how many people frequent it versus Met park.

[thelakelander]

Lets put them at the Landing instead.  That's where that $8.2 million would be better utilized.  Although Sleiman owns the buildings, the city owns the land and the courtyard.  Perhaps the city should use that +$8 million to help open the courtyard up to Laura Street and improve the public infrastructure around the complex.  After all, even in its current state, its the most visited site in downtown.

[mtraininjax]

Lake - The landing is so screwed up, at this point parking will not make the difference. Sleiman is big on talk, but what real improvements has he made to the space? He's done a better job of managing and bringing in local businesses, but nothing structural. He is not a structural guy, he is a strip mall maven.

I think the Landing is dead until the next administration.

[TheProfessor]

Does anyone know where to find the design renderings for each of these projects?  I think this will be a good investment to the city if they hire a top notch designer who knows what they are doing!

[thelakelander]

Lake - The landing is so screwed up, at this point parking will not make the difference. Sleiman is big on talk, but what real improvements has he made to the space? He's done a better job of managing and bringing in local businesses, but nothing structural. He is not a structural guy, he is a strip mall maven.

I think the Landing is dead until the next administration.

I didn't say anything about parking.  I was talking about the city using money to improve centralized public property that the public actually goes to on a regular basis.

[Charles Hunter]

Can Sleiman do anything structural to the property, like opening up the Laura Street corridor, with the City owning the land?

[CS Foltz]

Mr Charles ..........I don't know but, that is a good idea! City could just hand out tax incentives to do that while still controling the property  but what do I know!

[thelakelander]

Charles H., outside of local politics and grudges, there is no set rule with what can be done with the Landing.  As far as I'm concerned, the city could just sell the guy the land underneath the buildings in a deal that calls for him to turn around and open the center up to Laura Street.  Considering the market conditions and its importance to the DT core, they could even provide tax incentives as a part of the project. 

In this scenerio, the city makes an actual profit and then could reinvest that money in upgrading the riverfront land it owns around the complex.  For all we know, the money made could be enough to pay for the construction of that proposed park along the Hogan Street corridor or redo the dated central courtyard.

[fsu813]

Actually, i'd even prefer the Riverwalk expansion to Memorial Park rather than the Met Park plan too.

[tufsu1]

Does anyone know where to find the design renderings for each of these projects?  I think this will be a good investment to the city if they hire a top notch designer who knows what they are doing!

Metro Park improvements are being designed (just about complete) by HDR...Friendship Fountain concepts were done by Chris Flagg, but both it and the riverwalk will be bid out as design/build contracts.

[tufsu1]

Actually, i'd even prefer the Riverwalk expansion to Memorial Park rather than the Met Park plan too.

many of us would...but the City can't get the land just yet.

also, don't forget that many suburban families came to play at Kids Kampus when it was fully operational...fixing that back up will encourage those folks to once again return to the urban core.

[Springfield Girl]

I would love to see the Landing opened up to Laura Street but it really needs a complete overhaul. The space screams low class from it's empty stores to it's tacky decorations. I bank at the Landing and I cringed everytime I went there during the holidays. It looked like they purchased and threw together everything KMart had left at their after Christmas sale. I remember shopping at the Landing when it first opened and had top name stores and was so sad when the Johnny Rockets closed.

[Steve]

Toney won't do it unless he owns the land.  He won't be able to get financing without that.