Downtown Gas Station Plans Revised

[CS Foltz]

lake I have to agree............one brick at a time does make sense. But I wish there was a more specific organized overall vision from someone!! If this is done one block at a time, the chance of progressive and a cohesive downtown makeover is small! I can go with one block at a time but the City does not have a vision and I can see problems trying to co-ordinate something viable and integrated................city could not plan its way out of a phone booth if it had to! I base this thought on what has taken place to this point in time and what I have seen taking place!

[thelakelander]

Its a bad idea to attempt to dictate specific uses for private property in an urban area.  That's something the market should control.  While we certainly need a vision for public property and connectivity, I think the vision for the development of private property, must be to make sure that these projects are laid out in a walkable/urban manner.  If that can happen, along with implementing a vision for public property and infrastructure, a cohesive atmosphere will develop.

[ChriswUfGator]

Dammit we need more parking meters everywhere is what we need...

Stephen and I were in Gainesville the other day, and their downtown was thriving and packed with people walking all over the place. We both shook our heads in absolute amazement, when there wasn't a single parking meter to be found anywhere.

I mean, they're obviously screwing the whole place up, and so we're writing a letter to their city commission telling them to get on the ball with this.

[tufsu1]

actually Gainesville's downtown has struggled quite a bit over the last 20 years...during the day, it is supported by government offices (just like our downtown)....and at night, someparts are popular w/ the college kids.

That said, I think I remember paying for parking (via meter) as recently as last year.

[CS Foltz]

lake I do agree! Walkability should be a major element of any downtown remake! That in itself is a requirement that any downtown should be foremost in any vision! Then continue from there!

[BridgeTroll]

My guess is BP is unlikely to be building anything new in the near future if they manage to survive this gulf oil disaster.

[Lunican]

Does BP own gas stations or are they franchises with individual owners?

[CS Foltz]

Lunican...................leases or franchises, BP goes both ways! Either way that episode in the Gulf will cost them for sure! I just can't believe they did not have any options to select from in the event of a disaster occurance!

[Mattius92]

It looks more like a Hess, with the green and white paint scheme. BP is green and like yellow I believe. Also I am sure they are franchises and whoever is investing in this project could very well look for someone other then BP is needed. I am sure any gas company would like to get business in downtown Jacksonville, especially since we apparently love to drive.

[JaxByDefault]

Sadly, I'm continuing to buy BP gas. I want to make sure they pay every damn dime owed for messing up the coast and bay around my family's home.
I'm shocked it's not a Gate built on land with some huge tax rebate, development incentive, or guaranteed revenue contract.

[Timkin]

Nice to see something new in that area. Now I know what the lot next to the Funeral home is going to house.   If the Parkview development happens and that Ghetto Shell station across the street goes , it may actually be an attractive area again.  Nice rendering .

[thelakelander]

If this project and the Park View proposal comes through, this corner will look completely different (for the better of course).  The presence of both could also spur additional infill and redevelopment projects.

[9a is my backyard]

If this project and the Park View proposal comes through, this corner will look completely different (for the better of course).  The presence of both could also spur additional infill and redevelopment projects.

Definitely.  Plus they could both be positioned well to take advantage of the economy if it continues its slow recovery

[Timkin]

It is a start.  That is a good thing

[ChriswUfGator]

actually Gainesville's downtown has struggled quite a bit over the last 20 years...during the day, it is supported by government offices (just like our downtown)....and at night, someparts are popular w/ the college kids.

That said, I think I remember paying for parking (via meter) as recently as last year.

I started UF in 1999 and there were no parking meters downtown. I go back regularly and there are still no parking meters downtown. Not sure where you parked, maybe closer to campus? I know UF loved handing out their parking tickets, but then they have a captive audience, unlike private businesses, so they know they can get away with it.

There are no meters downtown that I know of. I'll take a pic for you next time, I'm over there pretty regularly. My mother has lived in Gainesville since birth and my grandparents have lived there since the 1940's, I'm not exactly unfamiliar with the place. My grandfather owns an office building downtown, there have never been any meters near it.

Also, Gainesville's downtown has nothing Jacksonville's doesn't, it's just a city hall and the courthouse, and it's all on a muuuuuuuuuuuch smaller scale than here, yet there are 10X more people walking around there than there are here, at any given hour. FWIW, this was night/evening when we were there, well past closing time for government offices. At 8pm, everyone there is just there for fun. And this was just the restaurant crowd, that's before the bars even get busy.

I still don't think meters are a solution to anything. Despite the large crowd, we found parking easily (and for free) within a block or two of the restaurant (dragonfly). All the arguments for meters kind of seem to go out the window when you analyze how everything runs over there.

Downtown Gvl did suffer blight like our downtown, in the 80's and early 90's, but that was before my time there. The whole time I lived there, and in the years since, it's usually always busy when you go downtown. So how come we need all these parking meters, when cities with less available parking and more pedestrian traffic seem to be doing a lot better without them?

Looking at all the "rebirth" stories out of MJ's series on other cities, it seems like a common theme in bringing back urban areas was scrapping parking meters. What makes this place so different?