New Projects, Venues Make A King Street District.

[jbroadglide]

I have noticed some activity in that building lately. Wasn't sure what was going on. I hope they shock proof the walls and floors. When some of those loaded coal trains go by and some of the cars have flat spots on the wheels it'll shake the fillings out of your teeth.

[RiversideJodi]

If JC Bread moved in that would be the death of my diet.  They have by far the best apple turnovers and chocolate croissants!  Hope they open a spot in Jax, that would be great news. 

[floridaforester]

I'm actually okay with the BK & gas station (if they'd clean it up some).  My beef is with the maintenance of the 2 residential properties next to kickbacks.   They are always looking a little rough around the edges.  just some simple front exterior cleanup would go a long way. 

The Chinese place may be doing quite a bit more business with all the late night drinkers out & about.  Although Kickbacks has very good food for a bar, its not exactly cheap.

[5PointsGuy]

Yea, the area is much nicer than before, although, there is still alot of shady stuff around College and King. My dad's State Farm Office is on the corner there and I remember not 3-4 years ago, we actually had PLANTS, yes, PLANTS dug up and stolen from the landscaping out front. It taught my parents not to splurge on nice plants because people would stoop to stealing their plants. The office was also broken into many times, but I'll admit, the foot traffic is great for people not stealing our plants!

[Captain Zissou]

Stephen what was the date of that article?

[konstantconsumer]

I love that area now.  The Loft is my new favorite bar.  Just the other day, with out thinking about it, i told a friend to meet me up on King street and we'd figure out what to do once we were there.  So many choices now!

[Lucasjj]

Glad to see all that is going on in this area, especially since I just purchased a home here. I really love the choice of establishments that are available. Although I didn't notice the people that night taking pictures at Kickbacks, my fiance, two sisters, and myself are in them. 

As far as the BK I don't have a problem with them. I cut through their parking lot when walking my dogs sometimes and they keep the lot very clean. In my opinion a lot cleaner than the Wendy's in Five Points. I am not asking for more places to be built like that in the area, but I don't think they are a detriment. Also the people there have involved themselves in an MDA fundraiser recently, and the entire staff was very nice and enthusiastic according to my fiance who works for the MDA.

I would like to see more of a connection to the Park and King area to provide a larger district and spur more development between the two. I really like what Jackson's has going on, and hopefully they are able to succeed. It is real nice to have varying choices in Riverside with Five Points, Avondale, and now King St.

[thelakelander]

FYI, here is a map of the area showing the two breweries in relationship to all the clubs.

Intuition is indeed on King Street as well, about 5 blocks or so away

Now imagine if you had a commuter rail station at King Street.  You would have the bones in place for a completely walkable district from the Breweries to St. Vincent's and the riverfront connected to the entire city with mass transit.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Great article and photography as always.  I am curious about an expression in the intro that I've not heard before; is a water change essentially the same as a sea change?  Thanks.

[duvaldude08]

Jacksonville has some really nice venues all over the city. But why is that we hear about everything by "word of mouth." , or seeing a quick add in the folio weekly? Honestly if it werent for MJ, I would completely be in the dark.  I see little, to no advertising about some of these places. May be a stretch, but what about billboards or a short tv ad? The complaint I have heard from individuals that relocate here is that you have to "find" stuff to do. I tend to agree. I was just told by someone that Jacksonville is not very "accessible" And I tend to agree with that as well. Being that most cities have an Entertainment district, when people relocate here they expect the same. However, our entertainment is spread out across the city. I think some STRONG advertising of alot of these places would really increase business. People want something to do, they just dont know where to go.

[viCARIous]

Thanks for such a thorough article with great photos.  Love the maps, too.

@duvaldude08 I agree that you do have to "find" stuff to do in Jax.  A lot of these small businesses don't have the budget to run tv ads or rent billboards, though, especially when they're just starting up.  Social media like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook along with user review sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon have revolutionized the way businesses advertise and market their products... and the way we consumers find out about them.  And all of these media outlets are basically free.  Most of the places in the King Street District have Facebook pages or Twitter accounts and they're a great way to get updates on what's happening in the 'hood.  Newbies to Jacksonville might want to consider tapping into this online wealth of information!

Thanks again for the article.  And just a note... it's Cari, not Carla:)  I usually get Carl so that was a new one!

[tufsu1]

Didnt think about that, Lake!

Don't the plans call for a trolley line to run right down King?

plans are for the trolley line to parallel the river through Riverside ending up at Park and King...eventually it might be possible to extend through Avondale out to FSCJ

as for promotion/ads....I think Folio, EU, and Buzz do a pretty good job.

[viCARIous]

@tufsu1 I second that... Folio, EU, and Buzz have excellent articles and tidbits on openings and other local happenings.  Great sources.  And they're readily available and free.

[duvaldude08]

I agree. For locals. People from other places dont know that. I literally have to argue with people that relocate here and tell that there is stuff to do in Jacksonville. LOL But hey it is what it is. I know where to look and where to go now, so I can spread the knowledge.

[jagsfan32092]

I really like this area.  I was at Kickbacks last night.  The best food in the area, the breakfast is great.  Park Place is a friendly bar with good drinks at a cheap price.