Five Revitalization Myths Jacksonville Must Overcome

[simms3]

Also within the private sector there are other things going on.

Jacksonville is so small that big change for the city and big growth are still pretty small in the grand scheme of things.  We are also traditionally not open to change or growth.  When times are booming, the big players in the larger cities will look to smaller markets to buy, sell, or develop (depending on the cycle and the conditions).  Of the smaller cities, we are usually last on the list and Charlotte, Austin, and Salt Lake City are first.

Also, because we (as in smaller markets) don't get a lot of action from deep pockets, we must rely on more local/regional guys to move projects foward.  We don't have many homegrown developers who can get a substantial infill project off the ground.  Charlotte does have these guys and they are attractive to institutional capital.

I do think that we are going to have to do a lot of things grassroot in Jacksonville because there is no choice.  This could be a very good thing, but other cities will still have us beat because they have the grassroots working with the big guys.  Having lots of money does tend to help.

Finally, the last point is huge.  Not only do we shoot down our own ideas and those that work in other similar markets, we also scoff at other markets and provide our own reasons why we should not become a bigger, better, denser city.  This is a bad attitude and this also scares off investors (which is why shrinking cities like Hartford, CT can still attract institutional capital to come in and fortify inner core areas like West Hartford...see Blue Back square).

[vicupstate]

We do tend to rely way too much on the big projects.  That does not make those projects bad. We just do not need to wait on them to the detriment of smaller more organic policy driven growth.

I agree.  I also agree that it is very detrimental to demo historic building stock in the hopes that a new project will follow.   On the other hand, if someone proposes a 'big sexy project' on vacant land, then until it proves not do-able, the city should assist as it can. 

BTW, the Laura Trio would have to be considered a big, sexy project, IMO.  The number of buildings involved, the past difficulties and the costly renovation involved all deem it so.

As for streetscaping, I think they CAN be VERY beneficial. However,  they can't be viewed as a silver bullet or a 'do it and we are done' item.  Phillip Randolph would be a classic example of that.  They built it, then forgot about it.  No upkeep, no small business encouragement (loans,grants, associations, festivals), no fascade improvements. 
   

[duvaldude08]

IMO the trio is a small scale project. The shipyards and even the St John's were sexy MEGA projects.  The trio project invovles renovating buildings that are already there.  The trio is closer to happening than anything than any other project that came and gone in the past 5 years.

[Jaxson]

I agree that the conversion of Hemming Park into Hemming Plaza was a disaster for downtown.  IMHO, Hemming Plaza looks too much like a 1980s-era suburban shopping mall courtyard than it does an urban centerpiece.

[Jaxson]

We do tend to rely way too much on the big projects.  That does not make those projects bad. We just do not need to wait on them to the detriment of smaller more organic policy driven growth.

I agree.  I also agree that it is very detrimental to demo historic building stock in the hopes that a new project will follow.   On the other hand, if someone proposes a 'big sexy project' on vacant land, then until it proves not do-able, the city should assist as it can. 

BTW, the Laura Trio would have to be considered a big, sexy project, IMO.  The number of buildings involved, the past difficulties and the costly renovation involved all deem it so.

As for streetscaping, I think they CAN be VERY beneficial. However,  they can't be viewed as a silver bullet or a 'do it and we are done' item.  Phillip Randolph would be a classic example of that.  They built it, then forgot about it.  No upkeep, no small business encouragement (loans,grants, associations, festivals), no fascade improvements. 
   

I agree 100% that we have been prone to tearing stuff down and then making concrete plans once the dust settles.  It would bother me to know that even one historic building was demolished for the sake of a plan that never materialized.  Unfortunately for us, this has happened more than once in our city...

[hooplady]

Whatever happened to the 5th & Liberty project?  How did that go?

The new residents finally moved in a few weeks ago and the place looks great.   I believe there are also new occupants in the house on the NW corner - [poof!] - just like that there's life in that area again.  (And by "just like that" I mean after months and years of blood, sweat and tears).

Big glamorous projects are great but when they fail they fail spectacularly.  Give me a few small projects clustered together any day.

[jcjohnpaint]

yeah and it feels that because of smaller size and limited resources, when policy makers make a blundering mistake- which is what it seems like all they do (if something is done right in idea they somehow screw it up in planning/ courthouse and plaza)- then it is that much more catastrophic for the city.  If we look to the Trio/ as time runs out it will soon be too late.  Not only will the important property to a vibrant neighborhood just sit there, we will loose more of our dwindling history that cannot be brought back. 

[JaxNative68]

I strongly believe the city's past belief is "give them eye candy at the curb level as they drive by, and they won't notice all the nothingness behind the sidewalk level, then we can filter all the money to our brothers in-law in the suburbs and forget about downtown".

Hopefully the future administration can keep the money downtown and revive the dying fabric of our once great city!

Personally I think we need more medium sized mixed use projects downtown.  And the housing portion of these projects should be affordable to the younger business generation just out of college, not the residential projects with the price ranges the the Peninsula.  There is no reason why the Riverside Avenue corridor, just outside downtown area, could not filled with these types of projects.  It would be a great transition from downtown to the Riverside neighborhoods.

[duvaldude08]

I strongly believe the city's past belief is "give them eye candy at the curb level as they drive by, and they won't notice all the nothingness behind the sidewalk level, then we can filter all the money to our brothers in-law in the suburbs and forget about downtown".

Hopefully the future administration can keep the money downtown and revive the dying fabric of our once great city!

Personally I think we need more medium sized mixed use projects downtown.  And the housing portion of these projects should be affordable to the younger business generation just out of college, not the residential projects with the price ranges the the Peninsula.  There is no reason why the Riverside Avenue corridor, just outside downtown area, could not filled with these types of projects.  It would be a great transition from downtown to the Riverside neighborhoods.

Amen! Affrodable housing DT is another problem. I am considering relocating to the core next year. However I am running into the affordibility issue. The only condos DT that are affordable are City Place, BUT they are tiny as hell. I actually have an appointment to view churchwell lofts. They guy stated the one bedroom is 99,000. Which is the most I could afford. So we'll see..

[Tacachale]

The Laura Trio is definitely a big, sexy project, just consider the scale of it. It's slightly different than some others in that they're trying to rehab existing structures, and if the news stories are to be believed, are looking for incentives that are only paid when the project is complete. But it's still a big fancy project with big potential to fall apart.

[jcjohnpaint]

I think that the city should put a lot of attention to the Laura St area and grow out from there.  There is an amount of vibrancy in this area of downtown and can be enhanced if attention is paid to this area and all of this leap from projects.  This is another reason why the Trio property is so important. 

[Wacca Pilatka]

I strongly believe the city's past belief is "give them eye candy at the curb level as they drive by, and they won't notice all the nothingness behind the sidewalk level, then we can filter all the money to our brothers in-law in the suburbs and forget about downtown".

Or perhaps more recently, "give them eye candy with the view from I-95."  Downtown is full of buildings that look photogenic from the interstate but have mediocre to awful interaction with their streets. 

[Wacca Pilatka]

I think that the city should put a lot of attention to the Laura St area and grow out from there.  There is an amount of vibrancy in this area of downtown and can be enhanced if attention is paid to this area and all of this leap from projects.  This is another reason why the Trio property is so important.

Definitely - and it's also an important symbolic project saying we're no longer going to wantonly destroy our historic fabric or allow it to rot, but instead will celebrate it.  This is the most significant architectural grouping of commercial buildings in the state and the city absolutely cannot let them fall to pieces.

[dougskiles]

Thanks Lake for adapting the article to Jacksonville.  One important aspect to consider is that the myths apply to the Revitalization of the urban area.  We also need to address the cause for the decline, which I believe to be the rampant, unchecked sprawl that has taken place over the last several decades.  Until we stop the sprawl, our revitalization efforts will be like running up the down escalator.

I would be happy if this new administration did nothing more for downtown than to stop the sprawl.  It is a very cheap fix.  Developers and builders will eventually catch on and start rebuilding the core.

[Coolyfett]

very sad