Downtown Catches Young VIbe

[BIG CHEESE 723]

Interesting article in today's Times Union. 
Encouraging to see some upswing in downtown.  ]

[fsujax]

wish i could read the article.

[comncense]

lol same here. I wonder how successful TU has been with trying to force the paid subscriptions on people.

[coredumped]

OK, I probably shouldn't post this, but...
Just change the URL from "members" to "m"

So in this case change:
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy
to this:
http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

Clickable link: http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

And you're in

[urbanlibertarian]

OK, I probably shouldn't post this, but...
Just change the URL from "members" to "m"

So in this case change:
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy
to this:
http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

Clickable link: http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

And you're in

Thou shalt not steal.  ;-)

[RockStar]

OK, I probably shouldn't post this, but...
Just change the URL from "members" to "m"

So in this case change:
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy
to this:
http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

Clickable link: http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

And you're in

Thou shalt not charge for shite journalism, either.
Thou shalt not steal.  ;-)

[BIG CHEESE 723]

Geez!  You all are laying a serious guilt trip on me.  Sometimes hidden amongst the ads, crime reports and general shite you may find a gem or two. This was one of them.
Their one redeeming quality for me is the continuing of crossword puzzles and Sunday's book reviews.
I do get annoyd at the shrinking size compared to the fact that the price has not shrunk in comparison.

[BridgeTroll]

OK, I probably shouldn't post this, but...
Just change the URL from "members" to "m"

So in this case change:
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy
to this:
http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

Clickable link: http://m.jacksonville.com/news/premium-news/2013-01-22/story/downtown-jacksonville-gets-boost-youthful-energy

And you're in

Thou shalt not charge for shite journalism, either.
Thou shalt not steal.  ;-)

Rofl...

[CityLife]

Nice piece and cheers to all those of my generation who are making downtown vibrant and cool again. I think a lot of this generation aspires to own their own small business and do something that they are passionate about, as opposed to the corporate route (perhaps moreso than the preceding generations). So hats off to those who are making it happen.

I've always loved Riverside and love what has gone on there, but long term, I really hope that some of that success shifts towards downtown. Though King Street has really taken off, the "entertainment district" downtown has so much more potential. Not saying they can't both be successful and coexist, just that I hope more of that energy makes its way Downtown.

[CityLife]

Great post. That is a lot of the type of stuff that we lack and would make downtown a destination and unique place. Riverside/Avondale is so land/parking starved that I doubt you could ever even fit all that stuff there anyways. I also think housing potential is one of the key difference's between the two. Simply put, you can fit much, much more dense housing near the entertainment district than you ever could near Park and King. Even though Riverside/Avondale is a quasi-urban neighborhood, for the most part many still rely on the automobile or bike, which makes a less vibrant street level enviroment. I mean how many people live within a quarter mile/half mile of Bold Bean or Park and King? How many more could realistically live within a half mile radius of the Bay/Adams corridor if the demand was there? 5x? 10x? Jacksonville and downtown in particular would explode with all that energy...

I don't know if the housing comes after a critical mass of entertainment is met or vice versa, but the two are intertwined and I hope our "leaders" are looking at more ways to bring both.

[Captain Zissou]

I think the ultimate future of culture and nightlife in Jacksonville has to be downtown.  Riverside Avondale can only go so far, as the recent shenanigans have proven.  If the RPC was too much for the old and lame folks, imagine what they would say about a burlesque show coming to their neighborhood? 
I also associate true hubs of entertainment and culture with residents and lots of them.  In my opinion, R-A won't get denser until some zoning changes are made and the overlay is adapted to accommodate hubs of development tied into mass-transit.  Downtown already has the building stock and infrastructure to support far more residents than anywhere else in town.
We really need to just remove the roadblocks from in front of the developers and the creative minds that are already able to transform our urban core.  The main thing preventing change is the city itself.

[BIG CHEESE 723]

I am all for this progress if it will make downtown viable again.
However, as an old-timer, the concentration on youth makes us feel just that much more obsolete.  lol
Could we get a little piece of the action?  Or we being blamed for the abysmal failure in the past?

[JeffreyS]

They do the Rock-a-Billy Burlesque at the Loft.

[Captain Zissou]

They do the Rock-a-Billy Burlesque at the Loft.

I was told that it has been moved downtown because they were drawing too big of a crowd for the Loft.  This is a perfect example of why even though much of the energy started in Riverside, downtown needs to be the place where the ultimate transformation and growth will be achieved.  You could say the same thing happened to Underbelly. 

[JeffreyS]

Good to know and it was way too big at the loft.