Downtown Jacksonville: The Exclusion Zone

[Metro Jacksonville]

Downtown Jacksonville: The Exclusion Zone



After 40 years of downtown revitalization, hundreds of millions of dollars expended, and politicians continuously touting their successes in urban renewal; today Downtown Jacksonville, LaVilla specifically, looks striking similiar to the site of the worlds worst nuclear accident: Chernobyl.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/446

[thelakelander]

Interesting comparision...



While most see decay and blight, all I see is opportunity (in Jax's case... Chernobyl is DOA). 



Take this old warehouse building for example.  Its got loft, cultural or some entertainment type potential written all over it.  Authentic brick walls, high ceilings, possible real hardwood flooring and exposed wood beams.  Even if you're LandMar and the Shipyards, you can't put that type of design package together.  All the core needs is a dash of vision on what to do with what it already has.

[Lunican]

There is a ton of potential, and there always has been.

It's just time to do something about it. The ground isn't radioactive.

The funny thing is, there are more buildings remaining in Chernobyl because there hasn't been anyone there to tear them down.

[thelakelander]

The key to unlocking the cuffs off LaVilla is buried under seven blocks of urban prairie land.



Everything there pretty much rotates around what is or not going up on that site. 

[copperfiend]

Maybe we should bring in some cows for some grazin'.

[thelakelander]

Why stop there? Try shooting for the moon.  How about an urban farm with a hands on milk producing dairy that allows the tours that Maxwell House won't? 

[Johnny]

I know the picture of the brick building through the lack of a window, where the huge safe is sitting is on E. 6th St. Do I win a prize?

[thelakelander]

I had my realtor inquire about that price of this property a few months ago.  They wanted something like $300k for it.  Kind of unrealistic if you ask me.  Anyway, the little building they converted into raw loft space across the street turned out real nice.

[copperfiend]

Why stop there? Try shooting for the moon.  How about an urban farm with a hands on milk producing dairy that allows the tours that Maxwell House won't? 

Yeah! We could get cows, pigs, horsies. We could have pony rides! Cow milking! A statue of John Peyton in flannel shirt and overalls. We could even relocate Kid Kampus there and add in a ferris wheel and hot dog stands.

[Lunican]

10 of the 18 photos are Jacksonville.

[copperfiend]

The one with the dog is NOT Jacksonville, right?

[Lunican]

That's correct.

[jerry cornwell]

the building lakelander pointed out in his reply has been offered a contract for purchase by wall street journal illustrator noli novak

[urbanlibertarian]

Wow!  So she's going to Springfield.  Hmmm...

[thelakelander]

I think he's talking about the first one, in LaVilla.