Rummell: One Spark is not a 'turning point' for Downtown Jacksonville

[simms3]

^^^Right?!?!  Rummell is one of a few who can be counted on one hand that has a national reputation and carries weight in the business world.  Jax is not a city that can toss these folks aside.

[Cheshire Cat]

The commentary is not playing what you are calling the "political card". 

That's how everyone is reading it, Diane.  Maybe you need to work on your explanation then.

It is about showing how all things that happen in Jacksonville are at the core either driven by or co-opted by the GOB individuals and political structure that has held us back for decades.

Everyone, do you consider Peter Rummell to be a part of the GOB that has held us back for decades?  Raise. Hands.  Now.

if I am correct you are not living in Jacksonville so remain un-impacted by what goes on here beyond commentary on our development which is fine.

I am, however, living in San Francisco.  By default, I am forced to live and breathe this stuff everyday.  Aside from my real estate network out here, everyone I know is either working for a start-up, works for Google/Apple/Twitter/Square/insert burgeoning tech/creative firm here, or works on the funding side, whether for a tech bank, VC, etc (my roommate is friends with several higher ups including Peter Thiel and Arthur Rock and is a member of the creative-person-focused Battery Club by nature of his relationship with one of the founders).  I know a lot of scientists working bio-tech, I know a design guy at Pixar, and someone I'm dating is heavily involved in both UCSF's clinical side and research side, and was awarded $8M in funding for a project recently.  So if you must know, my "outside of Jacksonville" life is in the center of the universe for this type of thing.  My perspective is not out of line or irrelevant. 

Clearly understanding that a cities development is driven by the politics in that city is not in your realm as well. 

I believe that understanding the basic relationship between development and local politics is more in my realm since I work in development (and real estate in general).    Though I'll hand it to you, understanding politics in general is not in my realm.  But I think that speaks to your mindset.  Who cares about politics?  That's not what this thread is about.  And you're reading between a ton of lines that don't exist, and I highly doubt you know Peter Rummell personally.

So now you Simms know how everyone else is reading it?  lol   If you think that you would be incorrect.  I have received many private messages and emails from individuals who have be greatly heartened by my willingness to put the political aspects of what is happening in downtown into the spotlight and how even event's like One Spark are impacted by those outdated influences.  Those who agree with you to my view simply don't have the desire to step into the one sided conversation that so often seems to override openminded discussion or opinions on the forum.  I care enough about Jacksonville to weather the onslaught because if we are ever to see positive change in downtown or anywhere we have got to understand that politics drives it all.  That is the truth of the matter.

Asking for a show of hands Simms on this discussion thread is not a measure of anything with regard to who is controlling our political landscape here in Jacksonville.  Sorry, it just does not.  I have spent decades investigating the inside and out side of local politics.  I don't expect you to understand it like I do.

You are in SanFransico by choice.  We all chose where we go an why.  lmao  So the bottom line is you have a bunch of opinions of Jacksonville based on you're experiences in planning in San Francisco a city on the other side of the country.  I see, basically you are opining about a city you don't live in and are not impacted in any way by it's politics and want others to fall in line with those far away and unconnected opinions.  Got it. 

Finally, what you highly doubt about my understandings of Rummells workings in local politics has nothing to do with his personality it has to do with the actions he has undertaken that impact the local landscape of Jacksonville politically.  I know who the local political players are and he is one at the top of the list. 

[Cheshire Cat]

I think I speak for all but one here, but I think having someone as highly accomplished as Peter Rummell, with his Disney, Arvida, Rockefeller, and St. Joe experience gives a lot more credibility to One Spark and Jacksonville to outsiders, than say a few 30 something's that aren't even that well known in their own town.

My grandfather was the first VP of hotels and restaurants at Disney and was the brainchild of their hotel development projects/plans in the early 70's. After leaving there, he could pretty much do what he wanted and was considered a rock star in his profession. By the same token, Peter Rummel has an impressive reputation from creating Celebration, chairing ULI, Disney Imagineering, etc. He's probably the closest thing Jacksonville has to a rockstar in the business world. Frankly, I can't believe we are having to defend a guy who is donating his time, money, and putting his reputation on the line to help Jacksonville and One Spark.

Bingo....that's the problem in a nutshell CL.  You opinion of whose impact is important.  Basically you have reinforced what I am saying.  The old white man with money and influence has more impact on our future and how we are perceived than the creative folks who spawn an idea or who those who do the hard hands on work of creating real change in Jacksonville.  Thanks for making my point all too clear. 

A background in theme parks that is ages old, has nothing to do with rebuilding a broken political landscape or a struggling downtown.  It just doesn't and it is frightening to me to see how readily so many on the forum have fallen in line with the old structures of marketing and creating vibrancy.  It hasn't worked people and you are defending what has failed us miserably for years. 

[simms3]

I read CL's post entirely differently...lol.

[Cheshire Cat]

I read CL's post entirely differently...lol.

No surprise.  lol

[tufsu1]

Listen in and hear how Elton Rivas explains Rummell's involvement

http://www.wjct.org/fcc-april-17-2014/

and as for the idea that the GOB or establishment should not be running things, one could surmise that anyone over 40 is automatically disqualified.

[Cheshire Cat]

Listen in and hear how Elton Rivas explains Rummell's involvement

http://www.wjct.org/fcc-april-17-2014/

and as for the idea that the GOB or establishment should not be running things, one could surmise anyone over 40 automatically disqualified.

What in the world are you talking about Tufsu?  What in this entire conversation causes one to surmise such a thing?  I know you would so love to make the discussion about anything but the reality of political influence on all things Jacksonville and who is pulling the strings.  This so called summarization is a fail I am afraid. 
 

[simms3]

Why Jacksonville do we think that a guy whose forte is "theme parks" with a staff of imagineers is the go to guy for downtown development and promoting new and bright events like One Spark?  Or perhaps the question should be do we want a city or a theme park atmosphere for Jacksonville and it's core? 

Here in SF rumors just broke (literally just came to my email) that Splunk, a healthcare IT startup funded by big wigs from Disney and HP, will be taking all of a 200,000 SF building going up in SoMa.  You continuously poo poo Rummell as a "Disney theme park guy with a staff of imagineers", but I don't think you know at all what that means.

Diane, no offense but offense, you're being totally naive and absurd here.

[Cheshire Cat]

Why Jacksonville do we think that a guy whose forte is "theme parks" with a staff of imagineers is the go to guy for downtown development and promoting new and bright events like One Spark?  Or perhaps the question should be do we want a city or a theme park atmosphere for Jacksonville and it's core? 

Here in SF rumors just broke (literally just came to my email) that Splunk, a healthcare IT startup funded by big wigs from Disney and HP, will be taking all of a 200,000 SF building going up in SoMa.  You continuously poo poo Rummell as a "Disney theme park guy with a staff of imagineers", but I don't think you know at all what that means.

Diane, no offense but offense, you're being totally naive and absurd here.

Sigh Simms.  You insulting me does not change the conversation at all nor does the above rumor in SF. lol  Talk to me when it is on paper and something to be realized in Jacksonville. Honesly a 200k square foot building in SoMa hasn't a darn thing to do with our city.  Now beyond that I will not entertain a tit for tat on this issue especially the reaching you and Tufsu1 are attempting in the discussion.  I have said what I had to say as someone who actually lives here in Jacksonville and has a more than average insight into local politics, how it is structured and how it works.  Seriously, I find it amusing that you think you have a handle on a community in which you do not currently live.  Now if you were boots on the ground and involved in local politics I might take the commentary more seriously. As it stands I simply cannot. 

[simms3]

^^^Here again you think this is all about politics.  This discussion was never once about local Jacksonville politics (a broad topic that is discussed on hundreds of other threads) until you injected politics in the discussion.  You seem to only be able to see things in terms of local Jax politics, and then you preach to the rest of us about "Business 101" etc as if you know what you're talking about there...

The fact that you can't see how my last post squashes everything you've been rambling about for the past 5 pages of this thread says one thing.  The fact that you can't see how my last post is both relevant to this discussion and relevant to your irrelevant points says another.  Please attempt to get past your narrow 1,000 ft view of Jacksonville politics and your preconceived notions about how everyone in Jax is involved in some conspiracy to hold the city back, and come up to the rest of our 30,000 ft view of how this all ties together in a bigger picture, that doesn't necessarily involve politics. 

[Cheshire Cat]

Not engaging you further Simms.  No tit for tat. 

[Cheshire Cat]

Now to the issue that Rummell tries to influence much of the direction in our city.  There is this as well.  Pay attention folks to what is going on behind the scenes when it comes to control and who is running things.    http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2012/03/peter-rummell-goes-from-hero-to-zero.html

Chris Guerrieri's Education Matters
Solutions that don't break the bank, reinvent the wheel or marginalize our teachers are within our grasp. We could have rigorous classes, safe and disciplined schools and treat teachers like valued colleagues rather than easily replaceable cogs, and we could do so tomorrow if we wanted. The cost? You demanding it. Help demand it with me.

Sparkline 1127537
Peter Rummell, goes from hero to zero
In the fall when peter Rummell crossed party lines to support Alvin Brown he was hailed as a hero who put what was best for the city over politics.

Fast-forward six months and all of a sudden he is a goat drawing the ire of Betty Burney and Jake Godbold and all because Mr. Rummell expressed concerns over the direction the school board was taking our schools.

Friends we should all have concerns with the direction the school board has been taking our schools. Betty Burney, Martha Barrett who Jake Godbold is supporting and Jake Godbld represent the status quo, which is nearly a decade of bad decisions that have hurt our city and it's children.

If it turns out Mr. Rummell has some insidious plan to take over our schools lets cross that bridge when we come to it but in the meantime lets not forget about the terrible job that the board has done and lets not give them four more years to do more damage.

[Cheshire Cat]

Past visions....

The first baby boomers turned 60 last January,the cutting edge of what will soon be the wealthiest, healthiest, and largest group of retirees the nation has ever seen, some 78 million strong. Imagine a tidal wave of fit, tanned, sixtysomethings crashing on the nation's shores every year.

That suits Peter Rummell just fine. The former real estate guru for Disney now calls the shots at the St. Joe Company, Florida's former paper-and-timber giant that he has transformed into one of the largest coastal developers in the nation. Rummell beat the boomers to the big 6-0 by a couple of months. Tanned, fit, and with a wreath of short-cropped gray hair, he could be George C. Scott's laid-back younger brother. "We think there are enormous numbers of people getting to my age who have flexibility in their lifestyles," Rummell says. "They're not staying in Cincinnati 12 months of the year. They're looking for warmer climates, particularly Florida. It's a proven track record for 75 years."

In fact, quips Jerry Ray, St. Joe's VP for corporate communications, the entire state of Pennsylvania—that's 12 million people—will be moving to Florida in the next 25 years, according to census projections. To meet that demand, Rummell and his team are turning vast tracts of pines into tony resort developments, aimed at feeding the hearts and minds of wealthy, nature-loving second-home buyers.

So how do you squeeze all those people into a backwater chunk of Florida, once dubbed "the forgotten coast," without destroying the natural beauty that draws people to the area in the first place? The trick is planning, Rummell says, master planning, to be exact. At their showplace resort of WaterColor, about 40 miles west of Panama City, Jerry Ray proudly pointed out how far back the houses and the trademark Water-Color Inn—which looks like a large, tastefully done lifeguard station—are set behind the sugary dunes. Natural areas full of native Florida species, such as sand pines, saw palmettos, and sweet bay magnolias, are laced with biking and hiking trails that sweep around a natural coastal lake, forming a buffer zone. The houses, built like quaint bomb shelters, are designed in what the company calls Cracker Modern, or where redneck Florida meets rich, tasteful Nantucket. While it's more spread out than the groundbreaking New Urbanism development of Seaside—the idyllic backdrop for The Truman Show just next door—many of the concepts are the same: Make it walkable with everything one could need within a ten-minute stroll, protect natural areas like the beach and lake and make them community amenities, get people to park their cars and leave them idle for their entire stay.

Such concepts were reinforced after Rummell took a tour of Mississippi beach towns devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year. Rummell was surprised to see newer gas stations and grocery stores relatively unscathed while the older homes and cottages got hammered. "It was apparent that the quality of construction makes an enormous difference," he says.

With more than 300,000 acres in the coastal zone, a market capitalization of 4.5 billion dollars, and plenty of political clout, St. Joe can do what other developers only dream about. In one section of Gulf County, the company is moving 13 miles of U.S. Highway 98, which currently runs through Joe lands right along the Gulf, a few miles inland. The public gets a new flood-protected four lane and the longest shoreside bike trail in the state, while St. Joe gets miles of secluded beachfront acreage. In Bay County, the company has donated 4,000 acres to build a controversial regional airport to service its future homeowners, while setting aside almost 10,000 acres as a conservation buffer zone around nearby West Bay, important habitat for migratory songbirds such as scarlet tanagers and Kentucky warblers.

Not everyone is thrilled with St. Joe's vision. Environmental groups recently won a temporary injunction against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for granting the company an unprecedented permit to develop nearly 50,000 acres on the shores of three coastal bays that would destroy 1,500 acres of wetlands, even though the company had promised to mitigate that loss by creating or enhancing more wetlands elsewhere.

"Wetlands are not widgets," says Melanie Shephardson, staff attorney for the Natural

Resources Defense Council, one of the groups that filed the suit. "They serve different functions. Just setting aside some acreage and buffers might sound good, but at the end of the day you have to make sure that these bays, with all their species diversity, are not going to be harmed."

The injunction, which halted some work on one of the company's developments, makes Rummell fume. "There are still people scared of growth," he says. "But it gets back to our vision of what the world is going to look like in thirty years. I want this part of Florida to be a better version of itself. It would be a shame if it got high-rised to death. I would declare success if ten years from now someone says this looks like it should be here. In the real estate world, that's hard to do."

In the aquatic world, that's hard to do too.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2006/07/american-coasts/bourne-text

[simms3]

You've literally gone from injecting politics into this (usually somewhat harmless if not annoying) and claiming some conspiracy theory that Rummell is involved in with the "GOB", to now posting articles that have *no relevance* in an extremely blatant attempt to discredit his person based on affiliations (the Rotary Club is now a bad affiliation??) and a past scandal involving a prostitute (who hasn't had an escort scandal nowadays??).

You are kind of despicable.  And there is reason that mods are deleting your posts.  They are counter-productive, off-topic, "trolling" posts.

[Cheshire Cat]

Stephen, to me what is discouraging is the unwillingness or inability of folks to understand the fact that politics drives Jacksonville in all things and Peter Rummell is a powerful political player.  I have deleted no posts by the way.  I think when a person resorts to name calling they are out of real conversation points.  That happens too often in this type of format.  As far as the troll comment, that is both humorous and sad.  lol  Perhaps another thread can be started to discuss how certain political players impact the direction of our city from events to downtown revitalization. 

Stephen, this thread began with Rummell/One Spark and downtown development.  Is it your position that politics is not at play in what happens downtown?  How is looking at that reality discouraging or more discouraging than Rummells own declaration on the heels of a successful "One Spark" that it will not be a turning point for downtown when no one expected it would?  The reason it isn't a turning point of course is that as in Rummells own words, it will take incentives to make the needed changes downtown and that is born of approval of local politicians and our city budget.

I do find the level of some of the discussion and tone discouraging to me after so many years in the local mix. We have got to be able to discuss all views and insights openly.  Why so often does it become and us against them or person on person debate along with name calling in the face of all that is facing our city?  That discourages me greatly.