Exploring Clay County Port / Reynolds Park

[Metro Jacksonville]

Exploring Clay County Port / Reynolds Park



Located 25 miles south of Jacksonville, the Clay County Port/Reynolds Park is one of the few locations in Northeast Florida with full access to land, air, water and rail.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-nov-exploring-clay-county-port-reynolds-park

[RMHoward]

Unfortunately, this industrial park is a real dump.  Its a real eyesore.  I have spent a lot of time exploring its historical roots and just shake my head when driving around.  Would it kill the folks who manage this place to clean it up a little???  I mean, there is @#$% everywhere that has been there for decades. I think its a real embarrassment to Clay County and Green Cove Springs.  I know this would cost money, but it would help to attract better tenants. 

[Timkin]

RM.... As a child, I well remember the then, decomissioned Lee Field Navy Base... Much of it was still intact...Obviously the Mothball fleet was long gone by the time I came into the world.. but most of the Navy Base Buildings were there until I was around 12-13 years old.. and then alot (most) of it was torn down.. What a shame.. because most of the buildings , houses ,etc were maintained and in good shape.  Opposite the base , East of the Piers was housing for military / familes and east of that, in a circle around the Navy Base Day Care Center, were officers housing..  today , two of those houses remain ..and are in bad shape..the rest of them were either demolished or moved.. the Daycare center and Navy Base swimming pool also destroyed...

Although this is a nice presentation and the pictures taken ,show some really beautiful spots of Reynold's Industrial Park and the piers, this is a huge tract of land, and most of it is vacant.. only a handful of the military buildings...maybe 10-12 remain, including the Aircraft Hangar.

As to the former Johns-Manville plant, I well remember that being in operation .. they made Asbestos Pipe, and anyone who knows about Asbestos ,knows what happens because of the dust breathed in from this material ....hence the end of Johns-Manville.. It opened under a couple of other names afterward and then 3-4 years ago was supposed to be totally demolished , and it seems like I remember that either Humana or Orange Park Medical Center was supposed to build a facility on that site..... that never happened obviously and my bet is the site is so contaminated , the remedial work to make anything there would be atrociously expensive.. Part of the J-M plant was demolished ,but most of it is still there.  It has to be falling apart by now ,though.    Nice Presentation from my home town !

[NavyRet]

This area is a wealth of historical significance and presents quite an array of scenic potential.








It also has a lot of secrets...... 

[Timkin]

This area is a wealth of historical significance and presents quite an array of scenic potential.








It also has a lot of secrets...... 

Such as....

I may know some of them

[SharpestJim]

I realize that the comments on this thread are a couple of years old, but here goes...

On a trip back to Worthington Springs from Jacksonville, my wife and I decided to drive back into Reynolds Industrial Park to have a look around. Quite a unique place to explore. I agree with RMHoward - it is a bit of a dump. But there is some cool stuff to look at.

I registered on this site specifically to attempt to learn what the large "object" is that lies in the middle of the airfield. The thing is huge and looks almost like a hovercraft. It appears to be made of concrete although I was unable to get close enough to it to tell. I was able to locate it and zoom in one it using Google Earth.

What the heck is this thing? Who owns it? And how did it get there?

[thelakelander]

Welcome to the site SharpestJim.  What you're describing is the ruins of a hovercraft:

Green Cove Springs: Lee Field Hovercraft Ruins

This former Naval Air Station became Reynolds Industrial Park in 1984, and 20 years later, Atlas Hovercrafts, Inc. began operations in the old industrial warehouses.

The company vision was to mainstream hovercrafts on the St. Johns River and other local waterways. Hovercrafts could ferry commuters from one part of town to another, form adjunct ambulance links, and perform surveillance and counter-terrorism tasks.

In 2006, company president Kurt Peterson said he expected to build between four and six hovercrafts the following year. The crafts would run on a fuel part petroleum and part soybean. He said a hovercraft could drive right across the top of a manatee, without the manatee even knowing.

Though Peterson told The Palatka Daily News, "Our hovercrafts are the most expensive in the world," as though the company had built even one ship, his website stated, "Atlas Hovercraft, Inc. is positioned to become the largest hovercraft design and manufacturing company in the world."

Atlas didn't complete its first vessel.

The hovercraft ruins on which I scurry beneath dark threatening clouds in the winter of 2014 was supposedly commissioned by an unidentified "Chicago businessman" who planned to use it for "diner cruises" in Chicago.

Full story and pictures: http://jaxpsychogeo.com/south/green-cove-springs-lee-field-hovercraft-ruins/

[thelakelander]

An old 2010 thread about Atlas Hovercraft:





http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=9346.0

[Charles Hunter]

As a little child, I remember crossing the rickety old Shands Bridge - a mixture of fear that the darn thing would fall down, and the coolness of seeing all those navy ships.

Some day, the First Coast Expressway will have an interchange near Reynolds Park - perhaps with quicker connections to I-95 and I-10 will spur more development in the park.