"Midtown" Jacksonville?

[KenFSU]

Random branding question for you guys:

It's no secret that the Town Center area has been the primary hotbed of development in the city over the last decade. Right now, it easily has the highest concentration of shopping and restaurants in Jacksonville, there are endless entertainment options nearby, and together with the adjacent Deerwood area, it has to be considered the city's secondary business district. Plus, new development is seemingly popping up by the month lately -- the Town Center Exchange, Top Golf, Baptist Emergency Center, etc -- with no signs of slowing (http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-09-19/story/town-center-boom-set-continue-so-much-more-coming-soon).

Anyone else think it would be an awesome idea to do away with the generic "Town Center Area," and rebrand the area as Midtown Jacksonville? It might not be Midtown Manhattan or Atlanta, but it's certainly as strong of an area as Midtown Charlotte, for example.

I think it would be a great way to tie the Town Center area, Tapestry Park, Tinseltown, Deerwood, all future development, and even UNF together into one unified sense of place. Especially if you could find a way to make the whole area just a little bit more interconnected, whether it be bike trails, shuttles, whatever, connecting things like Top Golf, the movie theater, the shops, the hotels, the dorms, etc.

Am I crazy in thinking that this actually makes a lot of sense? It gives a unifying brand to the area. It differentiates it from Downtown Jacksonville. It de-emphasizes the SJTC, which is great, but only one part of a larger area. It makes on-campus living more desirable at UNF. I think it encourages even more develpoment. Plus, it just sounds like a cooler, more interesting place to point visitors toward than "the St. Johns mall."

Rough borders could look something like this:



Naming alone isn't going to change anything, but in this case, giving a more concrete sense of identity to a really hot yet somewhat disconnected area might make a lot of sense.

[Adam White]

It's an interesting idea, though I don't quite see it as a "midtown" for some reason. I think my other issue with the term is it seems a bit to marketing-y for me.

[ProjectMaximus]

I'm fine with that. When I describe the area I usually call it town center, but I have to add in Tinseltown, Tapestry Park and Deerwood Lake. You're right that this area will continue to develop for years to come, so it would be nice to have a moniker for the area as a whole. Midtown seems as good as any...it's sorta the midpoint between downtown and the beaches.

[jaxnyc79]

I think your idea is on point.

Random branding question for you guys:

It's no secret that the Town Center area has been the primary hotbed of development in the city over the last decade. Right now, it easily has the highest concentration of shopping and restaurants in Jacksonville, there are endless entertainment options nearby, and together with the adjacent Deerwood area, it has to be considered the city's secondary business district. Plus, new development is seemingly popping up by the month lately -- the Town Center Exchange, Top Golf, Baptist Emergency Center, etc -- with no signs of slowing.

Anyone else think it would be an awesome idea to do away with the generic "Town Center Area," and rebrand the area as Midtown Jacksonville? It might not be Midtown Manhattan or Atlanta, but it's certainly as strong of an area as Midtown Charlotte, for example.

I think it would be a great way to tie the Town Center area, Tapestry Park, Tinseltown, Deerwood, all future development, and even UNF together into one unified sense of place. Especially if you could find a way to make the whole area just a little bit more interconnected, whether it be bike trails, shuttles, whatever, connecting things like Top Golf, the movie theater, the shops, the hotels, the dorms, etc.

Am I crazy in thinking that this actually makes a lot of sense? It gives a unifying brand to the area. It differentiates it from Downtown Jacksonville. It de-emphasizes the SJTC, which is great, but only one part of a larger area. It makes on-campus living more desirable at UNF. I think it encourages even more develpoment. Plus, it just sounds like a cooler, more interesting place to point visitors toward than "the St. Johns mall."

Rough borders could look something like this:



Naming alone isn't going to change anything, but in this case, giving a more concrete sense of identity to a really hot yet somewhat disconnected area might make a lot of sense.

[coredumped]

There's a midtown apartment near Butler and 95. I've always considered that area more midtownish, because of all the office buildings over there.

[KenFSU]

It's no secret that the Town Center area has been the primary hotbed of development in the city over the last decade. Right now, it easily has the highest concentration of shopping and restaurants in Jacksonville, there are endless entertainment options nearby, and together with the adjacent Deerwood area, it has to be considered the city's secondary business district. Plus, new development is seemingly popping up by the month lately -- the Town Center Exchange, Top Golf, Baptist Emergency Center, etc -- with no signs of slowing (http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-09-19/story/town-center-boom-set-continue-so-much-more-coming-soon).

Add Red Robin to the list, potentially.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=546203

Bout damn time they came to Jax, even if I could take or leave them myself.

[Prax_N_Jax]

the "growth" in that part of the city is amazing. Midtown sounds like a proper moniker.

[finehoe]

Anyone else think it would be an awesome idea to do away with the generic "Town Center Area," and rebrand the area as Midtown Jacksonville?

I like the idea of giving a sense of identity to this disconnected area, but "Midtown" isn't any less generic.  Something unique and/or more Jacksonville-centric would be better, IMHO.

[downtownbrown]

"midtown" isn't a bad idea, assuming that it denotes midway between downtown and the beach.  The real estate folks call the area "Intracoastal West", which never made sense to me, and nobody uses the term.  I'm sure Glen Kernan and Jax Golf and Country Club wouldn't mind being called Midtown.  Or tamaya, which already has a jingle about being between the city and the sea.  So I would define the area as between the west bank of the ICW and I-95.  Works for me.

[simms3]

Random branding question for you guys:

It's no secret that the Town Center area has been the primary hotbed of development in the city over the last decade. Right now, it easily has the highest concentration of shopping and restaurants in Jacksonville, there are endless entertainment options nearby, and together with the adjacent Deerwood area, it has to be considered the city's secondary business district. Plus, new development is seemingly popping up by the month lately -- the Town Center Exchange, Top Golf, Baptist Emergency Center, etc -- with no signs of slowing (http://jacksonville.com/business/2015-09-19/story/town-center-boom-set-continue-so-much-more-coming-soon).

Anyone else think it would be an awesome idea to do away with the generic "Town Center Area," and rebrand the area as Midtown Jacksonville? It might not be Midtown Manhattan or Atlanta, but it's certainly as strong of an area as Midtown Charlotte, for example.

I think it would be a great way to tie the Town Center area, Tapestry Park, Tinseltown, Deerwood, all future development, and even UNF together into one unified sense of place. Especially if you could find a way to make the whole area just a little bit more interconnected, whether it be bike trails, shuttles, whatever, connecting things like Top Golf, the movie theater, the shops, the hotels, the dorms, etc.

Am I crazy in thinking that this actually makes a lot of sense? It gives a unifying brand to the area. It differentiates it from Downtown Jacksonville. It de-emphasizes the SJTC, which is great, but only one part of a larger area. It makes on-campus living more desirable at UNF. I think it encourages even more develpoment. Plus, it just sounds like a cooler, more interesting place to point visitors toward than "the St. Johns mall."

Rough borders could look something like this:



Naming alone isn't going to change anything, but in this case, giving a more concrete sense of identity to a really hot yet somewhat disconnected area might make a lot of sense.

The equivalent area in Charlotte is known as SouthPark, and is not their Midtown.

Midtowns are always (if I'm not mistaken) the next "area" up from downtowns, and some cities also then have an uptown.  Sometimes cities take on different/unique names for these areas, but they are always extreme core, not far flung suburban area with miles of highway in between.

Though I like the idea/though-process.  In my opinion, Town Center as a name has grown on me and rolls off the tongue.  Southpoint used to be a name I commonly heard for the adjacent surburbany office area, and I like that name, too.  I would think of Springfield around 8th near 95 more as a Midtown (or Uptown) if it ever came to be something more than it is, but not the SJTC area.

[Doctor_K]

"Skinnerville" ?

[thelakelander]

Looking at the map, I'd say Southpoint ties in with Tinseltown and the Town Center area, more so than anything on Beach Blvd. It's basically a linear corridor or development straddling JTB, along Gate Parkway, Deerwood Park Boulevard and Town Center Parkway.

[vicupstate]

I believe the city council designated Midtown as the name of an area already.  This was doen years ago I believe and was for either the Eastside or the Philip Randolph/ Sports district if I recall correctly.

[Tacachale]

^I think they applied Midtown to what is typically called just the Sports Complex or Stadium district. It hasn't really stuck.

The area definitely needs a name. Southside is far too broad and Town Center is too narrow (and lame, it's not the center of town or anywhere near the St. Johns).

[RattlerGator]

Honestly, no one gives a damn what the city council designated some years back -- that's not going to be controlling. And simms3: "I would think of Springfield around 8th near 95 more as a Midtown (or Uptown) if it ever came to be something more than it is, but not the SJTC area." No one in town is going to think of that area as Midtown -- no one.

Midtown or Uptown works, I think, but given its location South something works better and, personally, South City works for me.