Your Downtown Dream...

[thelakelander]

Sometime before 1938.  Its probably safe to assume sprawl in South Florida grew around it in the past 70 years.

http://www.seminoletribe.com/history/survival.shtml

[Ocklawaha]

Easy to do folks, we just have to deed the land to the tribe or they can purchase it. IF it is placed in trust by the BIA then it becomes soverign indian land, a reservation beyond the reach of the City, or County. Check out the following exerpt:

Jan. 23--One of the largest hotels in Florida could one day tower over Coconut Creek as the Seminole Tribe of Florida considers transforming its casino there. And the Seminoles could go forward with the project without the city's oversight if the federal government approves their request to have 44 acres of land declared sovereign.

Preliminary plans filed at Coconut Creek City Hall call for a 24-story, 1,500-room hotel at the casino -- 500 more rooms than Broward County's largest hotel, The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood. The nine-story parking garage alone would be five stories higher than the tallest building in Coconut Creek.

The proposed entertainment complex near State Road 7 and Sample Road also would include an expanded casino, a 2,500-seat concert venue and 150,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and offices.

A bulked-up casino could mean big changes for the city of about 50,000 that touts its major tourist attraction as the world's largest butterfly aviary. The increased traffic worries some city officials.

Seminole Gaming CEO James Allen said the initial proposal shows the casino site's potential. There's no market for a 1,500-room hotel in Coconut Creek now, but that would change if the Seminoles are successful in getting Las Vegas-style slot machines and table games, he said.

"If we maximize all the land, that's the type of resort that could be built there," Allen said. "It's a master plan, not a definite plan."

Allen said the casino complex could employ as many as 5,000 people, which would make it the city's largest employer.

The Seminole Tribal Council hasn't signed off on any development plans yet, said tribal attorney Jim Shore.

Within coming years, Broward could have as many as six major gambling/entertainment complexes. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood -- the first one to open -- already has solidified its reputation as a major South Florida destination. Mardi Gras Racetrack & Gaming Center in Hallandale Beach wants to build a complex with a 320-room hotel and retail space comparable to the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale. A project attached to Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach is slated to have a 500-room hotel, 750,000 square feet of retail space and 1,500 residential units.

The current Seminole Coconut Creek Casino sits on almost five acres of sovereign land, deeded to the tribe two decades ago by the county in exchange for Hollywood tribal property used for road easements. The tribe has since bought 44 acres surrounding the casino, which are subject to city, county and state regulations and taxes. All of the proposed entertainment complex would be on that land except for the casino, some hotel rooms and a smoke shop.

But the Seminoles have asked the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to have those 44 acres put in a trust, making it sovereign land. If that happens, the city would have no legal authority over the development and the county couldn't assess taxes. There have been no estimates done on how much tax money the county could lose if the project is fully built.

For those who are unfamiliar with the area, this is quite North of the current Casino, and more or less Northwest of Ft. Lauderdale, but still in the Burbs. There is already a Metro-Rail station at Coconut Creek, and FTL has plans for a LRT system.

[Houseboat Mike]

A lot of the ideas mentioned at the beginning of this article are brilliant, and should seriously be considered. Especially about the north pole trip.

[MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain]

Theme park

Wishful thinking... but Maxwell House is obviously an eyesore. I understand they want to invest in it, and it's the last manufacture in the country. However, for a second imagine if it was relocated to somewhere out of downtown that's more suitable for manufacturing. My proposition is what if MH moves?

I think this would be a great project to put in its place. I'm talking about a cruise ship themed hotel. This would be perfect as far as location. You have a great Shipyards West park across the street, MOSH minutes away, potentially a Convention center nearby and it's also minutes from the stadiums and arena.

A project of this magnitude would put Jacksonville on the map. A all in 1 resort. This cruise ship themed hotel/ resort would include retail space, hotel rooms, aquarium (which everyone has been asking for), sports bar maybe, like actual an cruise ship, dining, ballrooms for shows etc, and casino (far fetched), theme park on top decks, and 2 towers of hotel/residence.

This project would be good for Jacksonville because it brings people downtown! Retail, dining, family friendly themed park(none in this general area), and much needed hotel rooms DT etc. It would be a destination for Jacksonville and non Jacksonville residence alike. Instead of being a drive through city, this can attract more tourist.

The plans are online if you were to dig into it. It never was fully built because of feuds between the residence and government, then later politics. It is called the Harbour City Melaka. But I envision possibly a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino(if allowed).



This is the original planned resort promo.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PBKFpzzG0vw&pp=ygUTSGFyYm91ciBjaXR5IG1lbGFrYQ%3D%3D

Included is a few of the plans and stateroom floor plans. There's other site that show more in depth building plans.

https://www.propertyguru.com.my/condo/harbour-city-resort-suites-pulau-melaka-7652

https://melakaharbourcitymall.weebly.com/retail-mall.html


Would like to hear others thoughts on this.

[jaxlongtimer]

^FYI, what is now call the Southbank Hotel Jacksonville Riverwalk by Marriott (rebranded so many times I can remember all the names) originally opened with a nautical theme as a Sheraton as it was developed as a joint venture with Jacksonville Shipyards on land they once used to service ships.

In the lobby, was a giant polished steel ship propeller (like 10 to 12 feet across it seemed) and the upscale dining room was called the Admiralty Room. 

Sadly, the property has not been utilized to its fullest extent in modern times and based on web reviews, it appears it is in dire need of a complete makeover and update.  Surprised Marriott puts their name on it but it isn't the first Marriott that hasn't lived up to their so called "reputation."  Seems they have gotten a bit sloppy enforcing the standards they claim to adhere to.

[Ken_FSU]

Maxwell House is one of Downtown Jax's most unique, iconic assets. The giant sign. The steampunk architecture. The smell of roasting coffee drifting across downtown when the wind blows north. The very last thing we need to do is remove one of the few remaining things that make Downtown Jax what it is. If anything, we should be working with them to have some public facing element of the factory on Bay Street.

[Jones518]

Maxwell needs to start hosting tours of that facility!! They would get a lot of spill-over support from the new Jacksonville History Center, new MOSH, Vystar Arena events, Jags stadium, and etc....

So many people have echoed this.

I did see MaxWell recently announced they are investing a decent amount of money into their dt Jax facility...I'd like to learn more about their plans for the facility.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2025/may/22/kraft-heinz-plans-upgrades-to-maxwell-house-coffee-plant/

[Des]

I remember touring Maxwell's facility during a field trip in elementary school. That was over 20 years ago, though. Not sure when they stopped

[Charles Hunter]

Back in the mid-70s, when I was a wee Transportation-Logistics major at UNF (then, only an upper-division school). we got a tour of the Maxwell House plant. Fascinating. As I recall, the factory wasn't really set up for tours, and the MH people shepherded us closely to make sure we didn't get in their way, or we didn't get roasted or canned.

[Zac T]

I'd love to see a Maxwell House coffee shop or kiosk built to coincide with Shipyards West Park across the street

[thelakelander]

I remember touring Maxwell's facility during a field trip in elementary school. That was over 20 years ago, though. Not sure when they stopped

Probably the same reason Busch stopped doing their tours. Ownership changes and the bigger companies are more concerned about profitability, streamlining production and staff. So some of the nonrevenue generating things (i.e. tours) get the ax.

[jaxlongtimer]

^Aside from corporate efficiencies, there are issues of food safety, security and liability in today's world.  Sad but true.  Most high profile companies now have full time in-house security, badging, and even metal detectors and multiple layers of locking doors.

What would be best is to set up an isolated "simulated" factory/museum with a coffee sampling counter.  This promotes the brand without interfering in operational issues.  Some wineries in California and candy factories (see Hershey, PA) do this.  Even some government sites like the FBI in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center.

Maybe if a factory went through major renovations, they could build in a tour path that would allow visitors to look on behind glass walls, physically separating them from operations.  May not be easy to do in a 100 year old building, though.

[MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain]

Besides my above MH proposal, what about a Ferris wheel between Jags HQ and MOSH? Last I read was JEA was going to use it as staging site - that was a year or 2 ago.

[Zac T]

I would love to have a ferris wheel along the river. I know they're gimmicky tourist traps but I do enjoy riding one when visiting a new city and seeing the different vantage points