LaVilla master development plan

[tufsu1]

Hmmm....so the trail is actually a trail? I'm not crazy about what's described in that statement. I'll need to dig into the details but in general, spare the art and small pocket parks and instead build some damn density and work with what's left (as much as possible) to provide a more authentic urban experience. Also LaVilla was much more than just a black neighborhood.

best guess this is tied into the catalyst project of the Emerald Trail, which is planned to run down Lee Street

[thelakelander]

I know that route. It misses everything historically significant that's still standing except for the old train station. If the dashed line on the map is an indicator, part of the trail uses that segment's path before it veers into the Rail Yard District.

[Charles Hunter]

One of the articles mentioned the LaVilla Trail would be tied into the Emerald Trail.

[thelakelander]

I don't have the concept plan in front of me at the moment but the propsed Emerald Trail route through LaVilla runs on Park to Lee to Church to get under I-95 to connect to the S-Line.

[heights unknown]

Hmmm....so the trail is actually a trail? I'm not crazy about what's described in that statement. I'll need to dig into the details but in general, spare the art and small pocket parks and instead build some damn density and work with what's left (as much as possible) to provide a more authentic urban experience. Also LaVilla was much more than just a black neighborhood.

I lived in, and was raised in LaVilla until 1968; so what do you mean, "it WAS much more than just a black neighborhood?" Please explain, and no I am not getting defensive or racist; I just want to know exactly what you mean.

[thelakelander]

Sure, dating back to the late 19th century, LaVilla had a red light district and was home to Jewish, Chinese, Greek, Cuban, and Middle Eastern immigrant communities during various periods of the neighborhood's history. Jax has a bit of the southern dominant focus on black/white, and as such, we ignore/forget important contributions from others as well. For example, the area's Cuban community and cigar industry was the reason José Martí came to Jax several times during the 1890s. Here's a few articles about a couple of these groups and their history with LaVilla:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/recalling-downtowns-greek-railroad-row/

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jacksonvilles-early-20th-century-chinese-community/

https://www.moderncities.com/article/2018-apr-move-over-tampa-jax-is-floridas-forgotten-cigar-city

[fieldafm]

Makes sense in the long run for overall bike system connectivity but I don't know if I'd label it a critical part of redeveloping the neighborhood. But I guess it all depends on whatever specific vision they're attempting to accomplish. 4 of the top 5 things identify what to possibly do with city owned land and streets. Perhaps the strategy simply identifies how to prioritize their development and not how to make LaVilla different from the plain jane infill taking place across the rest of the downtown area.

I have a question.  The LaVilla study was conducted by Rummel-Munz along with other design groups.  These guys are principals of the entity managing/developing the District.  Is this standard in most cities to have developers who seek city financing for their development projects to actually conduct neighborhood strategy planning at the request of a city agency - for a separate neighborhood outside of the immediate vicinity of their current project?  Feels like there's a really conspicuous conflict here.  The Bizjournal reports on the study paint a fairly bland picture of the strategy.  We need two multi-family developments and 50 infill townhomes on city-owned lots?  I like the focus on street-activation, but as someone who's just relocated to the city center of Charlotte and just returned from an extensive holiday visit to Jax, I'm unclear on any sort of draw to live in LaVilla.

Hate to be cynical on a Friday, but when you start to understand that downtown development in Jacksonville is mostly designed to benefit politically-connected individuals, and less about adhering to time-honored principals of urban design/strategies and encouraging an environment in which market-rate development can thrive... you begin to understand why 'downtown development' has languished for my entire lifespan (and I was born here 40 years ago).

[Captain Zissou]

Makes sense in the long run for overall bike system connectivity but I don't know if I'd label it a critical part of redeveloping the neighborhood. But I guess it all depends on whatever specific vision they're attempting to accomplish. 4 of the top 5 things identify what to possibly do with city owned land and streets. Perhaps the strategy simply identifies how to prioritize their development and not how to make LaVilla different from the plain jane infill taking place across the rest of the downtown area.

I have a question.  The LaVilla study was conducted by Rummel-Munz along with other design groups.  These guys are principals of the entity managing/developing the District.  Is this standard in most cities to have developers who seek city financing for their development projects to actually conduct neighborhood strategy planning at the request of a city agency - for a separate neighborhood outside of the immediate vicinity of their current project?  Feels like there's a really conspicuous conflict here.  The Bizjournal reports on the study paint a fairly bland picture of the strategy.  We need two multi-family developments and 50 infill townhomes on city-owned lots?  I like the focus on street-activation, but as someone who's just relocated to the city center of Charlotte and just returned from an extensive holiday visit to Jax, I'm unclear on any sort of draw to live in LaVilla.

Hate to be cynical on a Friday, but when you start to understand that downtown development in Jacksonville is mostly designed to benefit politically-connected individuals, and less about adhering to time-honored principals of urban design/strategies and encouraging an environment in which market-rate development can thrive... you begin to understand why 'downtown development' has languished for my entire lifespan (and I was born here 40 years ago).

You're 40 now??? GEEZ

[fieldafm]

Makes sense in the long run for overall bike system connectivity but I don't know if I'd label it a critical part of redeveloping the neighborhood. But I guess it all depends on whatever specific vision they're attempting to accomplish. 4 of the top 5 things identify what to possibly do with city owned land and streets. Perhaps the strategy simply identifies how to prioritize their development and not how to make LaVilla different from the plain jane infill taking place across the rest of the downtown area.

I have a question.  The LaVilla study was conducted by Rummel-Munz along with other design groups.  These guys are principals of the entity managing/developing the District.  Is this standard in most cities to have developers who seek city financing for their development projects to actually conduct neighborhood strategy planning at the request of a city agency - for a separate neighborhood outside of the immediate vicinity of their current project?  Feels like there's a really conspicuous conflict here.  The Bizjournal reports on the study paint a fairly bland picture of the strategy.  We need two multi-family developments and 50 infill townhomes on city-owned lots?  I like the focus on street-activation, but as someone who's just relocated to the city center of Charlotte and just returned from an extensive holiday visit to Jax, I'm unclear on any sort of draw to live in LaVilla.

Hate to be cynical on a Friday, but when you start to understand that downtown development in Jacksonville is mostly designed to benefit politically-connected individuals, and less about adhering to time-honored principals of urban design/strategies and encouraging an environment in which market-rate development can thrive... you begin to understand why 'downtown development' has languished for my entire lifespan (and I was born here 40 years ago).

You're 40 now??? GEEZ

[thelakelander]

I have reviewed the draft now. Because it's in draft form, I'm hopefully the final draft will include some potential major opportunities currently omitted. Here's my general thoughts at the moment.

1. There doesn't appear to be a preservation piece or incorporation of what's still left of LaVilla into the plan. A trail highlighting a few individuals a few blocks away from real historic sites isn't preservation, incorporation, promotion or building upon what's left and meaningful to the community.


2. Big assumptions are made about the retail market. However, there's no data suggesting these opinions should be taken at face value. Brooklyn Station is 100% occupied. The proposed shopping center next to it will include national tenants currently not in DT. Vista Brooklyn is coming in with more retail spaces. These types of uses don't happen if there isn't some type of market rate base. Even if there is no retail market, is there a particular corridor where we'd want to see things happen? The report doesn't address it.


3. Big miss on Broad and Jefferson streets. They aren't really addressed at all, outside of saying that there are development challenges due to the presence of homeless people and social services. I'm from Central Florida. Parramore (Orlando) and Tampa Heights are booming with redevelopment adjacent to these conditions. A food hall just opened next door to Salvation Army in Tampa Heights. Social services don't scare urban pioneers. Anyway, other than State/Union, they carry the most traffic through the area and connect with parts of the city, north and south. Historically Broad was a mixed-use walkable commercial corridor. Consideration should be given to policies allowing for it to redevelopment as a major mixed-used walkable urban district. This is something the area lacks, an important part of vibrant urban districts and one the report fails to address, even at build-out of the overall plan. COJ also owns a few key sites on this strip. They could be used to foster revitalization.


4. Back to the preservation/heritage concern. What are the historic sites, national register, local landmarks, etc. in LaVilla (I know them, but they aren't addressed in the document)? Are there important sites that aren't landmarked that could be torn down tomorrow with little debate? Is there enough density of remaining building fabric for a small historic or conservation district? Should there be recommendations to modify zoning, site plan, building facade, material, etc. design criteria that leads to LaVilla having a sense of place and urban contextual feel that's different from the rest of the urban core? Should LaVilla's streetscape be different from the rest of downtown's? All of these questions are potential ways to pay historic homage and open the door to more equitable economic inclusion? Are there potential uses for adjacent city owned properties that can lead to compatible infill, incrementally rebuilding a corridor-scale sense of place with the assistance of remaining historic sites?

5. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with more residential and missing middle housing (basically what was razed in the 1990s) in LaVilla on various vacant sites. However, that's common sense. So while the report addresses this, I believe there's a large opportunity that can be included via preservation (sorry, that's not the trail -- which is still good for general connectivity and recreation).

My hope is that this effort isn't used to shape minimal criteria for future RFPs for city-owned properties throughout the neighborhood. There's not enough data in it to limit flexibility, creativity and economically feasible concepts that the consultant team, city and community may not be currently considering.

[heights unknown]

Sure, dating back to the late 19th century, LaVilla had a red light district and was home to Jewish, Chinese, Greek, Cuban, and Middle Eastern immigrant communities during various periods of the neighborhood's history. Jax has a bit of the southern dominant focus on black/white, and as such, we ignore/forget important contributions from others as well. For example, the area's Cuban community and cigar industry was the reason José Martí came to Jax several times during the 1890s. Here's a few articles about a couple of these groups and their history with LaVilla:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/recalling-downtowns-greek-railroad-row/

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/jacksonvilles-early-20th-century-chinese-community/

https://www.moderncities.com/article/2018-apr-move-over-tampa-jax-is-floridas-forgotten-cigar-city

OK; I was well aware of the cauldron of different ethnic groups before the black influx and settling; in fact, before we moved to Fort Myers in 1968, I had a Jewish girlfriend. And there were still some Chinese still there in the way of restaurants, etc. I agree wholeheartedly with you that whatever they come up with, should incorporate and include not only the important black influence of LaVilla (history, culture, etc.), but also the other racial and ethnic groups as well. Thanks Lake for clearing and elaborating more on your point (what you said in your previous post)