DIA wants the Landing to start with a park

[tufsu1]

Does the $25 million include the JAX sculpture?  Where does that stand?

Nope, the sculpture will be funded separately, with the hope being that sponsorship/private donation will cover a large chunk of it.

never mind that the winning firm said their original design could be done for around $15 million, not including the sculpture.

[Steve]

My guess is they will likely have cover on the cost increase because of significant inflation. I'm not saying it's entirely that; there were concerns about the price when they submitted, but I bet that will work.

[Tacachale]

I was watching the news this morning and they were interviewing people about their thoughts on the old landing site. One woman said she wishes the city would add more family entertainment options downtown and I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.
Now you may ask why I found that amusing. My company has been trying for 3 years to put one or even multiple entertainment options in the downtown core, but the city is not the least bit interested in any of the options we tried, so we moved our efforts to the most urban area of town we could.
I was truly surprise at the we only want office, restaurants, bars or retail attitude. once you eat or get of work wouldn't be nice to have something fun to do afterwards.....not in downtown Jacksonville unfortunately.

What did y'all propose?

[heights unknown]

That building is too tall for that area, hopefully they make it about a dozen floors shorter

Wrooooooong...and NO. Leave it as is...it really should be 12 floors taller.

[CG7]

I was watching the news this morning and they were interviewing people about their thoughts on the old landing site. One woman said she wishes the city would add more family entertainment options downtown and I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.
Now you may ask why I found that amusing. My company has been trying for 3 years to put one or even multiple entertainment options in the downtown core, but the city is not the least bit interested in any of the options we tried, so we moved our efforts to the most urban area of town we could.
I was truly surprise at the we only want office, restaurants, bars or retail attitude. once you eat or get of work wouldn't be nice to have something fun to do afterwards.....not in downtown Jacksonville unfortunately.


What did y'all propose?


We proposed multiple options that were all family friendly, but the type of facility isn't the issue the CBD is not zoned for any family entertainment options.

[fsu813]

I was watching the news this morning and they were interviewing people about their thoughts on the old landing site. One woman said she wishes the city would add more family entertainment options downtown and I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.
Now you may ask why I found that amusing. My company has been trying for 3 years to put one or even multiple entertainment options in the downtown core, but the city is not the least bit interested in any of the options we tried, so we moved our efforts to the most urban area of town we could.
I was truly surprise at the we only want office, restaurants, bars or retail attitude. once you eat or get of work wouldn't be nice to have something fun to do afterwards.....not in downtown Jacksonville unfortunately.


What did y'all propose?


We proposed multiple options that were all family friendly, but the type of facility isn't the issue the CBD is not zoned for any family entertainment options.

PUD's are a relatively easy way to work around zoning issues.

[thelakelander]

I'm not sure of the site locations evaluated or the specific use (Dave and Busters, axe throwing or a movie cinema would be considered family entertainment but all are very different) but various family entertainment oriented uses will generally fit within the zoning overlay.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ I note there are theaters and museums along with the convention center, hotel ballrooms and restaurants/bars that feature all kinds of entertainment activities Downtown and there used to be movie theaters (the Florida Theater still runs movies sometimes, as I recall).  If you include the stadiums and arena, you have most everything else covered.  So, one would think what "harm" would one more venue provide unless something like parking is an issue.  Was the venue to be located, say, on the Riverwalk?  Maybe that is a specialized situation. 

But, overall, agree, entertainment options need to be a part of the solution to Downtown.

[Bativac]

Kinda sounds like a place, a City to just skip. Convoluted. Or worse.
And if inclined to open public park space on waterway, even just a tiny sliver...... skip this place.

If it wasn't for the fact that I was born there, love the place, and have such a history from "back in the day" there, I would agree with you; but I can't. I will continue to root and pull for Jacksonville until my last breath. But the leadership does suck, tremendously. It's one thing to suck, but to suck and not even be good at it and completely worthless.......that's all I'm going to say.

I was born and raised there too and have family that goes back generations... family that was business owners, land owners, heck there were even a TV news anchor and a mayor among my family. But at some point you realize "this place will never change" and move on. If I didn't still have a ton of family there I would not continue following the goings-on. Sad!

[heights unknown]

Kinda sounds like a place, a City to just skip. Convoluted. Or worse.
And if inclined to open public park space on waterway, even just a tiny sliver...... skip this place.

If it wasn't for the fact that I was born there, love the place, and have such a history from "back in the day" there, I would agree with you; but I can't. I will continue to root and pull for Jacksonville until my last breath. But the leadership does suck, tremendously. It's one thing to suck, but to suck and not even be good at it and completely worthless.......that's all I'm going to say.

I was born and raised there too and have family that goes back generations... family that was business owners, land owners, heck there were even a TV news anchor and a mayor among my family. But at some point you realize "this place will never change" and move on. If I didn't still have a ton of family there I would not continue following the goings-on. Sad!

Yes, it is sad; I will not refute or disagree on that, but, I won't give up on Jax. It's like a football team that you know can do the job, and even win, but they keep winning, year after year, no more than 4 or 5 games. Do you give up on them? Or do you continue to root for them, pull for them, and stand by their side? Yes, it's sad, but we can't just give up, and, IMO, that's not the American way. I don't like the way our nation has become, but I won't give up on the good ole U.S.A.! Got it?

[Tacachale]

The city has changed a great deal over the years, much of it for the better. Unfortunately Downtown has not seen the growth other areas have.

[jcjohnpaint]

I do agree. It has improved quite a bit. I also think DT has had some great successes with the restorations. Every little improvement gets us closer. Since w live in Avondale, lots of houses being refurbished.

[jaxoNOLE]

Any rumblings on the progress here? According to DIA's October minutes, 100% design was expected "by January." I don't see anything related to the Landing or Perkins & Will in the agenda for this month.

[fsu813]

Any rumblings on the progress here? According to DIA's October minutes, 100% design was expected "by January." I don't see anything related to the Landing or Perkins & Will in the agenda for this month.

Update on riverfront projects via DIA & other community partners will be Feb 8th @ 5:30 - 7:30, WJCT. 

Should be a formal announcement soon.

[jaxoNOLE]

Any rumblings on the progress here? According to DIA's October minutes, 100% design was expected "by January." I don't see anything related to the Landing or Perkins & Will in the agenda for this month.

Update on riverfront projects via DIA, with other community partners in attendance, will be Feb 8th @ 5:30 - 7:30, WJCT. 

Should be a formal announcement soon.

Cool, thanks!