DIA wants the Landing to start with a park

[thelakelander]

The Landing site is the most opinionated site in the city's history over the last two decades. This is one where there will never be community consensus. I'm hoping COJ will get something functional done and move on. We've got bigger issues to fry in downtown.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ To me, it is about balance.  One alternate is to have restaurants surround the outer boundaries of a park or green space and open up toward same. 

We had a nice riverfront restaurant on the Southbank and tore it down.  We had several riverfront restaurants on the Northbank and tore those down.  With this track record and resiliency concerns, some decent planning and inputs should be performed before plowing ahead just so we can say we did something.

In Battery Park in Manhattan, they have a restaurant facing the water and it is surrounded on all sides by a park and greenspace.  The difference is they have far more greenspace than Jax has to work with.  Thus, proportionality should be a factor in any developments.  A restaurant should not dominate a park or interfere with non-patrons using the park but, rather, compliment the park's usage.

This picture below from a previous post here of Battery Park demonstrates my comment above about proportionality and balance.  The restaurant is at the far lower right corner of the park's greenspace at the very end of the riverwalk (inset-ed in the angled section).  There is a large outdoor eating plaza between the building and the riverwalk further setting the restaurant building back to make it less obtrusive.  Overall, the restaurant is a tiny fraction of the park's size.  FYI, the mostly round building in the picture is the historic battery structure from which the park takes its name.  The upright light colored panels at the park's midsection are, as I recall, a war memorial.

Note that all the tallest buildings are set well back of the waterfront.  The ultimate plan is to greenbelt the entire Manhattan island at its waterfront.

[thelakelander]

Even with the Battery, I get the impression that Pier A and Castle Clinton would both be opposed if proposed at the Landing site. People in this town have been fanatic about it for decades. We literally just blew up probably the most architecturally unique building we had on the riverfront. Now there's been considerable debate on the location of a single restaurant. Battery Park has more than one place to eat, along with subway lines and a highway running under it. Its also a historic site, which makes it hard to compare or serve as an example for the former Landing site. Nevertheless, its very good that for NYC designated those Battery Park sites as historic landmarks.

[Ken_FSU]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

[Tacachale]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

It'll be a private vendor. Should be picked relatively soon with whatever further interior buildout needs to be done after that.

[Ken_FSU]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

It'll be a private vendor. Should be picked relatively soon with whatever further interior buildout needs to be done after that.

Sweet! Thanks dude!

[Charles Hunter]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

It'll be a private vendor. Should be picked relatively soon with whatever further interior buildout needs to be done after that.

Fudruckers?      

[Tacachale]

Riverfront Plaza Phase I is really starting to come together with the trees that came in recently.

Question for Bill, or anyone who might know.

What's the plan for the cafe space? Will the city run the cafe, or look for a private operator to lease it to?

It'll be a private vendor. Should be picked relatively soon with whatever further interior buildout needs to be done after that.

Fudruckers?      

Mooneyhan Studios and Cafe!

[Joey Mackey]

https://jaxtoday.org/2025/11/14/sidewalk-restaurant-downtown/

The article is a little unclear, but I am assuming the money diverted away from the Riverfront Plaza Restaurant is separate from the Riverfront Plaza Cafe already constructed, is that right to anyone that knows?

[Ken_FSU]

https://jaxtoday.org/2025/11/14/sidewalk-restaurant-downtown/

The article is a little unclear, but I am assuming the money diverted away from the Riverfront Plaza Restaurant is separate from the Riverfront Plaza Cafe already constructed, is that right to anyone that knows?

Correct!

The Riverfront Plaza Cafe already has its shell largely built out, and per Bill's note above, will be leased out to a private operator for build-out and operations. Let's hope the city commits to keeping this space occupied for the long-term across administrations, lest it turn into Shelby's Coffee Shop at the Main Street Library (e.g. retail-bay turned office space for a city/city-adjacent agency).

The Riverfront Plaza Restaurant is the larger, full-restaurant concept tentatively planned for the waterfront, in that oval-shaped portion of the park's green space. This one seems to be in limbo. The squeaky-wheel "never develop any parkland with uses that will attract people to the space" crowd raised some issues. Some Council members were worried about resilience and having a restaurant space under city ownership. And, probably most importantly, Gateway Jax took control of the private development pad at Phase 2.

Riverfront Plaza absolutely needs restaurant space. If Gateway Jax moves forward with their plan for 75,000 of mixed use, a stronger case could probably be made for abstaining from building out the city-owned restaurant space. I'd still love to see both.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[thelakelander]

We still have lots of underutilized space facing the Landing site and river at the Times-Union Center, Enterprise Center and One Independent Square. So there's still things that can be done to further activate the park and immediate area.

[Tacachale]

We still have lots of underutilized space facing the Landing site and river at the Times-Union Center, Enterprise Center and One Independent Square. So there's still things that can be done to further activate the park and immediate area.

DIA has plans for this at various stages of development. Some will hopefully see movement relatively soon and I think they're likelier to come together in the mid-term than the restaurant in the park. Of course that may well come back in the future, but right now the momentum is focused on wrapping this phase and getting on to the next.

I'm very proud we've been able to move on this so quickly — it's easy to forget that not one square foot of construction happened until July 2023. It's a hell of an accomplishment, but to me it just highlights how disastrous the demolition of the Landing was.

[fsu813]

https://jaxtoday.org/2025/11/14/sidewalk-restaurant-downtown/

The article is a little unclear, but I am assuming the money diverted away from the Riverfront Plaza Restaurant is separate from the Riverfront Plaza Cafe already constructed, is that right to anyone that knows?

Correct!

A dozen nice Adirondack chairs.

That's the best/fast/easiest/cheapest way to activate the specific part of the park that was originally designated as a riverfront restaurant development pad, and is now open greenspace on a bit of a hill.

Instantly alluring, instantly popular. Especially in our current mild season.

[Ken_FSU]

I'm very proud we've been able to move on this so quickly — it's easy to forget that not one square foot of construction happened until July 2023. It's a hell of an accomplishment, but to me it just highlights how disastrous the demolition of the Landing was.

Not that we're keeping track, but that's roughly half as long as the former administration let Friendship Park sit rotting and blocked off.

And completely agree. Will take us 20 years to piecemeal back what we lost with the demolition of the Landing, but that shouldn't take away from the accomplishment with Riverfront Plaza. You can feel a lot of excitement building for the soft opening next weekend on the socials. Stoked to check it out!

[acme54321]

Has an opening date for the park been set yet?  It looks close.