DIA wants the Landing to start with a park

[Ken_FSU]

Is the 'mound' due to flooding concerns?

From my understanding, based on Perkins&Will original presentation, elevating the central lawn was a design decision meant to maximize river views from that area. The tradeoff being, obviously, that you kind of kill sightlines and river views for everything on the street side of the mound by elevating the entire center of the park. I'm not a park designer, but it's certainly a choice that I would not have made unless absolutely necessary for resiliency.

After great communication early and the I Dig Jax communication initiative/outreach about a year ago, I feel like we're due for another update from the mayor's office on park status.

Right now, it feels like there are a ton of unknowns.

1. What in the world is going on with the Pearl?
2. When will the city fill the cafe space at the new Riverfront Plaza?
3. What does the beer garden in Phase 2 look like in reality (e.g. where will the beverages come from - fixed concessions or temporary?)
4. What's the status of the centerpiece public art piece for Riverfront Plaza?
5. What is the plan for the former MOSH space?
6. What will happen to the riverwalk/connections during ongoing construction?
7. What's the status of McCoy's Creek?
8. Do we have final designs for Shipyards West park?
9. What's going on with the proposed JWJ Park redesign?
10. When can we expect Musical Heritage Park to be open to the public?
11. When will the Metro Park redesign break ground?
12. What is the status and timelines of restaurant projects at Friendship Fountain & Riverfront Plaza.
13. What are the next steps/milestones for Related's private development at Riverfront Plaza, and how will park construction be affected. 
14. What is the plan of attack for the Emerald Trail, in terms of backfilling for the lost grant of changing the project to fit existing budget.

Would love to see the early momentum in terms of keeping the public in the loop and involved continue here in the second year.

[acme54321]

Right now, it feels like there are a ton of unknowns.

1. What in the world is going on with the Pearl?
2. When will the city fill the cafe space at the new Riverfront Plaza?
3. What does the beer garden in Phase 2 look like in reality (e.g. where will the beverages come from - fixed concessions or temporary?)
4. What's the status of the centerpiece public art piece for Riverfront Plaza?
5. What is the plan for the former MOSH space?
6. What will happen to the riverwalk/connections during ongoing construction?
7. What's the status of McCoy's Creek?
8. Do we have final designs for Shipyards West park?
9. What's going on with the proposed JWJ Park redesign?
10. When can we expect Musical Heritage Park to be open to the public?
11. When will the Metro Park redesign break ground?
12. What is the status and timelines of restaurant projects at Friendship Fountain & Riverfront Plaza.

Would love to see the early momentum in terms of keeping the public in the loop and involved continue here in the second year.

All of this.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ You can add, when will the City replace the letter "A" in the Laura Street marker? 

[Ken_FSU]

^ You can add, when will the City replace the letter "A" in the Laura Street marker? 

Have walked by ten times and didn't even notice 

Must need more sleep.

[Tacachale]

Is the 'mound' due to flooding concerns?

From my understanding, based on Perkins&Will original presentation, elevating the central lawn was a design decision meant to maximize river views from that area. The tradeoff being, obviously, that you kind of kill sightlines and river views for everything on the street side of the mound by elevating the entire center of the park. I'm not a park designer, but it's certainly a choice that I would not have made unless absolutely necessary for resiliency.

After great communication early and the I Dig Jax communication initiative/outreach about a year ago, I feel like we're due for another update from the mayor's office on park status.

Right now, it feels like there are a ton of unknowns.

1. What in the world is going on with the Pearl?
2. When will the city fill the cafe space at the new Riverfront Plaza?
3. What does the beer garden in Phase 2 look like in reality (e.g. where will the beverages come from - fixed concessions or temporary?)
4. What's the status of the centerpiece public art piece for Riverfront Plaza?
5. What is the plan for the former MOSH space?
6. What will happen to the riverwalk/connections during ongoing construction?
7. What's the status of McCoy's Creek?
8. Do we have final designs for Shipyards West park?
9. What's going on with the proposed JWJ Park redesign?
10. When can we expect Musical Heritage Park to be open to the public?
11. When will the Metro Park redesign break ground?
12. What is the status and timelines of restaurant projects at Friendship Fountain & Riverfront Plaza.
13. What are the next steps/milestones for Related's private development at Riverfront Plaza, and how will park construction be affected. 
14. What is the plan of attack for the Emerald Trail, in terms of backfilling for the lost grant of changing the project to fit existing budget.

Would love to see the early momentum in terms of keeping the public in the loop and involved continue here in the second year.

Good call, I'll see what I can do.

[Ken_FSU]

Is the 'mound' due to flooding concerns?

From my understanding, based on Perkins&Will original presentation, elevating the central lawn was a design decision meant to maximize river views from that area. The tradeoff being, obviously, that you kind of kill sightlines and river views for everything on the street side of the mound by elevating the entire center of the park. I'm not a park designer, but it's certainly a choice that I would not have made unless absolutely necessary for resiliency.

After great communication early and the I Dig Jax communication initiative/outreach about a year ago, I feel like we're due for another update from the mayor's office on park status.

Right now, it feels like there are a ton of unknowns.

1. What in the world is going on with the Pearl?
2. When will the city fill the cafe space at the new Riverfront Plaza?
3. What does the beer garden in Phase 2 look like in reality (e.g. where will the beverages come from - fixed concessions or temporary?)
4. What's the status of the centerpiece public art piece for Riverfront Plaza?
5. What is the plan for the former MOSH space?
6. What will happen to the riverwalk/connections during ongoing construction?
7. What's the status of McCoy's Creek?
8. Do we have final designs for Shipyards West park?
9. What's going on with the proposed JWJ Park redesign?
10. When can we expect Musical Heritage Park to be open to the public?
11. When will the Metro Park redesign break ground?
12. What is the status and timelines of restaurant projects at Friendship Fountain & Riverfront Plaza.
13. What are the next steps/milestones for Related's private development at Riverfront Plaza, and how will park construction be affected. 
14. What is the plan of attack for the Emerald Trail, in terms of backfilling for the lost grant of changing the project to fit existing budget.

Would love to see the early momentum in terms of keeping the public in the loop and involved continue here in the second year.

Good call, I'll see what I can do.

You the man, Bill!

[Ken_FSU]

Just walked through JWJ Park. Sad to see how it's pretty much devolved back into a spot where the bums* play cards and everyone else avoids. The park staff appears to be down to just one guy (Randy, who is awesome), the public art and fountains have largely been removed, the kids play area has been decommissioned, and the movable furniture (aside from the card tables) no longer seems to be put out.

*Before I worked down here, I would have been aghast at classifying the park's homeless population as "bums." But when you see the same able-bodied and able-minded individuals (of all backgrounds, to be clear) loitering in the park all day, every day, for years, smoking weed and leaving trash everywhere, I don't really what other word to use.

Clearly not budget to prioritize every public space at once, particularly in a city so opposed to anything that even resembles taxation, but I remain fully convinced that JWJP is every bit as important as Riverfront Plaza, and even more important than the other riverfront parks. Would love to see any master plan that ever does come to fruition treat this spot as our proper, central town square, with flexible uses, regular programming, and permanent amenities. It's such an important epicenter for everything going on between the Gateway development and the riverfront.

[thelakelander]

^Take the demo money set aside for MOSH and sink it into that space for a quick win.

[vicupstate]

How is the 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' park doing?  Is it being visited by homeless as well or is it empty a lot of the time or s it filled often and by non-homeless residents?

 

[fsu813]

Just walked through JWJ Park. Sad to see how it's pretty much devolved back into a spot where the bums* play cards and everyone else avoids. The park staff appears to be down to just one guy (Randy, who is awesome), the public art and fountains have largely been removed, the kids play area has been decommissioned, and the movable furniture (aside from the card tables) no longer seems to be put out.

*Before I worked down here, I would have been aghast at classifying the park's homeless population as "bums." But when you see the same able-bodied and able-minded individuals (of all backgrounds, to be clear) loitering in the park all day, every day, for years, smoking weed and leaving trash everywhere, I don't really what other word to use.

Clearly not budget to prioritize every public space at once, particularly in a city so opposed to anything that even resembles taxation, but I remain fully convinced that JWJP is every bit as important as Riverfront Plaza, and even more important than the other riverfront parks. Would love to see any master plan that ever does come to fruition treat this spot as our proper, central town square, with flexible uses, regular programming, and permanent amenities. It's such an important epicenter for everything going on between the Gateway development and the riverfront.

Make JWJ Park into Bryant Park (NYC) for an easy, successful resolution. A complex checker board of uses (the current proposal) isn't needed, sometimes the simple/classic/more affordable design is the best.

[thelakelander]

How is the 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' park doing?  Is it being visited by homeless as well or is it empty a lot of the time or s it filled often and by non-homeless residents?

It is maintained better than the typical Jacksonville public space. I tend to keep an eye on it since its in LaVilla and linked to a number of neighborhood revitalization initiatives going on at the moment. duPont has a group that tries to program the park with events. Outside of special event time, people attracted to Salvation Army's services across the street to visit the space. In recent months, its been cool to see the vision begin to come together with the development of the adjacent townhouses and Emerald Trail. Its an area of LaVilla that's coming back to life. Once the townhouses are complete, my guess is the park will become a destination for homeowners walking their dogs, trail users and people experiencing cultural heritage sites in Jacksonville. Here are a few pictures that I've taken over the last few months.












This is one of my favorite vision to implementation pictures. We don't want concentrated poverty and affordable housing in the neighborhood, because to have an economic base and to support the retail people would like to see, we'll need people with disposable income living there too. There's also an eye towards maintaining and strengthening LaVilla's cultural heritage and historic demographics. By having a market rate produce like Johnson Commons in the neighborhood, it is drawing a concentration of group of people that is much more aligned with LaVilla's historic ethnic diversity than most suburban areas of the city.

Love that the guy on the third floor balcony is looking at me like "who is the weird guy taking random pictures in my neighborhood," not knowing any idea of where we were at with this neighborhood five to ten years ago.

[vicupstate]

Thanks, Lake.

I did not see any units on Realtor.com, are these rental units only?

[thelakelander]

They are for sale townhouse products.

https://breezehomes.com/communities/johnson-commons/

[heights unknown]

They are for sale townhouse products.

https://breezehomes.com/communities/johnson-commons/

Nice. Thinking about moving back to Jax; if I do, downtown is probably my #1 option.