Duval County Courthouse: Still stumbling in the Dark

[tufsu1]

The fences have been removed from the courthouse site. Is something about to start happening or have they just completely given up?

the last I heard construction is supposed to start in December

[MattnJax]

The fences have been removed from the courthouse site. Is something about to start happening or have they just completely given up?

the last I heard construction is supposed to start in December

I sure hope so. If anything is going to spur development downtown in the next few years it's going to be the courthouse project. You have to figure that once it's built then the whole wave of people that make a living from the courthouse will start to move there too. Lawyers, Bail Bonds agencies, and places to eat all come to mind. Maybe it will also spur residential development in the area near the courthouse. 

I still wish they would build a high rise tower such as the ones shown in this article:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/648/115/

instead of the sprawling project that was approved.

[Beloki]

Why not just copy and paste the courthouse from Las Vegas? 
Copy -Paste is no waste. $120 million and we are done.. probably save a little on the designing costs!!!

[thelakelander]

Umm, was it made with concrete or steel? 

[JaxByDefault]

MattnJax,

Most of the people you mention already work downtown--the lawyers, judges, court personnel, bond agencies, etc. (many are currently in the area between the jail and the Cathedral District).

The courthouse itself is an overpriced, terrible design that adds neither street-level connectivity nor architectural distinction to downtown.

If the city wanted to add a legal center that would spur economic development, they should take the same amount of money, go vertical on the old courthouse, address the street, and build/incentivize a complimentary project to lure Florida Coastal School of Law and the large firms that left for suburbs back downtown.

In all, the courthouse plan is seriously flawed and I'm disappointed that they are going through with it as is.

[MattnJax]

MattnJax,

Most of the people you mention already work downtown--the lawyers, judges, court personnel, bond agencies, etc. (many are currently in the area between the jail and the Cathedral District).

The courthouse itself is an overpriced, terrible design that adds neither street-level connectivity nor architectural distinction to downtown.

If the city wanted to add a legal center that would spur economic development, they should take the same amount of money, go vertical on the old courthouse, address the street, and build/incentivize a complimentary project to lure Florida Coastal School of Law and the large firms that left for suburbs back downtown.

In all, the courthouse plan is seriously flawed and I'm disappointed that they are going through with it as is.

Yeah I know what you mean. When I say spur development, I mean for that section of downtown near Lavilla. And I agree it's seriously flawed and should be vertical, but in these hard times flawed development is better than none at all.

[JaxByDefault]

I think at this point, I would rather see no development on this project--at least until a better plan is devised.

Flawed development will take decades to rectify. Once the courthouse is built, the overall connectivity of that area of downtown is disrupted on those 4 city blooks for as long as the courthouse stands. Especially in a down market, money spent should be with an eye toward future development.

[ProjectMaximus]

I think at this point, I would rather see no development on this project--at least until a better plan is devised.

Flawed development will take decades to rectify. Once the courthouse is built, the overall connectivity of that area of downtown is disrupted on those 4 city blooks for as long as the courthouse stands. Especially in a down market, money spent should be with an eye toward future development.

Yes, yes, yes

[thelakelander]

At this point, its better to do nothing until a new administration is in charge as opposed to constructing a poorly designed half billion dollar six block sucking facility.  Its been over 50 years and we're still suffering from the poor designs of buildings constructed during the Haydon Burns era.

With this said, construction on the building will most likely start pretty soon.  The best we can push for is probably better utilization of the wasted blocks that will be created from the current design.

[Hippodamus]

Lakelander, do you work in the field of urban planning anymore?  I wonder why?

[thelakelander]

My firm, like many others, fell victim to the declining local real estate market.  I'm doing contract work until I find a permanent place of employment with decent benefits in the field, which probably means leaving town.

[MattnJax]

My firm, like many others, fell victim to the declining local real estate market.  I'm doing contract work until I find a permanent place of employment with decent benefits in the field, which probably means leaving town.

Sorry to hear that Lake.

[MattnJax]

Drove by this morning and saw about 10 trailers on the job site. Looks like things are starting to ramp-up.

[heights unknown]

Don't hold your breath.  I'll believe it when I SEE IT!

"Heights"

[heights unknown]

That Harris County Courthouse Tower in Houston sure looks good.

"Heights"