Downtown Construction Update - December 2008

[avonjax]

Gee Riverside G maybe they will tear it down and leave a surface parking lot the for next 30 years.

[RiversideGator]

Not the route I would take.  I would tear it down after building a new police HQ elsewhere and then do an RFP for housing on that site.

[Lucasjj]

When is the Irish pub in 5 points opening?

I walked by last night and the place is almost fully functional. They have their signs up, as well as TVs and speakers set up. The menu is also outside the door now, and below it is a schedule for the next week. Their tentative opening to the public is this coming Wednesday from 4:30 to ?. It looks great inside, it will be a great addition to this area.

[Basstacular]

They have been putting on a new roof for the police building.  What once was a pretty park like setting up there was torn down after 9/11 and looked awful is now being replaced with what looks to be a standard black tar roof.  (Or whatever they put up there)

[Lucasjj]

I think relocating the police head quarters and the jail would be a good idea, if they want to revitalize that area for entertainment and condos. I don't see how people would want to pay for a high priced condo that over looks a prison. I do not see how in the long term that is going to help the value of those areas.

[RiversideGator]

Exactly.  The long run solution will be the relocation of the jail and the PMB to the western side of downtown to make it closer to the new courthouse, give it room to expand and to free up the land there for its highest and best use which would be mid to highrise residential.

[avonjax]

My point was, we continue to tear down and always have an excuse or bad leadership to replace. The moment the city starts talking about building a new police station, our dear citizens will start screaming their heads off about replacing a "perfectly good facility."
The tax watchdog groups will be foaming at the mouth, just the way they will be if the city spends a dime on repairing the stadium. They can only see whats here and now, not what benefits the city and all taxpayers in the long run. We lose money every moment the jail and police station sit on prime property.
And although this is not about the Jags and the stadium, imagine the foaming mouth watchdog groups and how most of them would love to see Wayne Weaver take his team and move it out of town so we wouldn't have to maintain the stadium and spend another dime.
That sounds so appealing since the stadium sits empty most of the year and the city STILL has to maintain the facility since we own it.
And who needs the revenue generated, the impact on the fringe groups who make money from the Jaguars, the priceless national exposure, surely we don't since we have so much to offer on a national level other than the Jaguars. We benefit so much from all the tourism money that flows through Florida.
Heck I think we need less. We could be more like Lake City and we wouldn't have to worry about all that pesky spending. Just think, we could then rally around our designation as the "Murder Capital of the State."
I fear we will be too old too care until the new courthouse is built. And we can continue to be embarrassed about the acres of overgrown lots that litter the landscrape.
By the way I have a great idea.
Let's not worry about a new courthouse and turn the blocks put aside for the project and all the rest of La Villa into one big park.
Or maybe a theme park.
It would be a little wacky, but less embarrassing and maybe a lot more fun.

[tufsu1]

Not the route I would take.  I would tear it down after building a new police HQ elsewhere and then do an RFP for housing on that site.

and where would you suggest the City get the $ to build a new police headquarters/prison?

Plus...I wouldn't hold my breath on an RFP for housing...its not as if there's a huge market for that these days!

[RiversideGator]

This is obviously a multi-year plan.  The new courthouse comes first.  The jail though is already at capacity from what I understand and the police building is 30+ years old.  They will need to be replaced at some point in the next 10-20 years.  The logical replacement would be housing of some sort.