Live blogging: Mayor Peyton to announce new downtown plan

[thelakelander]

Enough with the studies already.  Commit and take action.

To a degree, the problem is there is currently no unified plan to take action on anything.  It seemed like the Mayor's office has finally realized that its better to create projects that lead to an overall goal than those that have nothing to do with other improvements.  

Anyway, outside of two years of creating a public community vision for the entire waterfront (ex. JEA, Shipyards, Metropolitan Park, Friendship Park, the Prime Osborn, the current courthouse site, etc.) the only thing they will be moving forward on is Kids Kampus/Metropolitan Park improvements.

[thelakelander]

Extending the riverwalks are excellent ideas,  any ideas on timelines?

Those were things he would like to see.  However, there is no funding to do either.  Work at Kids kampus/Metropolitan Park was the only new project mentioned today.  Everything else was ideas that will be tossed around during the upcoming two year visioning process.

[TPC]

It was kinda a joke but at the same time I feel that if downtown could somehow get larger stores like IKEA, H&M, etc.. downtown and not at the Town Center it could bring people to the core.

I think we need an IKEA downtown, it would bring people to the core.

really....and how would that fit with the street grid?

They could take over a block and build underground parking like the one in Atlanta.

[CrysG]

It was kinda a joke but at the same time I feel that if downtown could somehow get larger stores like IKEA, H&M, etc.. downtown and not at the Town Center it could bring people to the core.

I think we need an IKEA downtown, it would bring people to the core.

really....and how would that fit with the street grid?

They could take over a block and build underground parking like the one in Atlanta.

Or we could build some of it over the river like the one in Brooklyn(Red Hook). That one even has water taxi access......

I'm just saying.... 

[nestliving]

seriously, Ikea stores are ugly and should be in the suburbs for city kids to take day trips too. What we really should be wanting is a downtown that could support a business like Ikea.

[thelakelander]

Images from the press conference:

[vicupstate]

Is it possible that John Peyton wasn't really at this news conference at all?  Could this be an imposter?  Could the real Peyton be tied up in a warehouse somewhere, while the imposter actually spouts off things that have been the agenda of Metrojax for years?  Is that why Stephen Dare was AWOL?   Is Stephen guarding Peyton until this charette is done and the next mayor HAS to act on it? 

It might sound far-fetched, but the only other explanation is that Peyton had a bigger conversion that Saul on the road to Damascus. 

Whatever the explanation, I'll take it. Of course, it doesn't take too much effort to hold some meetings and let the next guy pay for it all.  But frankly, if he truly 'gets it' now, and leaves with a decent plan in place for his successor, he will have redeemed himself in my eyes, at least to a significant degree.         

[tufsu1]

I think the Mayor may have chosen to do this to coincide with the regional Reality Check proigram....apparently he was there for the morning event and may have even stayed for some of the lunch....and many folks from the Planning Department, JEDC, and JTA were there for the whole event....as said during his press conference, the data from comparble cities says that we must invest in our public spaces...and the urban core.

I know most conservatives don't like to hear this because "the market" should decide, but the bottom line is urban investments provide the best return...primarily because the infratsructure is already in place.

The big point from today's Reality Check is that all great cities/metro areas have great downtowns....and just about all have major transit systems (meaning rail).....maybe Peyton and the other elected officials heard that message too!

[Steve]

Really?  I'm that's the case then great, but was it really playing with legos that made him get it?

I know he has a soft spot for kids, but the legos?  Really?

[reednavy]

IMO, we need to really follow Charlotte's latest moves in rail and downtown development. They seem to be doing a lot right and is a city we compete with. I'm jsut waiting for a Nashville Elements of Urbanism of Learning from on here. I can put a lot into that discussion.

[tufsu1]

Here's a summary of what happened at Reality Check today

http://www.jacksonville.com/business/2009-05-21/story/reality_check_participants_get_down_to_business_with_legos

[thelakelander]

IMO, we need to really follow Charlotte's latest moves in rail and downtown development. They seem to be doing a lot right and is a city we compete with. I'm jsut waiting for a Nashville Elements of Urbanism of Learning from on here. I can put a lot into that discussion.

If my plans don't change, I plan to do a photo tour of urban Nashville in early June.  Right now, for this road trip, I'm planning to hit Lexington, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Louisville, Nashville, Huntsville, Birmingham and Atlanta.  The next one (early July) will cover Baltimore, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron and Cleveland.

[thelakelander]

Here's a summary of what happened at Reality Check today

http://www.jacksonville.com/business/2009-05-21/story/reality_check_participants_get_down_to_business_with_legos

So what was the general consensus of the 31 groups?  How critical was mass transit in their growth scenarios?

[ProjectMaximus]

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-05-21/story/peyton_shifting_priority_to_downtown_riverfront

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton set out Thursday with big ideas and essentially no money to sell city officials and business leaders on a plan to spruce up the city’s riverfront and develop downtown.

He told tales of fist fights breaking out over a lack of picnic tables at Metropolitan Park and lamented that one of the city’s crown jewels â€" Friendship Fountainâ€" can barely draw a summertime crowd because there’s no shade.

Peyton said improving public areas along the river could be a boon for business development and even help reduce childhood obesity.

But the idea comes at a time when the city is scraping by financially.

A full-blown reworking of 30-year-old Metropolitan Park alone could cost more than $100 million, the mayor said, although he’d rather start small and pay cash for projects as the city can afford.

Peyton acknowledged the city is going through tough times, though, and this might not be the best time for park construction.

He didn’t have cost estimates for the wide array of projects, which are still conceptual. They range from developing a downtown gateway from the Brooklyn area to extending the Northbank and Southbank riverwalks.

Also, there’s a lingering question about what to do with the Shipyards property, a riverbank gem with a troubled development history. It stands a chance to be in the city’s hands soon, as the depressed  housing market has thrust the developer into default.

The mayor said his goal Thursday â€" the day he made his sales pitch to the City Council Finance Committee and again to a group of downtown business leaders â€" was to drum up public dialogue about the need to revitalize downtown.

“We don’t have a lot of money. Let’s use the next two years [the remainder of his term] to figure out how public space should be used,” Peyton said. “I’m excited about it. To me, this is the fun part of the job.”

In principle, everyone who heard the plan Thursday appeared to be on board.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” said Finance Committee Chairman Michael Corrigan.

Parks and gathering spaces are good windows for development, Peyton said, adding that the recent success of the Riverside Arts Market is proof that the city’s notoriously sleepy downtown can be a crucial component in Northeast Florida’s identity.

The trick is to build more venues and host events more often.

With Jacksonville’s population expected to surge in the coming decades, the mayor said developing downtown makes sense infrastructure-wise.

“You do not have to build the roads. You do not have to put in schools and fire stations. You don’t have to bring it like you do in suburban sprawl. It’s there,” Peyton said.

He also referenced the short walk to churches, sports arenas and the city’s premiere library that downtown residents enjoy.

Peyton rattled off the names of cities that he said have built a better quality of life with public spaces. But how Jacksonville will ever compare to Norfolk, Charlotte and Chattanooga, to name a few, is in question.

Peyton said it may never happen if something doesn’t change.

“Take Metropolitan Park. It predated the ballpark, the arena and the Jaguars. This park is tired,” he said during one of his Thursday meetings.

Later that day, to another group, he said: “That park is a graveyard of ideas, many of them not good.”

david.hunt@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4025

[tufsu1]

So what was the general consensus of the 31 groups?  How critical was mass transit in their growth scenarios?

It was not completely clear, but I think they results were very similar to those developed by the stakeholders in the Envision 2035 LRTP scenario visioning process...although this was a 7-county vision (versus 4 for the TPO).

The 31 tables came up with 4 general ovearching concepts....corridors, multiple growth centers, dispersed, and urban compact growth....based on the quick survey done ion the afternoon the corridors and multiple centers were the most popular.

I think the desire for more mobility options was clear...most tables appeared to add both new roads (ranged from 50 to 200 miles) and new transit lines (100-200 miles)...from what I could see, everyone had the southern Outer Beltway.