Jacksonville's next Downtown skyscraper

[JeffreyS]

Always love those images Jason.

[JaxNative68]

Looks like Dallas on the St. Johns River.

[Wacca Pilatka]

In Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage there is a definition of "skyscraper" from Louis Sullivan in the writeup on the Florida Life Bldg. an and argument that based on that definition, it's the city's purest statement of a "skyscraper"...but it's only 11 stories.  But that's my favorite Klutho building, so I'll cling to that line of argument. 

[heights unknown]

I'm hoping the "Vue" comes back on the proposal table.

Heights Unknown

[Coolyfett]

I was reading an article about the top 100 tallest SS in the US, Jax was not even on the list. Top 100 in US.......

[Coolyfett]

i don't consider the southbank to be downtown really....

Huh? What do you consider it?

[David]

I see fsu's point. Techically, the Southbank is considered a part of downtown since it's so close, but after working two years on the Northbank and six months recently on the Southbank, it really does feel more cut off from the core.

Example: during lunch time, most of the people I work with hop in their cars and head south down Hendricks, Mandarin or even Southside blvd instead of going to eat at one of the local places downtown.

Whereas during my time on the Northbank people would just walk down the street for lunch. On a rare occasion we'd drive outside of downtown but most of the time, between the hot dog vendors, lunch eateries along with the trolley to Riverside, we didn't need to use our cars too much.

From the southbank, it's a bit of a hike on foot for most office workers to walk across the main street bridge during lunch or after work and limited parking during the day deturs most from taking the short jaunt in their cars across the river.

ahem, Southbank trolley ahem. (yes i know the trains and Main st bridge create logistics problems, but still)

You don't really get that urban feel when walking anywhere on the Southbank either given how most of the taller buildings have built in parking garages, so each building is basically a bubble in which very few leave.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Many cities have their downtown split by a river.I dont see why anyone would think the Southbank is not apart of downtown just because its not right next to the main part of downtown. So is BcBS, Fideilty, etc are those part of downtown. Downtown is downtown, doesnt matter if seperated by water or if people choose to leave that specific area to eat else where!

[I-10east]

The Southbank once had the "tallest building in the South" for thirteen years; That would be the Aetna Building that was built in 1955. That's quite a high-rise history for an area that "some" don't even consider to be DT Jax.

[reednavy]

Um,, Aetna wasn't the tallest in the SE for 13 years, Nashville's L&C Tower was built in 1957 at 409ft.

[Deuce]

hop in their cars and head south down Hendricks, Mandarin or even Southside blvd instead of going to eat at one of the local places downtown.

This doesn't surprise me. While Mandarin or Southside are too far for lunch (I would question whether those folks are actually taking an hour for lunch), they are a lot of great places to eat just south of the Southbank that are not replicated over the river. Just to name a few: Panera, Tropical Smoothie, Marie's kabob house, Sushi Rock, and the soon to open Oral Explosion. If I worked on the Southbank, I doubt I would ever head over the bridge to eat.

[reednavy]

I'd take the water taxi if I worked on the Southbank. It is cheap and reliable because most people are not going to croos the MSB in summer with heat and thunderstorms.

[Jason]

Um,, Aetna wasn't the tallest in the SE for 13 years, Nashville's L&C Tower was built in 1957 at 409ft.

The Riverplace Tower was the world's tallest pre-cast, post-tension concrete structure when it was built.  The exterior is the only structural support which leaves the entire interior free of obstructions (minus the elevator shafts).  I'm pretty sure its still in the top 5 of its kind.

[tufsu1]

I was reading an article about the top 100 tallest SS in the US, Jax was not even on the list. Top 100 in US.......

the existence of skyscrapers has nothing to do with whether a city is great or not....San Diego is pretty nice and they have a 500' height limit

[KennyLovesJAX]

  wow l love those pics of what Jacksonville could become in the next ten years. Now we have to somehow convince the downtown development team to look at this pictures and make it a reality. I really do love those pics.