SkyscraperPage Forum - JACKSONVILLE | Urban and Metro Development News

SkyscraperPage Forum (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/index.php)

- City Compilations (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=87)

- - JACKSONVILLE | Urban and Metro Development News (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186022)

JACKSONVILLE | Urban and Metro Development News

I am bumping the first page as much as possible to move it to second page as quickly as possible so that there aren't too many pictures on the first page.

One more bump for the day.

Thank you so much for creating this thread! Thank you :) I love everything I'm seeing out of Jacksonville! :)

An October photo from the City of Jacksonville's Facebook page showing an update on Friendship Fountain park. Someone had their megayacht pulled up across the river.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...dshippark1.jpg

It will be another 2 weeks before I get the November construction updates.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...cElevation.jpg

Quote:

By Kevin Turner
When Debbie Ward joined the Jacksonville Veterans Administration clinic in 2003 as administrative officer, the facility had one location in Springfield.

Since then, its expanded to three additional branches one on Eighth Street opposite Shands Jacksonville and two near Interstate 95 and Butler Boulevard.

And today, the clinic has outgrown all four, she said. But with the coming construction of a $35 million, two-story, 135,500-square-foot facility, the clinic will get both expanded capacity and expanded services when it opens in 2012.

Designs for the new facility have been unveiled, and with the new building, the VA will offer expanded medical services for women, primary care, radiology and new equipment to house all of its services. With its opening, only the facility at 6900 Southpoint Drive N. will remain open as a satellite clinic, Ward said.

http://jacksonville.com/business/201...ville-unveiled

bump to get this first page to the second so that pictures arent overloaded

Here is what I posted in a City Discussions thread.

Here are the top 5 projects that I think will make a huge difference for the city of Jacksonville. In no particular order:

1. Port Expansion.
Deepening the river channel to 50 ft. to accomodate Post-Panamax ships and dredging the river's intersection with the ICW so that ships can enter 24/7. Also constructing the $300M Hanjin terminal and expanding/enhancing direct rail connections and spurs to the port terminals. The port is Jacksonville's #1 economic drivers and one of the largest ports in the country.

2. Mayport Cruise Terminal
Our temporary one needs to be replaced by a terminal on the proposed Mayport site. Here are conceptual renderings.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...C/mayport3.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...C/mayport6.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...C/mayport5.jpg

3. Jacksonville Transportation Hub
Some funding has been sourced and the city has applied for federal grants to no avail so far. Amtrak is now being reconnected on FEC lines to Miami, Atlanta is talking about HSR to Jacksonville, and eventually if the Florida HSR is built then Jacksonville will be connected. Also, the city is already building new BRT routes and trying to start commuter rail and streetcars. This facility will join together the existing skyway, the new Amtrak, HSR in future, Greyhound, and bus service with new BRT, commuter rail, etc.

Renderings of what will be built in the next couple of years.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub3.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub4.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub8.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub7.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub5.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...ransithub1.jpg

4. JTB/95/Phillips Hwy Interchange

95 is obviously very congested. JTB in Jacksonville is even more congested, but was recently widened to between 8-10 lanes for much of it. Phillips will be our BRT and/or commuter rail corridor.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...nterchange.jpg

5. New Convention Center

Has been talked about very very much and the next mayor will probably oversee the design and construction of it on the site of the old Duval County courthouse on the river. There is already a 1,000 room Hyatt hotel next to the site and the Riverwalk, as well as tons of bars/clubs across the street.

A conceptual design by someone back in 2007.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...Proposal-4.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...Proposal-6.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...Proposal-7.jpg

6. A Proposed Downtown Rehab/Infill Project for good measure

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio7.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio5.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio4.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio2.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio1.jpg
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...lauratrio3.jpg

Bump to get it more quickly to second page :) Update coming in next post.

Holy crap theres a lot going on in Jacksonville, I had no idea.

JetBlue Announces New Nonstop Service to San Juan, PR

This is great news for Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Port Authority handles almost all trade between PR and the US. Jacksonville is also home to a large and rapidly growing Puerto Rican population. Jetblue is really expanding in the FL markets, Jax being no exception. Jetblue currently only flies to Boston and NYC-JFK from JIA.

Southwest Announces New Daily Service to Denver

Great news for Tebow fans! :) No but in all seriousness this is a great business connection and great for connecting Jax residents to one of the best winter sports destinations. It will also be a boon for bringing Denver residents to Jax for vacations and golf outings. Currently Southwest flies to 10 destinations from JIA and has almost 30 daily flights.

New Roads Could Give Jacksonville's Northside a Boost

Florida Times Union Image from Sunday's paper
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/a...hsideroads.jpg

Quote:

By David Baurlein

The Northside redevelopment district that helped spur growth of Jacksonville International Tradeport and construction of River City Marketplace could get a new mission in coming years — expand the road network in a 22.5-square-mile area in the vicinity of the airport.

The goal would be to accommodate rising traffic while improving the climate for commercial development and job growth in the area.

That’s the vision put forward by the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission in regard to the Jacksonville International Airport Community Redevelopment Area.

The JEDC has approved a guiding document called the North Jacksonville Action Plan that identifies six road projects costing an estimated $181 million. One recommendation is to build a flyover ramp from northbound Interstate 95 to Airport Road, giving motorists a quicker route to their flights than the existing off-ramp with its traffic light.

Read the rest of the article in quote above.

This Just In Within the Hour: Delta to Add 4 New Daily Nonstops to Miami

Delta Boosts International Flights in 2011

Quote:

Effective March 26, Delta will add five new daily round-trip flights between Miami and Orlando; four new daily round-trip flights between Miami and Jacksonville; and five new daily round-trip flights between Miami and Tampa/St. Petersburg. The flights will be timed to facilitate new connections to trans-Atlantic flights from Miami. In addition to the new service to London-Heathrow, Delta's joint venture partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia offer nonstop flights from Miami to their hubs in Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Milan and Rome.

So for JIA that means announced within the past month new service to San Juan, PR, Denver, and Miami. JIA has also been expanding and building like crazy the past 5 years (2 new concourses, new baggage claim, new parking garages, new Aloft Hotel, new Hyatt Place, UC new terminal connection).

1,000 New Jobs for Jacksonville

Bank of America just made the announcement, but it won't give out too many details. BofA Merrill Lynch already has about 6,000 employees in Jacksonville in two very large suburban office campuses and in the BofA Tower downtown. Deutsche Bank has 850 employees in the area and is expected to hire 150 more in the next few quarters. All good news for Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Business Journal: 1000 More Jobs for Jacksonville

A snippet:

Quote:

Mayor John Peyton said the expansion will include hiring both locally and outside of the city in the coming months. The “high wage” jobs will be for the same sort of back office operational positions that have been filled at the campus on Southside Boulevard in the past, the mayor said.

The bank is conducting renovations to the campus now to reconfigure office space for the additional employees, but the mayor did not know exactly how many square feet the renovations included.

Fix for Port's Mile Point Could Come Next Year

Currently a bend in the river near the mouth and the Intracoastal Waterway produces unpredictable currents that limit large container ships from entering or leaving the port except during an 8 hour window each day. With the port expanding it is crucial to get this detail fixed, because 2 Asian shipping lines have already and are about to invest close to a half billion dollars each in new container terminals here, and they need faster shipping service. The Army Corps is proposing a temporary $3 million fix from its own operating budget that will be unaffected by the Federal Budget cuts until it can secure the $60 million from Congress for a permanent solution.

Army Corps Studies Cheaper Solution to Mile Point Problem

Bump to get this to next page to not overload this page. Updates coming in just a few minutes.