At one time, downtown was loaded with unique hotels.  With the boom in the suburbs, all of downtown's historic lodging establishments, such as the Goerge Washington Hotel above, have either closed and converted to other uses or been outright demolished.  Today, Metro Jacksonville points out a few under utilized downtown sites that may be suitable for boutique hotel type uses.

Winn-Dixie is set to renovate and expand the current downtown store.  Let's think outside the box and strive for something that can be far and above the typical outlet in the suburbs. 

Although possibly outside of the scoop of the TU's requirements, Metro Jacksonville's vision centers around realistic solutions concerning the coordinating of major public projects that have slowed the pace of downtown redevelopment. 

The Jacksonville Farmer's Market on Beaver Street is being forced to relocate.  Instead of letting this local cultural institution move out to the suburbs (like Florida Coastal School of Law, UNF and most of downtown's retail base), lets attempt to move it downtown before its too late.  Why?  Click on "read more" to find out.

Modular Housing can reduce housing cost by as much as 15% to 30%. Add this to the design characteristics mentioned in our previous affordable housing articles, and we may have discovered a rock solid solution for quality, affordable housing in the core of the city.

A few hours earlier today I had the pleasure of sitting in the basement of the Park Place building on Hemming Park with Ennis Davis(-- the inimitable Lakelander of MetroJacksonville.com fame) comparing older photos of Downtown Jacksonville with largely depressing contemporary aerial shots.

The 28 acre Central Park Village projects will be demolished and replaced with a 4,600 unit development providing housing for all incomes, rich and poor. Can this be part of the solution for quality affordable housing in Jacksonville?