Author Topic: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval  (Read 1366 times)

thelakelander

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Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« on: December 08, 2023, 09:07:37 AM »
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A look at the latest renderings for JTA's proposed Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla. The project will seek final Downtown Development Review Board approval on December 14th. Take a look and let us know what you think of the latest proposed design. If approved, construction is anticipated to begin on the building in early 2024.


Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/autonomous-innovation-center-at-lavilla-seeks-approval/
"A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” - Muhammad Ali

Charles Hunter

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2023, 09:54:37 AM »
I've got to run to an appointment and will look at this more closely later.
First impression - on the "Shade Calculation" page - doesn't the existing elevated guideway cause shade?
And a more general 'shade' question - how does that work, since the "shadow" moves during the day, and even time of year.

Charles Hunter

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2023, 02:27:51 PM »
Thoughts
1. Is the 2nd floor "Terrace" open to the public? In the discussion of entrance doors, the application says
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F. Building Entrances
Development should be designed to improve the pedestrian’s experience of downtown
Jacksonville by respecting existing development patterns, providing frequent pedestrian entries
along the street and the waterfronts, providing cover, and signaling the entrance through
architectural features rather than relying solely on signage.
• Finding: The building is not open to the public, and as such, the primary entry opens onto
the employee parking area. Pursuant to Section 656.361.6.2.F.2(b)(2), Staff has
determined that a public entrance onto the street frontage could be deemed a safety
concern.
Page 8 of Application, Page 52 of Agenda Packet - https://coj365-my.sharepoint.com/personal/rmezini_coj_net/Documents/20231214_DDRB%20AGENDA%20PACKET_optimized.pdf

However, the renderings of that portion of the building show what appear to be couples, families with children running around or in strollers - in general, folks that don't look like maintenance and operations center employees. Did that father carry that stroller up two-and-a-half flights of stairs? The elevator is in the employee-only building.

The renderings show the mini-pod AVs. Will it accommodate (parking, lifts, etc.) vehicles like 15-passenger vans, or even larger ones? The plan shows parking for 12 AVs. What happens when the fleet expands to serve all those areas JTA is proposing?

And, the Big Question (well, after the "Why bother?" question) is, Why can't this be accommodated at the Myrtle Avenue bus barn?

Todd_Parker

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2023, 02:43:35 PM »
When vehicle autonomy fails to be innovated here, can the building be repurposed for a better use or will it just be added to the inventory of empty downtown buildings?

thelakelander

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2023, 04:19:21 PM »
Hopefully, it can be adaptively reused. Its basically a big box that appears could be subdivided into ground floor retail storefronts facing Jefferson + second level office space or used for something like a craft brewery, distillery, bakery, etc.



The seven bays are roughly 24' x 52' or 1,248 SF. When I used to layout retail centers earlier in my career, 1,500SF bays at 20' x 75' or so was something pretty standard for evaluating preliminary site configurations and proformas. This plan isn't too far off that, although I'm sure that wasn't JTA's intention.

"A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” - Muhammad Ali

jaxlongtimer

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2023, 05:25:42 PM »
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The plan shows parking for 12 AVs.

Is that the total number of AV's we get for some $400,000,000?!  That's an investment averaging $33.33 million a piece.  We could buy 10,000 cars at $40,000 a piece and get a lot more for our money.

How many people a day can 12 AV's possibly move?  At 7% interest this runs at $2,310,000/year or $6,329/day, every single day of the year, and we haven't even accounted for operating and maintenance costs and depreciation.

Is there not one sane person on JTA's board to question this project?

Jax_Developer

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2023, 03:30:18 PM »
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The plan shows parking for 12 AVs.

Is that the total number of AV's we get for some $400,000,000?!  That's an investment averaging $33.33 million a piece.  We could buy 10,000 cars at $40,000 a piece and get a lot more for our money.

How many people a day can 12 AV's possibly move?  At 7% interest this runs at $2,310,000/year or $6,329/day, every single day of the year, and we haven't even accounted for operating and maintenance costs and depreciation.

Is there not one sane person on JTA's board to question this project?

Simply put the board has been loaded. Took several years for that to take place but there’s been virtually 0 dissent from votes I have found from previous JTA board meetings for the past few years.

Moreover, JTA still lacks a single employee with technical background related to EV’s & AV’s. Hence why what you have pointed out hasn’t been realized. Even if they had 120 vehicles, still well over any sane pricing for a small, mass produced(lol), vehicle. Whats likely happening, is 50% of that number is going towards “infrastructure” & another good portion is going to “other” things. I bet the true investment in the vehicles is actually a small % of the total projected costs. Total speculation.

So basically, I think, the city is paying for dedicated ROW’s being created from existing ROW, and these other novelties. Like where is this maintenance center money coming from & why not just upgrade an existing facility? There’s no way this permit doesn’t come in like $15M+.

All of this to be said, and I legitimately believe that the U2C program has already run the taxpayer $50M. All the years of delay, salaries, expenses, etc, are all compounding the cost of this project before dirt even moves. Before a pen is even signed for a supplier. This is truly an unbelievable situation, and when it’s found out, I just hope whoever takes over actually has funding to do something with any amount of meaning.

Ken_FSU

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2023, 09:16:49 PM »
Meanwhile, $6 billion is awarded to other cities for sane, proven, realistic rail transportation systems.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/feds-grant-6-billion-high-speed-rail-projects-rcna128508

thelakelander

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Re: Autonomous Innovation Center at LaVilla seeks final approval
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2023, 10:12:51 PM »
It looks like Amtrak is getting $500k for a study on linking the Florida cities together. Imagine if we were able to get on board with the rest of the country.
"A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” - Muhammad Ali