All... there would be no JWB or Gateway investment in downtown without the DIA.
Without the DIA, there is not 91 new townhomes and 91 new homeowners in Lavilla at Johnson Commons. Without the DIA, there is no DPRP incentive program for historic buildings, which JWB used to renovate 218 Church Street, the Federal Reserve Building, the Porter House Mansion, and the Greenleaf building (Greenleaf still in process). Without the DIA and their leadership (Bryan Moll thought Lori was amazing when they met back in 2022) and incentive programs, we don't get Bryan to come to Jax and lead Gateway... and that project would not be anything close to what it is if JWB was running point on it and not Bryan!
Not asking people on here to be blind sunshine pumpers, or not criticize when criticism is due. But if you like what JWB and Gateway have been doing in downtown the last five years, you HAVE to give the DIA credit. From the horse's mouth, anything else is disingenuous.
I honestly think you'll find that most people here consider the Gateway/JWB stuff to be the most exciting, most catalytic plan that downtown has seen over the last 20+ years. It'll be the biggest win DT Jax has seen in many of our lifetimes if it crosses the finish line. And I've heard straight from Bryan's mouth that his involvement wouldn't have happened without the DIA and Lori. No DIA, no project. Absolutely not disputing that.
But I think a lot of us have also become cynical over the years and reluctant to credit organizations like the DIA with their flowers until after the certificate of occupancy is in hand and the project is complete. There have just been too many false starts and abandoned projects over the last five years. The District. The OG Shipyards. Spandrell. The Hardwick. American Lions. The residential tower at the old Greyhound site. Lot J. The Laura Street Trio. Ambassador. Independent Life. Everything about the project and the steps that have been taken suggest that it's got more credibility and possibility of happening than maybe all of those other projects combined, but to me personally, full credit will come when it's complete, because that's what DT Jax needs. I've been burned too many times. Our reputation as a "city of renders" is well documented.
One last thing - more people read these boards than you think, and they do have some level of impact on downtown sentiment. As much as you send criticism when it is due, please celebrate all the good news when it comes too. I think you will be seeing a lot of good news the next few years when it comes to downtown.
Looking forward to it! And I will say, though this board can lean negative against some of the downtown organizations (myself one of the biggest offenders), you'll also see many people, myself included, thrilled to celebrate positive new DIA initiatives.
Just from the last couple of weeks:
https://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,38066.0.htmlhttps://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,38095.0.htmlFeels like this place has also been highly complimentary of the DIA beefing up the historic preservation fund, negotiating an equitable deal with the Jags for their Four Seasons/Shipyards project, launching Sip & Stroll, and (depending on which side of the debate you fell on) standing up against the public subsidies requested for the Lot J project.
Any criticism absolutely isn't personal.
For the DIA specifically, their stated job is to:
Guided by a nine-member board, the DIA works to attract investment, facilitate job creation, support infrastructure improvements, and oversee public property disposition.
We've had five years under this current DIA group. Without diminishing some of the awesome stuff noted above, I think it's entirely fair to suggest that job creation has gone backwards, public property disposition has not been successful with all of the failed riverfront RFPs, infrastructure improvements like two-waying of streets, Musical Heritage Park, St. Johns Park have been very slow to progress, and outside investment has failed to turn as much completed work as you'd like to see over a five-year period of historic economic prosperity and immigration for Jax.
It's awesome what you guys have done with the support of the DIA, but for a city our size, feels like it shouldn't be you guys shouldering the full responsibility of proving their effectiveness. Why aren't there three or four other JWBs out there trying to get their hands on property?
I also wish development was happening faster... but these things take time.
I get it, and it's also what worries me.
My optimism about Downtown Jacksonville five years from now is about as high as it's ever been. As noted, the Gateway/JWB project has the potential to be truly transformational. The new mayoral administration is
crushing it, in my opinion, and negotiated a great deal with the Jags that's a win-win for the franchise and downtown quality of life. New parks are coming, new solutions to the vagrant crisis are coming, the Four Seasons is coming. Awesome riverfront development, some announced/some not yet public knowledge, is on the horizon. UF is setting up shop.
But what I'm worried about is how we shore up existing downtown business in the interim so all of these great new additions add net-new downtown vibrancy, instead of backfilling the monthly losses we've been seeing for a while now.
You mention how we needn't be all rainbows and sunshine, just better acknowledge the positive. I think that's quite fair. In the same vain though, I think that works both ways. The DIA & DVI can be the exact opposite, all rainbows and sunshine while ignoring or not directly addressing the dire issues that all of us see with our own eyes on the streets each day.
Lost/ignored in the DVI's State of Downtown Report is the attrition. Just off the top of my head, we've lost Peterbrooke, Vagabond, Back to the Grind, Bread & Board, Jumping Jax, Magnificat, and Burrito Gallery in the last 10 months. Olio, Zodiac, and Cowford lunch service weren't far behind that. Major businesses, some with thousands of employees, are considering leaving because of how things are now, rather than how they will potentially be in five years.
I get frustrated and lose trust when none of this is publicly acknowledged. The first part of stopping the bleeding in the short-term is admitting there's a problem and working toward some immediate solutions while we wait for the bigger, exciting plans to come online.
90% of my criticism of the DIA and DVI would go away if I didn't hear them on the radio or in interviews saying that the homeless problem is statistically overstated, Jacksonville's rising downtown office vacancy is normal and because of "work from home shifts," and that downtown has never had more momentum. It's DELIGHTFUL to be optimistic, I'm an optimistic guy, but I'd be much, much more supportive if I heard, "Downtown residents and workers - we hear you. We've got some really difficult challenges to overcome in the short-term while we fix these bigger things. Here's what we're going to do." That's it. Just an acknowledgment that there's a problem in the moment, and we're all in it together to try to fix it. And instead of feeling like I'm being told my eyeballs are lying to me and the empty storefronts/vagrant threatening to stab me are hallucinations, I feel like we're all on the same page. And if there's a roadblock toward change, we can all address it honestly as a populace. Does the DIA need more resources? Is there too much red tape? Let's find a way to collectively fix it.
I think I've mentioned it in the past, but a lot of my frustration and passion about the downtown situation over the last 7 or 8 years ultimately comes down to being a Dad. I brought my daughter to One Spark when she was just a baby, and it was just the greatest time. And I took a job downtown in 2017 because I wanted to be part of that growth, support downtown business, and have this awesome place to spend time with her as she grew up. She's turning 11 this weekend, and I can't even bring her down to the office to hang out on the weekend because there are vagrants camped out in our entrance and all of our favorite spots on Laura Street are closed. Having a vibrant, clean, safe urban area is just so vital to a city's quality of life, and creating a region where kids like her will want to stay and plant roots in post-college. Really breaks my heart that her entire childhood and early adulthood might pass without any real progress being made.
I got 7 more years with her here. Let’s go!
