huh?
the courthouse takes up 2-4 blocks...not including the garage (which serves the entire area) and the re-use of the old federal courthouse....now, I'd like a more vertical design too, but you really need to get your facts straight!
Tufsu, you conveniently didn't bother to clarify my post. First, I, like many, was referring to the entire project, not the single building. I think that was obvious to most people familiar with what is going on and that they would understand what I meant without further clarification. Since you worked so hard to back out pieces of the project, it seems you knew exactly what I meant by 7 blocks and chose to be literal about it for your own purposes (are you involved in this project?). [P.S. I also left my self some room when I said "some" 7 blocks. In my world, that is equivalent to "approximately" 7 blocks - so another clue not to be too literal.]
It was disingenuous of you to not acknowledge that indeed 7 blocks are associated with the total courthouse project and that, through your eyes, you just want to look at the main structure (still a waste on any block beyond the first). As to
my 7 block approach, it's the same as the City's own Courthouse Audit document (March 14, 2008) below in which they refer to the "courthouse campus of 7 blocks". My point was we don't need 7 blocks for a courthouse campus, we need one tower with every one in it. We should have skipped the parking garage (another scandalous City deal that should be investigated! Show me anyone who should be GUARANTEED a profit on their money making investment while the taxpayers have 100% of the risk!) as a separate structure. Put a few spaces under the tower and let the rest use our beloved Skyway, existing parking, or a shuttle bus from other parking lots underutilized elsewhere.
I don't mind being corrected if I am wrong and would be the first to apologize. But I don't appreciate someone manipulating what I said for their own purposes.
>>>>
City of Jacksonville Courthouse Audit, March 14, 2008, Finding #2:The City’s decision to build out instead of up increased the cost of the project significantly. The Federal Government built its courthouse as a 14 story tower on one block in downtown Jacksonville. In contrast,
the City opted for a courthouse campus of 7 blocks, with one block being the site of the old federal courthouse and one block being used for a parking garage. The City acquired the old federal courthouse in exchange for a long-term parking lease valued at $875,000. The City spent $23,118,666 to acquire the other six blocks. The City’s costs include much more than just the compensation for the land. The costs include appraiser and attorney’s fees, tenant relocation costs, expert witness fees, and demolition costs. The decision to build out also increased costs by closing streets and incorporating their former footprint in the footprint of the new courthouse. This decision caused the City to incur millions of dollars of expense to relocate the utilities that ran within the right of way of the former streets.<<<<
As for the outer beltway...I don't support it becuase it will encourage more sprawl...but a primary purpose is to provide a bypass of the urban area for through traffic (especially freight)....right now the portion of I-10 east of Chafee Road becxomes quite congested, and we all know what the Buckman Bridge on 295 is like....and as for costs, it will be a toll road, so it will be paid for by users
I don't care what the rationale is for the road. If it is built it will create sprawl and it will just be another problem NOT solved, but expanded, by another road. You don't think people used the same argument to justify I-295 - that it would divert traffic around the City to avoid congestion in the City. How many rings do you think we need to build before it actually works? When the Buckman opened, you could shoot a canon across it and not hit anyone for years and then it hit a threshold and traffic exploded. The same will happen with this road eventually. Unless you reduce the population of Florida or create density around mass transit, it will never change.
You are being seduced by the inertia of our society!
