Improving the Riverfront at St. Vincents Medical Center

[Metro Jacksonville]

Improving the Riverfront at St. Vincents Medical Center



A small "connectivity" project at St. Vincent's Medical Center promises to add a little life to Riverside's urban waterfront.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-mar-improving-the-riverfront-at-st-vincents-medical-center

[buckethead]

If people could walk from St Vincents to the Landing, they would.

On the beach, people walk (or ride a bike) for miles every day. Clearly there are private properties that could prohibit such a walkspace, but it is a thought.

[JeffreyS]

Exactly if the Modis building and Wachovia building's inside's were exposed to the street people would be amazed at the activity. I am sure the activity would build on itself.

[Jason]

Fantastic little project for St. Vincents.  The views from the bistro are stunning!

[Doctor_K]

Exactly if the Modis building and Wachovia building's inside's were exposed to the street people would be amazed at the activity. I am sure the activity would build on itself.

That would be amazing!  It would create a "Laura Street disctrict" from the Landing northward that could grow towards the "Bay Street District" and eventually combine, igniting the middle core. 

Well, except for that parking deck between Main & Ocean...

[fsu813]

St. V, or the donor rather, is making a good space a great space. that's awesome.

i am curious as to who these nurses are that actually get lunch breaks....the ones I know are on thier feet for 13 hours straight!

[RiversideLoki]

As a frequent user of the riverwalk, I'd love to see an extension down to St. Vincents. But whoever mentioned the private property issue was dead on. Most of the land holders between St. V and the I-95 overpass would never let something like that go through voluntarily.

Good job St. Vincents!

[JeffreyS]

St. V, or the donor rather, is making a good space a great space. that's awesome.

i am curious as to who these nurses are that actually get lunch breaks....the ones I know are on thier feet for 13 hours straight!

You will notice the nurses were getting to go boxes.

[Captain Zissou]

This is a great project.  St Vincents has done a lot to connect with the environment around them.  Too bad the city has kept them so isolated from all of the other riverfront activity.  If possible, I'd love to see the riverwalk go from St Vincents to the stadium. Or further. 

I think one of the images was used for the first Baptist article, which is perfect.  This is a great example of a private business embracing the public space around it.  First Baptist should take notes.

[fsu813]

St. V, or the donor rather, is making a good space a great space. that's awesome.

i am curious as to who these nurses are that actually get lunch breaks....the ones I know are on thier feet for 13 hours straight!

You will notice the nurses were getting to go boxes.

i know, the ones i know don't even have time for that!

[ubben]

An extended Riverwalk would be great. We could walk, bike, jog for miles without dealing with cars and enjoy the beauty of the river and city. If private property owners block the Riverwalk on their property, why can't the city build the walk 50 or 100 feet off the shore but parallel to it, like a long boardwalk -- similar to the elevated walkway at the zoo-- but over water. That could be cool for short distances to circumvent difficult property owners.

[Ocklawaha]

So we allow the city to build a 20' x 1/4 mile pedestrian "Walk O'vr Water", follow the seawall where the land owners don't want to play. Doesn't the City have it's own Riparian rights? If so, what would stop the COJ from building on their side of the line, as long as the Riverkeeper was happy??

OCKLAWAHA

[stjr]

I believe all the riparian rights to the river reside with the state of Florida, with one exception told to me by a friend.  That is those lands abutting the river that were part of the original Spanish land grants predating Florida statehood, such lands which exist in Jacksonville.  In fact, the example given to me is along Riverside Avenue.  An interesting, but potentially, tricky subject.

The article below from Wikipedia seems to support this approach:

In determining boundaries there is a clear distinction between properties that front on navigable and non-navigable waters. Navigable waters are both those bodies of water that are obviously highways of commerce (the Hudson River, the Delaware River, the Ohio River, the Mississippi River etc) and those that have been declared by a state legislature as navigable.

In the case of navigable waters, title goes to the average low water mark. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court defined this as the ""ordinary low water mark, unaffected by drought; that is, the height of the water at ordinary stages." Appeal of York Haven Water & Power Co., 212 Pa. 622, 62 A.97 (1905.) Land beyond the low water mark belongs to the state government in the case of the 13 original states. Lands between the high and low water marks are subject to the police powers of the states. (see United States v. Pennsylvania Salt Mfg. Co., 16 F.2d 476 (E.D. Pa., 1926)). In the case of the original 13 states, upon ratification of the United States Constitution, title to these lands did not change, it remained vested in the several states.

However, these titles became subject to the "Commerce Clause" of the Constitution which created an easement or "servitude" benefiting the federal government for the purpose of regulating commerce on navigable bodies of water. Borax Consolidated, Ltd. v. City of Los Angeles, 29 U.S. 10, 56 S. Ct. 23, 80 L.Ed 9 (1935).

As new lands were acquired by the United States, either by purchase or treaty, title to the beds of all navigable or tidal lakes, rivers, or their tributaries became vested in the United States, unless they had been validly conveyed into private ownership by the former sovereign. McKnight v. Brodell, 212 F.Supp 45. During the territorial period of these lands, the United States held these title "in trust" for the benefit of the future states which would be carved out of the territory. Hymes v. Grimes Company, 165 F. 2d 323. Each of the states were to come into the Union on an "equal footing" with the original thirteen states.

Under the equal footing doctrine, territorial states are vested with the same sovereign title rights to wetlands as the original thirteen states. Pollard v. Hagan, 44 U.S. 212, 3 How. 212, 11 L.Ed. 565 (1845). However, during the territorial period, the United States could convey certain of these lands under the limited circumstances of promoting commerce. Brewer Elliot Oil and Gas Co. v. U S., 260 U.S. 77, 43 S.Ct 60, 67 L.Ed. 140 (1922).

Any questions as to the ownership of these lands was resolved by Congress passing the Submerged Land Act, 43 U.S.C.A. 1301, which confirmed and quit-claimed title in various states to the beds of all navigable bodies of water. While this act conveyed navigable waters to the states, non-navigable waters outside the 13 colonies remained the property of the United States. Waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tides, but which are non-navigable passed to the states.

In the western United States, water rights are generally allocated under the principle of prior appropriation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riparian_water_rights

[TPC]

When riding my bike from Avondale to 5 Points I usually detour just to ride the riverfront of St. Vincents. Glad it's getting the makeover.

[uga_jax]

They also updated the menu!  Very Good!  Too bad for Gibb's across the street from the hospital campus.  The Berg's Bistro renovation is preventing them from having much business.