Urban Construction Update - March 2022

[Ken_FSU]

^

[Transman]

The entire area around the stadium is not an area you want to be digging.  A lot of what was left after the fire in 1901 was dumped in the area.  Lot J is entirely capped and if you look it has no inlets.  It drains to the pond over by the TV station.  The area also had an old paint factory and they built Liberty ships in that area as well.  That is why Lot J has no inlet, the soil is not something you want to be digging into.

If you look at Lot J you will see humps on the parking lot where the old rails went to the river to launch the ships.  The parking lot has settled on either side of these old rails that are on piles.

COJ just didn't have the money to take down the whole thing.  The Grant they received from the Feds was the only way they had enough money to do what they did.

[Ken_FSU]

This is off-topic a bit, but what is the status of the Duval School Board relocation? Is there an outstanding RFP or a deadline of some kind?  Seems like its been awhile since this was mentioned in the news.

DCPS partnered with CBRE on the RFP.

It was fairly complicated, with bidders being asked to take the lead in relocating DCPS into a new 100k square foot HQ (whether that be via new construction or renovation of an existing building), with the current Prudential HQ and three or four other surplus properties being offered to help fund the relocation.

Final bids were supposed to be due at the end of February, but there hasn't been much info about number or quality of bids.

Update:
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/duval-schools-receive-16-bids-in-plan-to-sell-relocate-from-downtown-headquarters

Side question:
Anyone know what's going on with the San Marco Theater? Noticed today that the windows were all boarded up and it looked like it was closed down. Remodeling maybe?

[fieldafm]

Side question:
Anyone know what's going on with the San Marco Theater? Noticed today that the windows were all boarded up and it looked like it was closed down. Remodeling maybe?

They closed temporarily to complete some renovations.

[thelakelander]

I hate that DCPS isn't revealing the 16 potential locations.

[Ken_FSU]

Side question:
Anyone know what's going on with the San Marco Theater? Noticed today that the windows were all boarded up and it looked like it was closed down. Remodeling maybe?

They closed temporarily to complete some renovations.

Thanks Mike!

[vicupstate]

I hate that DCPS isn't revealing the 16 potential locations.

Given what I know of the FL Sunshine Laws, I found this were unusual:

Although the identities are public, the invitation to negotiate allows the district to keep the details of each bid out of the public record until the school board selects a winner.

Reading the whole article, it seems like the entire decision making process is in the hands of staff except for a school board vote up or down on the final decision.

[Captain Zissou]

Wright said the six school district employees on the selection committee do not have a deadline to score the bids.

This makes me nervous.  How can there not be a deadline?  Is this going to drag out for months?

[vicupstate]

Wright said the six school district employees on the selection committee do not have a deadline to score the bids.

This makes me nervous.  How can there not be a deadline?  Is this going to drag out for months?

Does this answer your question?

This marks the closest the district has moved toward its goal of moving from the St. Johns River since making it a priority nearly two decades ago.

That is from the Daily Record article [emphasis added]

[Ken_FSU]

FANTASTIC to see a new LGBTQ bar/club coming to the Elbow.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/proposed-hardwicks-bar-seeks-dollar145-000-in-dia-incentives

That said, as a marketing guy, I do worry about brand confusion and the SEO/SEM/navigation confusion of having a bar called Hardwicks located a block from a (proposed) new development called The Hardwick. 

[Ken_FSU]

FANTASTIC to see a new LGBTQ bar/club coming to the Elbow.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/proposed-hardwicks-bar-seeks-dollar145-000-in-dia-incentives

That said, as a marketing guy, I do worry about brand confusion and the SEO/SEM/navigation confusion of having a bar called Hardwicks located a block from a (proposed) new development called The Hardwick.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/dia-committee-advances-dollar145-000-incentives-deal-for-hardwicks-bar-project

DIA CEO Lori Boyer told board members April 13 that the city agency hopes to resolve any naming conflicts that arise between Hardwicks Bar and Atlanta-based developer Carter’s $140 million mixed-use residential high-rise proposal The Hardwick, expected to be built Downtown on Bay Street.

[acme54321]

One project that hasn't been tracked here is the new Industry West headquarters on the Southbank.  Looks like they're coming along.

[Ken_FSU]

Was leaving lunch and noticed a new book/coffee shop going up on Main in Springfield (between Crispys and Springfield Scoops).

[Charles Hunter]

Due to the angle, and font, I can't read the name - what is it?

[jaxlongtimer]

The Bay Street on and off ramps for the Hart Bridge are now open.

What really stands out to me when entering downtown from the Hart Bridge now is, with what the city is trying to do along the Northbank riverfront, it's just so baffling that we didn't finish the job and take down all of the elevated ramps.

Those remaining ramps create such a visual disconnect between the sports district and the CBD.

Would have been so much better to just route all traffic down a clean, open, continuous, reconfigured Bay Street into downtown.

Does the MOSH no favors as well, practically butting up against that stupid ramp.

The Emerald Trail will also be coming through that area at some point so the ramps don't do it any favors either.  Looks like the trail is actually planned to go around the ramps, not along Hogan's Creek and under them.  Maybe some new options would open up if the ramps came down - subject to cleaning up the suspected debris and contamination.