Jacksonville commits $50M to help build new MOSH museum on Northbank riverfront

[thelakelander]

Jacksonville's Museum of Science and History took a big step toward its move to a new riverfront campus this week when the city agreed to $50 million in funding.

Plans call for MOSH to move from its Southbank location near Friendship Fountain, which it has occupied since 1969, to a new $100 million-plus facility where Hogans Creek flows into the St. Johns River, across from EverBank Stadium. Construction on the site is expected to start in 2025, with the new museum scheduled to open in 2027. The construction timeline means workers will be building the new MOSH at the same time others are working on EverBank Stadium renovations just down the street.

The city committed $50 million toward the project as part of its 2025-29 capital improvement plan. The funding will be spread over three years. The city has also agreed to lease the site to the museum for 40 years at a dollar a year. City Council approved the first $3 million in the budget year that started Oct. 1; future funding would still need to be authorized by a council vote but projects in the capital improvement plan that have funding are typically approved.

The museum has already secured $40 million in corporate and private donations and will continue to solicit contributions.

Full article: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2024/10/01/mosh-jacksonville-gets-funding-from-city-for-new-museum/75466286007/

[Ken_FSU]

With the mayor’s budget approved, the five-year CIP laid out, and the CBA kicking in, we’ve got quite a few Northbank riverfront projects that should, in theory, all come on line around the same time by 2028, including:

- The $1.4 billion stadium renovation
- Riverfront Plaza
- Shipyards West
- Mosh 2.0
- Metropolitan Park + Marina
- Flex Field event space
- Four Seasons
- One Shipyards office + retail
- Riverwalk Extension
- RISE Doro 2.0

Curious what net effect everyone thinks these projects collectively have on the Northbank. Are they enough to start catalyzing meaningful development collectively, or too isolated from the CBD to cause spillover.

[thelakelander]

To isolated, IMO. I believe that overtime, you will see two nodes grow but it will be decades before a mile of consistent pedestrian scale synergy materializes.

[Charles Hunter]

To isolated, IMO. I believe that overtime, you will see two nodes grow but it will be decades before a mile of consistent pedestrian scale synergy materializes.

[sarcasm]Who needs to walk? We will have the U2C zipping back and forth along Bay Street, whisking people between the core downtown and the Sports Complex, with a stop at MOSH!![/sarcasm]

[BridgeTroll]

Lol… wayyy too much zipping and whisking for Jacksonville 

[marcuscnelson]

With the mayor’s budget approved, the five-year CIP laid out, and the CBA kicking in, we’ve got quite a few Northbank riverfront projects that should, in theory, all come on line around the same time by 2028, including:

- The $1.4 billion stadium renovation
- Riverfront Plaza
- Shipyards West
- Mosh 2.0
- Metropolitan Park + Marina
- Flex Field event space
- Four Seasons
- One Shipyards office + retail
- Riverwalk Extension
- RISE Doro 2.0

Curious what net effect everyone thinks these projects collectively have on the Northbank. Are they enough to start catalyzing meaningful development collectively, or too isolated from the CBD to cause spillover.

This is a lot of stuff, but it's not actually all that many new people. Between the Doro rebuild and Four Seasons that's just 273 residential units. The stadium by itself isn't bringing people who aren't already going to games (capacity will be reduced and the potential increase in concerts or other sports seems like mostly a wash, especially without the entertainment complex that will eventually need to be negotiated). The parks and museum are potentially amenities that will attract but hard to say that people will what, drive in from around the region to go to them? There's also no real transit system to connect nearby residents to those places (and clearly there won't be). I'm not sure that these will be enough to drive sufficient demand for housing infill without subsidy, especially as bills for maintenance start coming due.

I'm also curious about the budgetary impacts of all this once the jail effort seriously starts moving along. That's potentially a billion-dollar albatross atop all these efforts.

[thelakelander]

Less people will go to Riverfront Plaza when it's complete than they did at the Landing's Hooters. Jax actually has a lot of decent parks along the river, so it will take more than a riverwalk, grass, a playground and concession stand to draw mass crowds consistently. My hope for that space is that we focus on flooding the surrounding area with complimentary compact development. A revitalized Northbank is the unique draw. The parks are just individual amenities that become a part of overall scene. Nevertheless, let's get them done!

[jaxlongtimer]

After seeing the flooding from Hurricane Helene, I believe we need to rethink how we develop along our waterfronts.  If we get a direct hit, especially if accompanied by heavy rains as experienced in Appalachia this past week, on top of king tides and a rising ocean and river, there will be multiple feet of water flooding much of this City.

I think the current experience makes it even more imperative to push high value development significantly back from the river and leave the river banks as parks/green space to absorb the inevitable flooding that we are overdue for again, but on an even larger scale than history would suggest.

That doesn't mean we don't have some structures to offer amenities along the riverfront, just that they need to not result in a major financial loss when they get flooded, i.e. no multistory buildings or massive complexes as currently being proposed.

What is already there is there... but should not be replaced when it is damaged beyond repair.

[acme54321]

After seeing the flooding from Hurricane Helene, I believe we need to rethink how we develop along our waterfronts.  If we get a direct hit, especially if accompanied by heavy rains as experienced in Appalachia this past week, on top of king tides and a rising ocean and river, there will be multiple feet of water flooding much of this City.

I think the current experience makes it even more imperative to push high value development significantly back from the river and leave the river banks as parks/green space to absorb the inevitable flooding that we are overdue for again, but on an even larger scale than history would suggest.

That doesn't mean we don't have some structures to offer amenities along the riverfront, just that they need to not result in a major financial loss when they get flooded, i.e. no multistory buildings or massive complexes as currently being proposed.

What is already there is there... but should not be replaced when it is damaged beyond repair.

What you are describing was Irma.

The type of flooding you are seeing from Helene isn't going to happen here because of geography.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ I wasn't referring to the type of flooding.  I was referring to flooding, generally.  Our flooding is likely to be driven by a wall of water coming up the river from the ocean (magnified by the recent river dredging) vs. washing down the side of mountains into valley streams.  That said, a flood is a flood.  In some ways, we have an added problem if the water is brackish or salty... that will just add insult to injury.

[Ken_FSU]

My hope for that space is that we focus on flooding the surrounding area with complimentary compact development.

Where do you see the highest, most immediate area of opportunity for this? Do you picture it as new development or redevelopment of existing building stock? I ask because I hear a lot about riverfront parks encouraging redevelopment of the surrounding areas, but I have a tough time visualizing how our current urban fabric (city services, office towers hostile to the sidewalk, retail-less parking garages, vacant lots, etc.) is really conducive to this adjacent the parks, aside from a stretch of Bay Street.