Clustering. A Modest Proposal.

[stephendare]

Ok,  A lot of discussion has already been expended on the idea of retail clustering, which hopefully brings everyone up to date.  (it has been two long years of explaining it after all)

Here is the proposal to take it to the next step:

A conference or an invited presentation with the Schneiders (Loop Restaurant, Bistro Aix), Karin Tucker (Biscotti's), The Davis's (Winn Dixie), Marvin (the local Franchise owner of CiCi's Pizza), Moon River Pizza, Jonathan Insetta (who owns Chew, Orsay etc) Mark the owner of Marks and Dive Bar, Jason Grimes and Ryan Rummell, (owners of TSI) Peter the president of Peterbrooke's, Ian Ranne the owner of Shanty Town, and Diane Whitten, (the owner of Uncommon Grounds).  Put them in the same room with a group of landowners (say Petra, Kevin Gay, and Jack and Mack) and present a proposal to create one massive clustering project designed to bring in all of their various constituents simultaneously?

This is the ideal time to do it.

The landowners need to make huge concessions for the next two years (the properties will be vacant anyways otherwise), the residents need to make niceness guarantees and everyone needs to pull together.

In two years Main Street will be a mecca.

[Ocklawaha]

If this happens between  Downtown through 8TH and Main, just add STREETCAR for an incredible economic boom.

If anyone care's I'd be glad to come over and speak to any of these folks on what COULD HAPPEN if we could just get PEYTON and the CITY COUNCIL not to kill mass transit with road funding.

Can you imagine a true gas-lamp style Main Street with all these cool venues along it?

WOW!

OCKLAWAHA

[triclops i]

I would attend!

I

[thelakelander]

I'd attend as well.

Sounds like something worth pursuing that has not been tried locally (at least to my knowledge).  If we can get the landowners (or at least a couple) on board, this is the right time to make this type of move.

[deathstar]

So I was doing a bit of cleaning out of my room, and I found a couple toy trolley's in a box. I didn't throw 'em away, and I have one that is from San Francisco I know for sure. It say's Powell & Mason Sts, with 4 on the front, and San Francisco Municipal Railway on the side. The other one is green and looks more like the abandoned rail car someone took pictures of awhile back. It has bars on it that would connect to lines, and says Desire St. on the side. They were both made in China.

I have been staring at these two rail cars, and picturing how different Jacksonville could be with that implemented, and Ock, it's starting to get in my blood! Just thought I'd share that hear, turns out my Grandmother was trying to tell me something when she gave them to me as a kid


Edit: I took pictures

[JeffreyS]

Hopefully all of the businesses won't have to move what they already have.

[copperfiend]

deathstar, is that a Star Wars museum on the streetcar line? I am intrigued.

[gatorback]

What a great idea!  Maybe the venue could be the football stadium.  They must have awesome conference rooms there.

[downtownparks]

I think this is a pretty solid idea, but for it to work several things must happen. A decent buy in from the land owners, with not just competitive, but blockbuster rates for the first 5 years (at least). Most of the properties are under-rented, or not rented at all it should be a simple matter of logic for them. With some rent (rather than none) and a successful business that will increase the marketability of their other properties would seem like a no-brainer.

Second, buy in from the businesses. Now is not exactly a time more businesses are going to be willing to expand, but if they are able to get block buster rates, the assurance of a big PR effort by the community, (SAMBA, SPAR, ect), it might create a buzz, even in a down economy.

Other land owners that need to be talked to are Cesery, as well as Valparo. 3rd and Main has some density now that 3rd and main is going in. With clustering at 1st and Main (Pearl and the possibly open Horne Building) 3rd and Main. Shanty and the Mediterranean food place opening at 6th and Main, and possibly the old Epicurean, Chans, and the small commercial building next to the detailers at 5th and Main, and then the existing buildings between 7th-8th.

Even without a streetcar plan, this kinda of simultaneous buy in would go a long way to helping with a successful plan.

[Ocklawaha]

New Orleans to be sure, but did you know we taught them how to make it beautiful? On Main Street!





I'll let my nuimbers do the talking for having a plan and not backing off - Like going into year 28 for me!
I recall a DI Marine who used the old movie line on us Squids.

"What do you do if your surrounded by 500 enemy soldiers?"

TRUST ME, THERE IS ONLY ONE RIGHT ANSWER!

"KILL THEM ALL...!"

Going at North Main and not playing on the history of Jacksonville Traction's "Worlds Most Beautiful Streetcar Line" would be like washing your hands with gloves on. You'll raise a bunch of folks bubbles but you won't clean up a damn thing!

[thelakelander]

I believe this clustering suggestion and the streetcar situation are two different issues.  With or without the streetcar, this is a short term strategy that can be put into effect immediately.  If something like this can be successfully pulled off, if and when a streetcar comes down the line, it will be like hitting the jackpot twice.

[The Compound]

I don't know. I don't totally agree. What makes all these succesfull places work is where they are now and the neighborhoods they are in. I know that's the reason I visit them. Where would this land mass be and why would I want to leave my "island" to go there?

[Ocklawaha]

This is why we need to restore the historic, landscaped, streetcar... and go OVER THE TOP with all of it, heritage cars, poles, stops, landscape etc...

I agree that they are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, but they shouldn't be:

I've lived in Jacksonville on and off forever, but the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Springfield is:

CRIME
GHETTO
GUN SHOTS

Even though I know that I know this is no longer true, I'm even looking at property there... But still the knee jerk reaction of the last 40-50 years stays with me. If Springfield doesn't do something to blow through the long, long, years of being near the bottom of the City's burbs, then no one is coming to your cluster.

Springfield won't see success with a cluster of what every suburban spot already has. Springfield needs a LANDING (that functinos), but we already have one. Springfield needs a Disney World, but we have one of those down south. The Streetcar would be the draw.

It's an ugly comment, I don't mean to be insulting to my many friends who have beautiful homes in this grand old neighborhood, but we must admit, reputations are hard to shake.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Springfield should not want what every suburban neighborhood has.  Its also not about turning the district into a tourist attraction.  The goal is to create a vibrant commercial corridor in the short term.  The Clustering meeting suggestion is about getting your land/building owners together in the same room with some of the city's most successful urban core business owners.  The goal would be that discussion from such an event would lead to the creation of a vibrant commerical corridor with filled storefronts.

Filling storefronts on Main don't require installing tracks, JTA, city council or FDOT approval to get off the ground.  The storefronts are already there and there are people who would like to operate in the area.  The key is finding a way to eliminate/solve the issues that stop them from coming.

My advise would be to keep things simple with a long range plan in mind.  Directly tying a leasing strategy together with the streetcar fight will only delay the goal of short term improvement.  However, this does not mean that adding a streetcar line in the area is not noteworthy or worth pursuing. 

[downtownparks]

Agreed Lake. The housing in Springfield has succeeded despite the issues listed by OCK, as well as lackluster retail options. If you could get simultaneous buy in you would jump one of the last major hurdles. I do believe that simultaneous is the key.

Perhaps in addition to the suggested meeting between land holders and potential retailers, we could have a neighborhood townhall or meet and greet with the same groups of people. If there is one thing Springfield has no lack of, its passion. a few hundred Springfielders in a room full of the above mentioned might get some of the right elbows rubbed so that there is not just neighborhood support, but neighborhood buy in as well.