Downtown Construction Update - May 2009

[CMG22]

Cooly, then put it another way.  Those criminals should not be residing on land that costs more per square foot than the land on which my humble, (mostly) law abiding behind resides.  A riverfront jail... only in Jacksonville!

[tufsu1]

P.S. That Ronco Group building is about as "blah ugly" as you can get.  No personality or character whatsoever.  Another blight on Downtown.  How do people come up with this stuff?  It doesn't have to cost a fortune to do something imaginative and interesting.

maybe you should compare it to what the buildng looked like before the renovation!

[thelakelander]

The Ronco Group building is an improvement over what it was.  However, the small windows are what kill the project's overall design.  The scale of those things are completely out of whack with the typical downtown building window size characteristics.  Change the window sizes (its too late now), and that building looks completely different and compatible with typical downtown buildings that size.  I'll have to go back and look, but I thought the downtown master plan mentioned something about storefront window dimensions.  If it does, I assume the DDRB gave them a variance of some sort.

[jason_contentdg]

P.S. That Ronco Group building is about as "blah ugly" as you can get.  No personality or character whatsoever.  Another blight on Downtown.  How do people come up with this stuff?  It doesn't have to cost a fortune to do something imaginative and interesting.

maybe you should compare it to what the building looked like before the renovation!

So as long as it's a marginal improvement, then everyone should be fine with it? 
The amount of money that they spent on renovating that building could have actually gotten them something pretty nice.  Someone, not sure if it was the owner or the designer, did not put much effort in making that particular area a better place with the final product.

[Coolyfett]

Cooly, then put it another way.  Those criminals should not be residing on land that costs more per square foot than the land on which my humble, (mostly) law abiding behind resides.  A riverfront jail... only in Jacksonville!

I think the location is bad, I think it should be downtown, but not where it is. IMO it should be between La Villa and Union Terminal or North of FCCJ, the JSO main building should move with it. I don't mean the exact land that should be used for JTC but a lil further northwest. I mean the courthouse is moving, does JSO having any plans of moving? The only time Id LIKE to see inmates near the river, is when they are cleaning the edges of it. But to say they have a great view is funny, cause they have no view, just thick glass & steal.

[Coolyfett]

So as long as it's a marginal improvement, then everyone should be fine with it?
The amount of money that they spent on renovating that building could have actually gotten them something pretty nice.  Someone, not sure if it was the owner or the designer, did not put much effort in making that particular area a better place with the final product.

Man it was an auto repair shop, what more could they do there? Are you just seeing the Ronco thing? I mean they were posting the process of that location for a while on here. You would have to ask lake the original pics man. It was called Jaguar Ugly....the Ugly part was correct.

[urbanlibertarian]

IMO, the choice now is between building this courthouse now for this price or not having one built in my lifetime.  Let's move forward already!

[Charles Hunter]

Questions.

Is Kings Avenue one building with 2 different names? Or 2 different buildings?

One building with 2 Hilton chains in it.  Eventually, there will be a retail building between the new hotels and I-95.

City Hall Annex, Isnt there one on Bay Street in a white building. This Jake Godbold is across from Main Library?

The old Bay Street City Hall - next to the Hyatt - became the City Hall Annex, and is now the Court House Annex. Up on Forsyth Street is the Claude Yates building, which I think was called a City Hall Annex when City Hall was on Bay Street.

The Restuarant on Bay is between Marks and TSI?? Is that the location?

Whats up with the old laundry mat on Kings Street?

No Clue.

Whats up with the school on College Street?

I think it is being converted into residential - that is the old John Gorrie Junior High / Middle School

The Lofts on Main look nice man!!! Good to see Godbold gets his name on a building, dude had love for Jax. I remember getting my oil changed and a tune up at the Ronco Building lol...what the heck is it now?

[GatorShane]

The 925 King street project is another great infill for that part of King Street. If that area could get another infill such as the refurbished but still empty space at King St and College St. it could turn into another quaint district. As far as the courthouse it is a done deal, so we should just get over it and move on.

[Captain Zissou]

Just an update.....High Tide Burrito is now open for business.  Looked to be pretty busy on Thursday evening.

[jason_contentdg]

So as long as it's a marginal improvement, then everyone should be fine with it?
The amount of money that they spent on renovating that building could have actually gotten them something pretty nice.  Someone, not sure if it was the owner or the designer, did not put much effort in making that particular area a better place with the final product.

Man it was an auto repair shop, what more could they do there? Are you just seeing the Ronco thing? I mean they were posting the process of that location for a while on here. You would have to ask lake the original pics man. It was called Jaguar Ugly....the Ugly part was correct.

Yes, drove by it nearly everyday for a long time, and the entire corner (the main entry) is new construction - so yes, it's an improvement from what was there, but that's just not saying very much.

[5PointsGuy]

325 Bay St. is between Mark's and Dive Bar. There is no room for it between TSI and Dive. I work at the courthouse and I'm glad to finally see something happening to that location. I've looked in the window often and that space is much bigger than the pictures indicate. Additionally, there seems to be stairs right by the entrance for a second story. Perhaps an upscale taps bar/restaurant and serves late into the evening in order to cater more to the young professional crowd that frequents Ivy's and Mark's?

Also, although I won't be working for the court system much longer, the idea of a new courthouse being completely sooner rather than later is extremely good news. Unless you have worked in the courthouse and seems its gross deficiencies, you wouldn't have a real feel for the urgency of replacing this dilapidated, outdated building (not to mention all of the prime realestate that is being wasted...

[Steve]

Looks like things at the landing are moving along at a lightning quick pace:

According to a Landing representative, a formal agreement with Peterbrooke to put a chocolate factory and store in the riverfront mall hasn’t been reached yet. Also, don’t expect the long-planned Fuddruckers to happen any time soon. The developers say they are “waiting for the money” before completing the first-floor restaurant.

[barberofdeville]

Anyone have any info on the The Men'sbarber shop? Im moving to Jax and looking for a nice barber shop to work and it looks right up my alley. Any contact info would be much appreciated.

[mtraininjax]

Fuddruckers is a joke. Take down the signs, they are the classic bait and switch. We might as well just have a Krystals open up there to feed late night appetities. Furddruckers will never come to pass.