Here’s an update on the $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan projects, which were funded by a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in September 2000:
Baseball park
The $34 million, 10,000-seat ballpark is scheduled to be complete in time for the Jacksonville Suns to open the 2003 season in April. Ground was broken on the ballpark late last year. Infrastructure work began in March and the park actually came out of the ground in May. If you drive by the site, you can see the seating starting to take form. Wednesday, the Suns moved their offices out of Wolfson Park to temporary offices in the Talleyrand area. Demolition of Wolfson Park started Thursday as the City preps the site for the upcoming Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair. Once the Fair is over, the site will then be taken over by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who plan to move their practice fields from just outside the south end zone to outside the north end zone. At this point, the Suns and the City are still negotiating the lease of the new ball park and both sides have indicated an agreement should be reached soon. Renderings of the new park can be found at www.betterjax.com.
Arena
According to the Plan’s website, the $130 million, 16,000-seat arena will be open in Fall 2003. The Kansas City-based architectural firm, HOK, is designing both the ballpark and the arena, which will reflect the ballpark’s Camden Yards-like external appearance with a state-of-the-art interior. At last check, the arena was starting to take shape and its oval design is apparent. A rendering of the new arena can be found at www.betterjax.com.
Libraries
The first ground breaking for a branch library was April 9 at the San Marco Branch Library Renovation. The project connects with the new Balis Community Center. The $1.8 million project is funded by the Plan and a donation from Balis family of San Marco. The library’s reopening is expected in spring 2003. A story and photo can be found on www.betterjax.com.
On Aug. 17, the Rhodes Building was demolished and the debris has since been removed. The site is now being prepped for infrastructure work and an official ground breaking is set for later this year. Artist renderings are posted at www.betterjax.com.
County courthouse
Cannon Design was selected as the architect for the new county courthouse after winning a two-day design competition involving three other firms. The City and Cannon are currently negotiating terms of the contract. Last week, the City’s Professional Services Evaluation Committee recommended Beers Skanska Dynamics Partners as the construction manager for the courthouse. Wednesday, Mayor John Delaney signed off on that recommendation. The City and Beers, who is also doing the new United States Courthouse at Jacksonville, will now enter into contract talks, which are expected to take into December to finalize. The $211 million facility is scheduled for completion in 2005. Once an architect has been selected, renderings will be available at www.betterjax.com.
Resurfacing
Over 800 miles of streets have been resurfaced so far and Delaney personally paved a portion of the 500th mile on Duke Road in early May.
Sidewalks
Approximately 31 miles of new sidewalks have been built so far. Citizens should call 630-BJAX with questions about sidewalks and streets. Two nice ladies will help you with your questions and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll find out and get back to you.
Parks
Over 100 park projects, funded by the Better Jacksonville Plan, are currently underway. To check out what’s going on in your neighborhood, go to www.betterjax.com.
Northwest Economic Development Fund
Development of Hope Plaza (a mixed-use development with a 60,000-square-foot office building on a 32-acre site) in the North Planning District is moving forward. Site demolition of the Moncrief Plaza retail/commercial center and Chase neighborhood is complete and bids for construction are being accepted. There are several other projects within this fund and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission is constantly reviewing applications and bids.
This work is being funded in part by $25 million from the Plan and money from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund, overseen by Ros Phillips, director of business development for the JEDC.
Zoo
The “Range of the Jaguars” exhibit, a $10 million project, is projected to open in spring 2004. The ground breaking took place last month and is also being funded by over $2 million in private donations and other fund raising efforts.
Cecil Commerce Equestrian Center and Recreation Complex
This $25 million project is broken into three categories: $15 million for the equestrian center; $5 million for the recreation complex; and $5 million for infrastructure. The ground breaking for the equestrian center is set for Nov. 6 at 10:30 a.m. with a completion date of Summer 2003. The project is being handled by Taye’ Brown.