by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
It has been years since the public has put on bright yellow hard hats and been given a flashlight to walk through some of Downtown’s newest apartments and lofts.
Three years ago the Chamber’s Downtown Council held the Hard Hat Loft Tour, where the public was given a chance to see what Downtown offered as far as housing. Now that new apartments and condos have been popping up all over the north and south banks, developers, Downtown Vision, Inc. and Downtown advocates are jumping on board with Downtown Council to help host the Downtown Living Tour.
The council’s Downtown Enhancement Committee is still in the early stages of planning the tour, but Downtown Living Tour chair Joe Snowberger is confident the tour will take place in mid-November.
“We (Downtown Council) went to DVI and the JEDC (Jacksonville Economic Development Commission) and asked them where we could help,” he said. “And the one thing that kept popping up was Downtown living. We knew it was time to dust off the books and bring back the hard hat tour.”
However, this year’s Downtown Living Tour is going to be less hard hat and flashlight tour and more of a tour of the finished products and what Downtown has to offer. The times and ticket prices have not yet been decided, but the money raised will go to the council’s scholarship funds at A. Philip Randolph Academy and to pay for the transportation during the tour.
“The first tours a few years ago were done to plant the seed that Downtown was a potential place to live,” said Snowberger. “It was in transition from an 8 to 5 work environment to a living environment, too.”
The Downtown Living Tour will include all of the current and upcoming residences, but also it will be about the entire Downtown experience.
“We want to make sure this tour is all about living Downtown and showing people the urban living experience,” he said. “It will encompass living and working Downtown and what it has to offer.”
The Downtown Living Tour is tentatively scheduled for mid-November. It will be a two-day event with a VIP event on Nov. 17 and the public tour on Nov. 18. The Downtown Enhancement Committee met with DVI and developers in early August to find out what they thought about the tour.
“The developers couldn’t believe it,” he said. “They said, ‘Are you kidding?’ because there are very few cities that will put together an event like this.”
Some of the current and upcoming residences that will be included (but not all) on the tour are: the St. Johns Hotel, W.A. Knight Building, Parks at Cathedral, Metropolitan, St. Johns, the Shipyards, The Plaza, Plaza II, The Strand, The Peninsula, Churchwell Lofts and San Marco Place.
There is a lot that has to go into an event like this to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible. Snowberger is working with realtors, developers and DVI as well as finding volunteers to give the tours and direct people around Downtown. Programs and maps must also be made. JTA’s trolley and skyway services will also be used to transport people to the different venues.
“This is a great opportunity for anyone living Downtown,” he said. “Everyone will be involved — transportation, restaurants, shops, museums and we are just connecting our piece — housing.”
Snowberger said more will be announced as the tour gets closer.
This is all coming together because of the partnerships between Downtown Council, developers, DVI and Downtown advocates, he said.
“We are giving folks an opportunity to see for themselves and be aware of everything that Downtown has to offer,” said Snowberger. “This is something where Downtown Council can make a difference.”