by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) has a new way to look at Downtown. Based on Google Earth and related software called “SketchUp,” it will allow a proposed development project to be depicted in a “Virtual Downtown” that has been created as a joint project with the City’s Information Technology Department (ITD).
The project began about a year ago and is now complete with 2,138 elements of Downtown assembled into a three-dimensional (3-D) computer model. That’s every street, exit ramp, bridge and building – including cooling towers, antennas and other rooftop machinery. The windows on the buildings even reflect the structures next to them.
“Basically ITD built Downtown from the dirt up,” said JEDC Redevelopment Manager Eric Lindstrom.
The 3-D model is just the latest step in an initiative that began in 2000 when the Downtown Master Plan was approved.
“It’s a very design-oriented plan and that led to the Downtown Review Committee which has since been replaced by the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB),” said Lindstrom, who added up until now, the review process “has been based on static drawings. With only elevations and photos, it’s hard to picture what a project will look like when it’s built. Even architects are sometimes surprised how a project looks or how it fits in with its environment when it’s complete. It’s a visioning and planning tool as well as a regulatory tool.”
The new 3-D Downtown will enable the DDRB to see a project as if it was complete while it’s still on the drawing board. Lindstrom pointed out it’s part of Jacksonville’s progression as a city that’s redeveloping itself.
“At eight years into the process, we’re fairly new at redevelopment,” he said. “Cities like Chicago, New York and San Francisco are already using this technology. It’s a sign we’re maturing as a city about how we evaluate our Downtown projects.
“I think having this technology available to review projects will increase the value of our Downtown and make the development community amenable to spending more money here.”
The computer model has other applications including helping the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office plan for security issues and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue will use the model to evaluate disaster plans including hurricane evacuation routes.
Lindstrom said the technology will also have applications beyond the design review process for private projects.
“The JEDC can use it to plan infrastructure improvements like streetscape. We could design pedestrian corridors right down to placing different types of trees in a certain area and being able to see what the streetscape would look like with each option. There won’t be any more ‘we think this is what it will look like.’ We will know,” he said.