Former City Council presidents put an old topic on the table at their monthly meeting last week — Downtown development.
In fact, the particular topic was 41 years old.
Retired planner Don Ingram, the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority in the 1970s, brought photos, maps and a copy of “The Plan for Downtown Jacksonville” created in September 1971.
Ingram told the almost 20 former Council presidents and guests that 70 City and business leaders were involved in creating the plan for the Jacksonville Area Planning Board.
The group met at The Mudville Grille in St. Nicholas.
The group members recalled problems past and still present: parking; retail development; Downtown housing; consistent plans; cooperation among landowners; circulation; the usefulness and future of the Skyway system; funding; jobs.
There also were a lot of similar comments about elements of the plans and proposals:
“A lot of the things the market could not bear and did not happen.”
“That did not happen.”
“It did not happen.”
“It never went anywhere.”
“The concept might have been doomed from the start.”
“Retail faded from the scene slowly … sadly.”
And one question that summed it up:
“What went wrong?”
The 1971 “Urban Design Plan” described the redevelopment strategy as three interconnected development areas:
• The New Riverfront Center Area
• The Retail Core Area
• The Laura-Hogan streets axis
There were more suggestions in the plan, but the group focused on why much of it didn’t happen and talked about the many plans created since then.
“I don’t know how many downtown plans we’ve had,” said retired planner Marvin Hill, saying there probably has been at least one plan for each of the six completed administrations since City-County consolidation in 1968.
“If we’d taken it little by little, we’d be there now,” he said.
Hill was executive director of the former Jacksonville Area Planning Board.
Attention turned to Mayor Alvin Brown, the seventh mayor since 1968, and the creation of the Downtown Investment Authority that he formed with the Council.
Council member Warren Jones, a past Council president, said the authority needs to learn the history of development attempts Downtown.
“It seems each new mayor wants to set a new course and direction,” he said.
Jones advocates for finding a way to develop the core, including identifying incentives geared just for Downtown.
Jones said employment Downtown has fallen from a high of 80,000 people to 25,000 people “and there’s no incentive for retail.”
Authority member Jim Bailey, publisher of the Financial News & Daily Record, talked about the authority’s responsibility for consistency in how and why Downtown is redeveloped.
“I had hopes,” Ingram said.
It’s beginning to look ….
Look for Christmas tree tents at Home Depot and Lowe’s stores next week.
The City approved permits for the home-improvement chains to put up tents to sell trees.
Home Depot’s permits show tents from Nov. 13 to Dec. 28. The permits for Lowe’s list Nov. 15-Dec. 15.
Weekly conventions
Visit Jacksonville reports several events are booked this week and next, bringing more than 3,000 delegates to Northeast Florida. Events include:
• American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Annual Meeting, Wednesday-Saturday, Hyatt Downtown, 1,200 delegates.
• Jacksonville Jaycees, Florida Jaycees Third Quarter Conference, Friday-Sunday, Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk, 125 delegates.
• Redox Technologies Inc., International Conference, Saturday-Nov. 17, Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront, 200 delegates.
• American Water Resources Association, Annual Water Resources Conference, Saturday-Nov. 15, Hyatt Downtown, 300 delegates.
• Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., Commission Conference, Nov. 12-18, Hyatt Downtown, 1,200 delegates.
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