Which project are you most looking foward too?

[NoFxfan]

The old JEA site(southbank) or the shipyards site(northbank)?

edit: ah crap, I spelled "to" wrong. oh well.

[Captain Obvious]

It's an interesting comparison, since both sites are about 40 acres, with about 25 acres of developable land.

I'm more excited about the JEA site, because nearly everything is still up in the air. We more or less already know what's going to happen with the Shipyards. Landmar will probably sign the deal, and build around 650 units plus some hotel rooms. The development will almost certainly focus on the river, and turn its back to the street, especially considering its neighbors on Bay St. (the Jail, Coffee factory, and elevated highway ... talk about the worst possible adjacent land-uses)

On the other hand, we know nothing about the JEA site except that a few acres of riverfront land will be preserved as park space. One can only hope the park design concept will be an extension of the San Marco riverwalk park space idea. It's also exciting because we know that something great could be built on the site - as demonstrated by Haskell's failed proposal.

[asonj23]

I would have to focus my interest on the Shipyards site. The southbank is already seeing its highrise construction boom leaving the Northbank behind for the moment. The Shipyards development will finally carry the skyline east of the Main Street bridge linking the CBD to the Sports District.

[Urban_Legend]

It's about 50/50 for me, although I voted for Shipyards.

[La Florida]

Im more interested in the JEA site development. Like Cpt. Obvious said, we pretty much already know what the shipyards is going to consist of. However i am interested in seeing the new renderings. But the JEA site will be very interesting to see with all the competition from developers wanting to develope the land. I bet your bottom dollar this is where we will see Jacksonvilles new tallest!! Watch

[La Florida]

The development will almost certainly focus on the river, and turn its back to the street, especially considering its neighbors on Bay St. (the Jail, Coffee factory, and elevated highway ... talk about the worst possible adjacent land-uses)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

JSO must go! I wish the new courthouse proposal somehow included a new jail in another area. That Jail on the river is the worst thing to have ever happened to the riverfront. Thank Jake Godbold for that one. After the convention center issue is solved, we need someone in office to push for the relocation of the jail. It totally kills the vibe on Bay, and will kill any development that tries to have street interaction in the area across from it. Its hideous! The Jail property is the missing link for Baystreet, the shipyards, sports complex and the CBD all to connect into one. The coffee plants cool though, it adds character...not to mention FLAVOR

[120North]

I voted for the Shipyards. I think it has more of a chance of having impact now. I think LandMar will do the right thing with the property. The Catherine Street Pier will be nice when it is complete. I also think that The Shipyards will have some retail and bar/restaurant space along bay street. The eastern end of the property is a long way away from JSO and the jail. It would be a nice gameday addition to have some other places to grub before a game (football, baseball, hockey).

NO real opinion of The JEA Site. It seems a bit disconnected from the rest of the Southbank. How do you get there?

[Urban_Legend]

^You have to DRIVE past the suburban-esque DuPont buildings and the School Board. Whatever they do to that site, I hope they can connect it to the rest of the Southbank!

[Jmac823200]

I myself voted for the Shipyards. I think this will be a very interesting project (should have been half way completed by now though). I think that the Maxwell House is a great compliment to the area. The Jail House had to be the most R-E-TARDED idea ever! Who in the right mind would ever think to put a jail house downtown that close to the river. Even before all the development downtown I thought that it was bad use of land (old city hall too). If a missle were to ever land in Jacksonville, I would hope that it would land right there. We need a good excuse to demolish this monstrosity/eye sore (or whatever bad thing you want to call it) ASAP!

[scongro]

Shipyards, for one simple reason: I'm sick of the circus crap going on with it. I realize we don't want to screw this up, but just because you take forever to decide something doesn't always make it work

[bobliocatt]

I'll go with the Shipyards, because of its centralized location on the Northbank, between downtown and the Stadium district. A well designed project has the power to tie the two areas together.