Cool Stuff in Other Cities

[spenser1058]

A tragically  failed condo project may soon be taken down after almost 15 years and the latest project for downtown Jacksonville is promise significant new retail including a grocery store:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/135-million-redevelopment-of-berkam-ii-proposed/

From The Jaxson

 

[spenser1058]

I was impressed in this ad for Visit Tampa Bay just how much focus there was on downtown Tampa. Once upon a time, that attention would likely have concentrated more on the beaches. 

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oZSG/visit-tampa-bay-most-thrills

 

[spenser1058]

The once and maybe future (but definitely maddening) story of downtown Tampa’s Kiley Garden:

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2021/04/29/activists-want-to-restore-tampas-kiley-garden-once-a-landscape-marvel/?outputType=amp

From The Tampa Bay Times 

For the record, I was never a fan of the NCNB Building but Kiley was something very different. Like the peoplemover to Harbour Island, it gave you a reason to wander downtown when there was precious little to talk about in the ‘80’s.
 

[spenser1058]

Ideas for reuse of large, historic distribution and warehouse facilities in Jacksonville and Memphis:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-adaptive-reuse-of-crosstown-concourse/

From The Jaxson 

It’s also a reminder of the incredible reach Sears once had.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

16 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

The once and maybe future (but definitely maddening) story of downtown Tampa’s Kiley Garden:

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2021/04/29/activists-want-to-restore-tampas-kiley-garden-once-a-landscape-marvel/?outputType=amp

From The Tampa Bay Times 

For the record, I was never a fan of the NCNB Building but Kiley was something very different. Like the peoplemover to Harbour Island, it gave you a reason to wander downtown when there was precious little to talk about in the ‘80’s.
 

Tampa's assault on itself deserves a medal.

Recent developments are encouraging, no doubt.  Imagine if these were considered as infill though, rather than restoration, revitalization, etc. 

[smileguy]

On 4/28/2021 at 11:01 PM, spenser1058 said:

I was impressed in this ad for Visit Tampa Bay just how much focus there was on downtown Tampa. Once upon a time, that attention would likely have concentrated more on the beaches. 

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oZSG/visit-tampa-bay-most-thrills
 

No surprise here -- Tampa Bay has two separate DMOs.  Visit Tampa Bay is on the Hillsborough County side, and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is on the Pinellas side.  

https://www.visittampabay.com/
https://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/

[spenser1058]

When it comes to South Florida’s business boom, is Fort Lauderdale the Henny Youngman that gets no respect?

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-lauderdale-business-development-ss-prem-20210503-bgw6asqparba7pmwoaatvr7gwq-story.html?outputType=amp

From The Sun-Sentinel 
 

[dcluley98]

That was Rodney Dangerfield. 

[spenser1058]

2 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

That was Rodney Dangerfield. 

Indeed it was. Senior moment.

[orange87]

Well, I made the move out of DeBary. I now live in an affluent picturesque suburb in Central Connecticut called Simsbury. It's just outside of the capitol city of Hartford. BLM and Pride flags on every other corner here. Trumpers are definitely in the minority in this town. @spenser1058would love it here. 

[spenser1058]

Some beautiful pics -what an awesome town! I’d love to move up that way but I’d freeze to death the first winter - I grumbled through my four winters just living in Nashville. I hope the move works well for you! Is your family up that way?

[orange87]

5 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Some beautiful pics -what an awesome town! I’d love to move up that way but I’d freeze to death the first winter - I grumbled through my four winters just living in Nashville. I hope the move works well for you! Is your family up that way?

Thanks Spenser. I grew up in CT and lived there for 20 years. The next 14 years I lived in Central Florida. Now I'm back in CT. I always felt like a Northerner at heart. My parents and two siblings still live in CT. My parents have been seriously considering retiring to VA in a year or two from now.

[Uncommon]

I was born and grew up in Connecticut. Such a beautiful state! Way too cold for me though. But that town reminds me of how picturesque and quaint New England is.

[spenser1058]

The cure for Tampa’s infamous “Malfunction Junction” (the interchange of I4 and I275) may be coming sooner than expected:

https://www.fox13news.com/news/possible-fix-for-tampas-malfunction-junction-in-the-works.amp

From FOX13

It will be one of the largest transportation projects in Florida when it proceeds.

 

[spenser1058]

How ‘bout a makeover for an entire town?

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ben-erin-napier-renovated-entire-town-hometown-takeover

From Architectural Digest 

[popsiclebrandon]

We just opened a new location in the DFW area and it makes me sad that the suburbs of Dallas have 100x more things to do in them than the Orlando core does.

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

We just opened a new location in the DFW area and it makes me sad that the suburbs of Dallas have 100x more things to do in them than the Orlando core does.

Yet the good citizens of Orlando keep paying Thomas Chatmon a six figure income to do… what exactly?

It’s good Buddy brought him here to make downtown Orlando every bit as exciting as his previous location, Albany, GA!

[Uncommon]

Just got back from Charleston for the first time and all I can say is wow. I get they have a couple hundred years of history on Orlando but man, that city is doing a lot of things right. Their entire downtown is amazingly vibrant, walkable, and dense. Orlando has got a LOT to learn.

[spenser1058]

29 minutes ago, Uncommon said:

Just got back from Charleston for the first time and all I can say is wow. I get they have a couple hundred years of history on Orlando but man, that city is doing a lot of things right. Their entire downtown is amazingly vibrant, walkable, and dense. Orlando has got a LOT to learn.

Orlando’s downtown, of course, will never equal that of Charleston’s or Savannah’s (did you know Charleston was the fourth largest city in the first US census in 1790?)

But, as we know from even smaller places like Winter Garden, it’s all about maximizing what you have. That’s what Orlando began to do in 1980 and abruptly stopped in 2003.

We tend to believe that the cities we regard as historical avatars somehow got that way over centuries by osmosis. Often, that’s not the case.

Rockefeller brought Williamsburg back starting in the 1920’s. Savannah got serious about restoration in the ‘50’s. Miami Beach in the ‘80’s. St. Augustine and Winter Garden in the ‘90’s. It’s all about caring and having the will to do it. That’s the missing spark right now for us.
 

Edited May 16, 2021 by spenser1058

[Uncommon]

6 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Orlando’s downtown, of course, will never equal that of Charleston’s or Savannah’s (did you know Charleston was the fourth largest city in the first US census in 1790?)

But, as we know from even smaller places like Winter Garden, it’s all about maximizing what you have. That’s what Orlando began to do in 1980 and abruptly stopped in 2003.

It’s worth knowing that the cities we think of being historical avatars got that way over centuries. Often, that’s not the case.

Rockefeller brought Williamsburg back starting in the 1920’s. Savannah got serious about restoration in the ‘50’s. Miami Beach in the ‘80’s. St. Augustine and Winter Garden in the ‘90’s. It’s all about caring and having the will to do it. That’s the missing spark right now for us.
 

The historical aspect is very cool but even if Orlando was vibrant and dense, that would be enough for me. I wonder if I-Drive is severely undermining the efforts of city leaders to boost downtown’s profile. Either way, having tons of speeding cars zooming throughout the core, unchecked homelessness, or a lack of pedestrian-friendly streets can’t be good. It’s part of the reason I’m considering checking out Tampa for relocation. The spiel always was that downtown Tampa is dead after 5pm. But with all the building, I’m wondering if its downtown’s future has a better one than Orlando’s.

[spenser1058]

Just now, Uncommon said:

The historical aspect is very cool but even if Orlando was vibrant and dense, that would be enough for me. I wonder if I-Drive is severely undermining the efforts of city leaders to boost downtown’s profile. Either way, having tons of speeding cars zooming throughout the core, unchecked homelessness, or a lack of pedestrian-friendly streets can’t be good. It’s part of the reason I’m considering checking out Tampa for relocation. The spiel always was that downtown Tampa is dead after 5pm. But with all the building, I’m wondering if its downtown’s future has a better one than Orlando’s.

I-Drive was already there in 1980 when Mayor Bill recognized something needed to be done downtown. By enacting smart legislation to preserve the core and encouraging the grassroots to get involved at the micro level and using the bully pulpit to proclaim that downtown was back, he succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams (the Chicones and Ropers used that model for WG).

Don’t get me wrong - Mayor Bill, who was Buddy’s mentor, was every bit as corporate and pro-development as Buddy. The difference has been that Mayor Bill got everyone involved and developed a vision of what could be special and unique about downtown. Buddy just handed everything over to the billionaires and the bar owners and proclaimed he’d done his job. We see the results.

 

[spenser1058]

In an era of throwaway buildings, it’s good to look back at this Scottish Rite Temple in Jacksonville’s Springfield neighborhood and realize there was a time people wanted to invest in the future of their communities, and did:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/inside-springfields-scottish-rite-masonic-temple/

From The Jaxson 
 

From the very first time I discovered it in the 1970’s, I knew this stretch of FL A1A was special. I’m pleased to see others feel the same way about it:

https://www.floridarambler.com/scenic-drives/florida-a1a/

From The Florida Rambler 
 

[spenser1058]

Amtrak proposes major rail service between Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati:

https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2021/05/amtrak-leaders-pitch-new-cleveland-columbus-dayton-cincinnati-route-its-our-goal-to-get-this-done.html?outputType=amp

The 250-mile route is similar to the distance between Orlando and Miami. Most interesting from our perspective is that it would include a stop at Cleveland’s airport.

Fun Fact: Columbus is currently the largest MSA without train service.
 

[spenser1058]

Imagine Clearwater waterfront park about to break ground - $64 million project:

https://stpetecatalyst.com/64-5-million-imagine-clearwater-waterfront-park-ready-to-break-ground/amp/

From St. Pete Catalyst 
 

[spenser1058]

Atlanta Magazine sings the praises of Historic Jacksonville’s neighborhoods:

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/southbound-articles/jacksonville-florida-weekend-getaway/