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Jax Beaches Developments


bobliocatt

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I can sympathize with the Jax Bch residents not wanting an unsightly wall of condos along the beach though. It completely ruins the atmosphere of the area, in my opinion. They democratically chose this restriction, so I dont see any problem with it. Let the highrise condos go in downtown Jacksonville. I think it is kind of nice to have one urban coastal area in FL not completely Miami-Beach-ified.

Having a downtown Jax Bch without restrictions would be a good compromise though.

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I can sympathize with the Jax Bch residents not wanting an unsightly wall of condos along the beach though.  It completely ruins the atmosphere of the area, in my opinion.  They democratically chose this restriction, so I dont see any problem with it.  Let the highrise condos go in downtown Jacksonville.  I think it is kind of nice to have one urban coastal area in FL not completely Miami-Beach-ified.

Having a downtown Jax Bch without restrictions would be a good compromise though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why not let the market dictate. I think the leaders of Jax beach and some of the residents are thinking that Jax Bch is still in the 60s. Developers want to develop there. Restaurants and retailers are moving there. It seems that the leaders out there don't understand what these condos can do for their tax base, which in turn would add to the city's budget reserves. I actually think that such backward thing by the leaders of Jax Bch could come back to bite them in the a*s at some point.

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I think a compromise, allowing downtown Jax Beach to develop would have been best. A 35 foot height restriction, makes for some very ugly multi-family residential buildings, imo. I think the major issue that needs to be tackled in Jax Beach is zoning (ex. no parking garages should be allowed along 1st St.). Fixing up the old boardwalk wouldn't be a bad idea either.

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There is one thing that trobles me about Jax Beach..

I understand people do not want to have another Daytona, and I ceartainly agree with that. Further more, I see nothing wrong with have a centralized location where the limit is not imposed. However, If you realy think about it, there realy isnt anythign at the beaches other than the beaches, and all these restrictions are part of the problem. It realy is a residental area, and thats fine... if thats all they want. but its having extremely stunted growth if you ask me. There are more resteraunts in the Mandrin area than there are in JAX/Alantic/Neptune and Pontevedra combined. (well, atleast equal) Parking is terrible, there realy is only one area open in a freindly way to the public (Joes Crab Shack) To be quite honost, it sometimes feels like even non-beach residents of Jacskonville arent even welcome at the beaches. Maybe this is jsut my perception, but its been validated each time me and my wife go there.

Anyway..

Cheers

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Personally, I think that some high rise condos are what Jacksonville Beach needs to come into it's own. From my interaction with people I have met and friends I have stayed with at the beach, I definitely agree with the person who said that Jacksonville Beach residents almost don't seem to want to share the beach or any improvement. Most of the people I met prided themselves on never even venturing outside of the Jax Beach area unless absolutely necessary.

When I look at Jacksonville Beach I see so much wasted potential. My problem with it is thus far is the same problem I seem to find with the city as a whole: Attention is given to making a lot of different areas look good, but that extra attention to make certain areas look GREAT isn't prevalent like it is in Orlando and Miami. I love Jacksonville because it has SO much potential, and I know it will get there eventually.

I don't really like Jacksonville Beach as of right now. I think the area on 3rd from Atlantic to Butler is so inconsistent. You'll drive for half of a mile and see really nice areas (the Roy's/Starbucks/Moe's/Bonefish plaza) and then within 1/10 of a mile you'll see buildings that look like they are falling apart on the same side of the road, or beaten down lots that look like no one is taking care of them. It's like the good retail and new buildings are trying to pull up the profile of the area, but the poor use and maintenance of other properties is holding it back and as a result the beach isn't really turning into a more attractive destination as a whole. There aren't a whole lot of major metro cities that can claim miles and miles of beaches as a part of their city, and rather than just sitting on this asset and doing nothing, I think it would be a really good thing for Jacksonville's image to develop the hell out of it and do sort of what they have done in Naples on a bigger scale.

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I'm not as concerned with height as I am with tastefulness. Some of the "midrises" in Jax beach are eyesores that totally ignore all the pedestrian traffic the street has to offer. Likewise, the strip malls don't block any views tend to be surrounded by surface parking. So it's a mixed bag.

No, I don't want ugly, white towers like South Florida. But I'd like to see some quality, 5-10 story buildings in a concentrated area, with good public space.

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I agree that Jax Beach should have better street involvement but remember that it is a small town, a suburb of Jax. I would like to see it develop but in a specific area. I think it is a shame sometimes to see someone's house that has been there for years be shrouded by condos. I think that the city should develop areas around the "downtown" area and along third street.

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hmmm....

To everyone...

What would it take to make Downtown Jax Beach a "second downtown" for JAX.

Here is what I am thinking...

Jax/Neptune/Atlantic Beach all want to keep the beaches theres (sometimes pushing jax residents away as well) ANYWAY. If they want the Beaches to be its own entity. i am fine with that. Adds to the diversity of JAX as a whole.

The Plan:

Rezone downtown beachs slightly... set 3rd street from 4th->8th going north, and 3rd->7th going west aside as the new "Downtown Zone". That is roughly where dt is right now. This zone will act as the CBD for all the beaches.

Second Build Two 10-15 story OFFICE buildings . MUST HAVE GOOD STREET INTERACTION. Build them with govmt money. Sorta an investment if you will. hold the lease for about 15 years to recoup the cost to build, and then sell it. Firm beliver in if you build it they will come.

Once the first two buildings are close to full occupancy, other business/developers will follow. Set some moderatly strick rules dictating that any new mid->high rises must have good street interaction. If you set that as a requirement from the get go, it will make things easier down the road.

Goal 1- Get a downtwon area with several highrises ranging from 10->25 stories.

FINAL GOAL - Downtown JAX Beach is a Competitive BUSINESS district. Supplimenting the growth of downtown JAX. this area does not directly compete with JAX Downtown and focuses on a seperae type of business sector like Realestate and Tourism. Get some small Bank towers out there even. The Jax Beach competes with places like Downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Also Let THIS area focus a little more on the tourism side of florida/jacksonville than is currently in Duval County. HOWEVER, the primary focus is still nontourist businesses.

RESIDENTAL:

allow WELL designed high rise Condo/Hotels from 5th N-> 6th S going south. This area is not subject to the Hieght restrictions. Also, there are a number of these already there. North of there is. As a Note, by well designed , I do NOT mean Concreate Walls. more along the lines of Glass tower type condos. the mediteranian style is OK HERE. San Marco Place would be perfect at the beaches.

Second. West of 3rd st NOT subject to hieght restrictions up to within 3 blocks of the intercoastal. streets immediatly on the intercostal are also subject to Hieght restrictions.

BEACH INTERACTION:

Simple... Extend the Board walk from Beach blvd (Joes) north to Atlantic BLVD. Areas where it is residental, the boardwalk gets "redirected" to follow 3rd st north until after the residental areas.

Anyway

Sorry Guys...

Dreaming of what I would do if I were Dictator again...

Cheers :)

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A compromise is the best answer. Most of the high-rise condo projects are in the heavily commercialized downtown area anyway. Outside of low-rise apartments and condos, there aren't many single family homes in this particular section of Jax Beach. Thus, I think the 35ft height limit and silly comparisons to Daytona & Miami Beaches are nothing more than knee jerk reactions, especially considering the old height restriction only allowed for buildings to be only 12 -15 stories.

Imo, the one's who have filed lawsuits have pretty good cases and should be fully compensated for the loss of income, due to residents (who started the condo boom, by selling to developers, in the first place) quickly pushing through a strict height limit without seriously exploring alternative measures.

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Good suggestions everybody. Lakelander, just a quick point. I just don't want to see the condos spread all of the way up and down the beach, but a section that they can be put without making people upset. There is middle ground here but we just need to find it.

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^Yes it is. However, this particular zoning issue only affects the city of Jackosnville Beach. The others, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Amelia Island, already have had varying height restrictions in place, for years.

The issue at hand with the Jax Beach restriction, is should developers, who purchased expensive property for condos when it was legal (before Nov. 2004), be Grandfathered in and allow to build where they have already invested millions of dollars in property. If not, should the city of Jax Beach and its residents be held accountable for the loss of income, by property owners who acquired the land with intent to build high density projects.

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^Yes it is.  However, this particular zoning issue only affects the city of Jackosnville Beach.  The others, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Amelia Island, already have had varying height restrictions in place, for years. 

The issue at hand with the Jax Beach restriction, is should developers, who purchased expensive property for condos when it was legal (before Nov. 2004), be Grandfathered in and allow to build where they have already invested millions of dollars in property.  If not, should the city of Jax Beach and its residents be held accountable for the loss of income, by property owners who acquired the land with intent to build high density projects.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Only where the existing zoning of the properties (owned by the parties bringing the lawsuit) allowed high-rises, are they due compensation, IMO. Jax Beach already had some restrictions on height. If a variance or zoning change was required to get a high rise under the old rules, then IMO, it does not necessarily classify as a "taking" by the government.

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^I think the city granted building permits to most of them that submitted  the week before the election.  The lawsuit is from the developers who didn't officially submit their plans to the city, prior to the city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks, I know about the lawsuit but I was just making a comment about the city hastily approving the building permits before the election.

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Well here is a shot of skyline of 1st street,much different then few years back.Might not be all pedestrian friendly but it adds more residents to Jax beach which will produce more entertainment areas and hopefully more friendly residential streets spawning from 1-3rd.

I remember back in '99 how Jax beach was much more emptier with small area of bars,getting bigger every day now.

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