Most festival marketplaces built in the 1970s and 1980s have struggled, but the Jacksonville Landing may be the first to be outright demolished and not replaced. While other cities have found ways to adapt their old buildings to new uses - some quite successfully - Jacksonville continues to go Godzilla on its downtown. This strategy has been a disaster for downtown - and a huge cost to the taxpayers.

Godzilla vs. King Adaptive Reuse Monster

Translation: King Adaptive Reuse Monster: I will reuse this structurally sound infrastructure! Godzilla: MRAAAAAAAAWWWW! Courtesy of Toho Co., Ltd.

Following the strategy of adaptive reuse, other cities with festival marketplaces have found ways to adapt them, in whole or in part. For instance:

Tampa

In 1985, the Beneficial Corporation inflicted Tampa with the Shoppes of Harbour Island, whose retail square footage was almost as overwrought as its name. With far more commercial space than the community could support, the Shoppes were shuttered entirely by the mid-1990s. Rather than ask the taxpayers to shell out, say, $18 million to buy and destroy the building, Tampa let the market handle it. In 1998, Beneficial revived the marketplace by converting the top floor to office space. With its retail footage reduced to manageable levels, the reopened center has been a success. While Jacksonville searched for demolition money, the Shoppes undertook another $10 million upgrade in 2014, keeping it ready for the next generation of commerce. As astute readers may have picked up, $10 million is less than $18 million.

Miami

Miami’s Bayside Marketplace, built by Rouse in 1987, was one of the more successful festival marketplaces, but it struggled to compete with other area attractions as it aged. In 2016, it underwent a $27 million renovation which gave it a fresh look, improved its walkability, and updated the tenant mix. With these improvements - not far off from what Jacksonville will ultimately spend to raze the Landing - Bayside will be a destination for decades to come.

Norfolk, Virginia

Opened by Rouse in 1983, Norfolk, Virginia’s Waterside District failed not once but twice. After years of decline, Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority took over the building and renovated it for restaurants, bars, and clubs. This renovation fell on the wrong side of Downtown Norfolk’s resurgence, as another shopping center opened nearby that outcompeted the Waterside. Rather than overspending on dynamite and Bermuda grass, Norfolk partnered with the Cordish Companies to find a new use. In 2015, they announced plans to adapt much of the Waterfront District as a food hall featuring local artisan food and drink vendors. With the food hall complementing existing restaurants, the Waterside District has become a regional destination. Norfolk’s experience offers a perfect model for Jacksonville, where interest in food halls is heating up.

Flint, Michigan

Oh, Flint. The city is no stranger to urban troubles; we’ve used them before as an example of the dire situation Jacksonville could have found itself in if not for Consolidation. But even Flint has managed not to spend $18 million to blow up a structurally sound building rather than reusing it. Built in 1985, the Water Street Pavilion flopped pretty much out of the gate. The city turned this lemon into lemonade by selling it to the University of Michigan–Flint for a nominal sum. Now known as the University Pavilion, the building now hosts university offices, a bookstore and a food court. By adapting to a new use that better fit the needs of the community, the University Center remains a fixture in Flint’s urban landscape.

Are you listening, Jax?

Losing the Landing outright would be a major loss for Jacksonville. We’d lose one of the few places downtown with a concentration of venues that are opened nights and weekends. Moreover, we’d be overspending taxpayer money to raze a structurally sound building that could be given a new use for cheaper. We have many examples to follow for finding a use that fits our Downtown and market reality. In fact, the one thing we don’t have an example of is a festival marketplace demolition that wasn’t replaced, let alone one that improved its downtown.

What can Jaxsons do? They can contact City Council and let them know what they think. They can sign and share the petition opposing demolishing the Landing. They can work to change the local culture so that this doesn’t keep happening. In the very least, they should reject the idea that downtown will be improved by yet another lot.

Editorial by the managing members of The Jaxson. Contact The Jaxson here.