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Growth: Southwood

cityboy05

By cityboy05
in Tallahassee

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Florida Megalopolis

Florida

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We probably agree on more than you think. When I first came to Tallahassee, and drove up Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee seemed like a big place to me. There were some big buildings, and it actually looked like a city. In reality, what it was, was a vertical office complex with little to no residential use anywhere nearby. And I'm not talking about the dingy downtown apartments and rental houses I lived in for a few years.

In the case of Southwood, it's public money following private money. The state needed a cheap way to expand office space without continuing to line the pockets of some private office developers who built crap and leased it to the state. St. Joe coughed up a bunch of cattle pasture for free, and that's where the Capital Circle Office Complex has sprouted like mushrooms on cowpies after a rain. Now St. Joe's money is being used to expand the road capacity. Like it or not, Florida government is like a beggar. You can get it to do most anything you want it you give it some money. I'm not being negative. This is simply the reality of Tallahassee being the capital city of state with inadequate revenues and a politically-driven agenda of reducing revenue even more.

State government doesn't see any benefit to having state employees located downtown. If it did, none of this would have happened. There's virtually no chance that the state is all of a sudden going to reverse direction and build downtown office towers to house state employees. I think the Department of Management Services in in the process of applying for approval to double the size of the Capital Circle Office Complex, which I think is supposed to have more than 2 million square feet of offices when it's built out.

I would like to see Tallahassee be a vibrant lively city with lots of things to do. I don't dislike Tallahassee. I think the Seven Days festival is the most exciting cultural event that's happened since I've been here, and it's great. Not much else has happened. We have no performing arts center and it's been talked to death. The Saturday downtown market is pitiful. We seem to get exited about something like a Macaroni Grill, and it's just a chain restaurant.

I travel around the state for work, and see lots of things that cities not much larger than Tallahassee have accomplished in the time I've lived here. Every year, the Chamber or some other group takes a group of local "movers and shakers" to some other town to see what they've done. I think last year, they went to Chattanooga, TN. I think a year or so before that, they went to San Antonio. I'm not sure what is ever accomplished on those trips because none of those ideas ever seem to filter into the reality of this city. And that's not being negative either. It's just the way things are here. And a vibrant city center full of residents is never going to happen here.

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Go Gators Burg

Go Gators

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What needs to happen in Tallahassee are a few things. We need new leadership within our government local and state. Not everyone with positions of influence in Tallahassee are looking to improve our economy, and everyones quality of life. Secondly, we need a governor who understands that Tallahassee would very much like to diversify our economy but we face incredible challenges. I think Crispy may understand this, but he needs more time to prove it. Property tax revenues are much lower than they should be due to the fact that so much property in Tallahassee and Leon County is owned by the state or federal government, therefore we don't have the same opportunities other cities have to do capital projects that will make our city more competitive.
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Florida Megalopolis

Florida

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Im somewhat confused as to what you expect Crist to do. Governors typically dont get involved in local affairs. Nor should they. Their job is to run the state, not make sure the city that the government/affairs are running correctly. Thats why we have city and county governments. Besides, as little as he is actually in Tallahassee, why would he personally put any time into it? (cheap shot ;))
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Go Gators Burg

Go Gators

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I expect the governor to be sensitve to the impact his decisions make on this city as we are the State Capital and often first to feel the impact of most state policies. He might also encourage the use of state owned facilities downtown, rather than allow them to sit vacated and under-utilitized.
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Florida Megalopolis

Florida

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He has no reason to be sensitive to this city. When a law goes into effect, it does so statewide, not just here. The whole state will feel it at the same time. I just dont think, actually I know, that it is not his job to worry about the vibrancy of downtown Tallahassee. Thats John Marks and the City Councils job, and to a lessor degree the BoCC.
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poonther Town

poonther

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I will say that other states do seem to treat and have pride in their Capital Cities much better than Florida does....well w/the exception of Trenton, NJ. That may stem from our being "way up here" and removed from the rest of the state. I'm not sure exactly who's fault it is, but while we are laying blame, let's pour some on our local delegates in the Senate and House. They don't seem to have much clout or pull especially since term-limits were abolished................yes I voted FOR that, but I think I'd not vote the same way now.

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stjoe Hamlet

stjoe

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". I'm not sure exactly who's fault it is, but while we are laying blame, let's pour some on our local delegates in the Senate and House."

The issue isn't that they don't have enough power ....it is that they only fight over state jobs (want more) and higher pay for state jobs.....NOBODY else in the state cares.

Our delegates should be fighting for more private industry....THAT is the problem IMHO.

They could of easily went to the Gov. and said "we are getting killed here because of the state jobs situation...please help us attract private industry"....that haven't made those efforts....they just whine about wanting bigger state govt. It is a losing cause.

Torrey Pines was the perfect scenerio for this to happen. Since state jobs have been getting hammered over the last 5 years or so....the Gov in the state has handed out over $500 Million in incentives to attract high tech to various parts of the state. Tally got ZERO of that. If this area had gotten it's act together and tried to get it's share of this .....we would have a better situation in the area.

Delegates here are too busy put their finger in the leaking damn and it isn't a bright strategy.

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Florida Megalopolis

Florida

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I'm not sure that it's the same for everyone. There are different fees for the St. Joe-built townhouses than for the single family homes. Mine are about $180 quarterly, so the total HOA fee is about $720 per year.

There are also community development fees that are billed annually and collected by the Leon County Tax Collector as part of the property taxes. I believe they are calculated cased on the size of your lot. I think the last time I looked, the small lots were paying about $1,500 per year, in addition to the county property taxes. People with houses on larger lots pay more.

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TD Burg

TD

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TD took a cruise through South Wood today... He likes what he sees, thinks to himself... if I were to stay in Tallahassee I would live here or Evening Rose, But Southwood if I could Afford it.. So beautiful......

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