Jackson Square & San Marco

[asonj23]

Jackson Square & San Marco

Proposed by First Star Development, Jackson Square At San Marco would be constructed along Philips Highway, just south of I-95, becoming a catalyst that could bring much needed life and excitement to a forgotten and blighted area of Jacksonville's Southside.

Conceptual plans show a partially pedestrian friendly development centered around a transit station with the potential to connect nearby residents to commuter rail, skyway, and Bus Rapid Transit lines. Conceptual plans also include a pedestrian overpass to connect with the under utilized FEC Park and the potential extension and re-alignment of River Oaks Road, linking Hendricks Avenue with Philips Highway and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

Read the article here: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/737/

[asonj23]

The thing to note on this project is that these developers are building around the concept of a future commuter rail line as well as an extended skyway line. The JTA is currently working on a proposed Bus Rapid Transit system that is catching a ton of heat from the locals. They have only recently started to study the logistics of a commuter rail system and have stated in the past that there is no plan to extend the skyway. I wonder if these developers have been working with the JTA to discuss the superiority of rail based transit over BRT. These guys seem willing to invest millions on an urban pedestrian friendly development that would thrive on the adjacent rail and the skyway and have discarded any mention of the JTA's current BRT plan. Goes to show that investors are more willing to throw money at rail oriented developments versus BRT because of its ability to be more easily relocated.

There is a large grassroots movement pushing to convince the JTA to can the BRT routes downtown and along existing rail corridors and instead run a DMU style train system on the existing tracks (just like Orlando). BRT could then be implemented on corridors where rail does not currently exist, such as the beaches.

[Spartan]

I'd like to see a thread about the transit plans for Jax including the skyway and the BRT plans. This is a great step for the San marco area. I hope they will do something better with Phillips Hwy though. That just needs to be a more ped/bike friendly street. Period.

[asonj23]

The Philips Hwy side does lack some interest, however the development interacts well with its car oriented nature. Personally, I'm not against this because it leaves the rail side of the lot to focus on the pedestrian and pulls the activity away from the 6 lane speedway. I don't think Phillips will ever be pedestrian friendly because of its shear size and traffic capacity, but the rail corridor side can most certainly become very pedestrian friendly and very urban as other developments follow suit.

[Florida]

I'm loving it! What a nice transit oriented development. I must ask, because I don't think I saw it, do you know how much square footage we're looking at here?

[asonj23]

Not sure, but when I find out I'll let you know.