J Magazine: Partner Profile: Local college makes two-fold investment Downtown

Link to article: http://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/20180318/partner-profile-local-college-makes-two-fold-investment-downtown

When she arrived in Jacksonville four years ago, Florida State College at Jacksonville President Cynthia Bioteau was struck by the Downtown area and its views of the St. Johns River.

“The quality of the water feature aligning with the urban core set the city apart and a bit above other comparable cities,” she said. “There’s a wonderful energy to Downtown. The city government understands its importance and is striving to revitalize and reinvigorate the area. I see great hope and promise.”

Bioteau believes that more daily activity — locally grown and engaged with the city — is what is needed to dispel the feel of vacancy and disrepair in some areas.

“It is very important for FSCJ to take part in bringing people Downtown and keeping them there,” she said. “I hope our project at 20 West Adams, which is a historic building being repurposed as student housing, can be a model for Downtown renovation. It has 58 beds that are all reserved, with a waiting list of 300! And these students are Downtown 24/7.”

In addition to this project and FSCJ’s Downtown campus, Bioteau says that, visioning forward, the college could include additional phases for student housing and opening a culinary arts café, which she sees as highlighting the promise of what is to come for the area.

“When we bring in developers on a project like that, not only are we helping the students and giving people another reason to come downtown, but we’re also putting the buildings on city tax rolls,” she said. “The more student facilities there are Downtown, the better it is for everyone. The more development and renovation there is, the better it is for everyone.”

QUICK TAKES

TEAMWORK VITAL FOR DOWNTOWN

“I ask everyone to look into Downtown and find your own way to improve it. Where there is inactivity, let’s leverage our resources to bring activity to the Downtown core. There’s room to grow. To succeed, it just takes a collaboration of the city, the developers and private enterprise. FSCJ is proud to have such wonderful partners in our endeavors.”

SAVING HISTORY

“I am a fan of history, so I would much rather see historic buildings renovated and repurposed as something vibrant and vital to Downtown than to see them torn down. That’s what we are doing with our student housing in Downtown. Phase I at 20 West Adams is only the first of three planned historic renovations.”