TU: Thursday’s Editorial: Downtown Vision’s report card shows good progress, some challenges

Link to article: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2017-10-04/thursday-s-editorial-downtown-vision-s-report-card-shows-good-progress

Downtown Vision’s new “State of Downtown” report offers promising numbers that also highlight intriguing challenges.

The report by the nonprofit — which represents many of Downtown’s major stakeholders in promoting the benefits of working, living and investing in the city’s center — provides a snapshot with lots of upbeat imagery:

• Between January 2016 and the end of June, there were 33 completed projects across the Downtown area.

Two of the marquee projects on the finished list — which add up to nearly $84 million in total investment — are the Daily’s Place amphitheater and the stunning Winston Family YMCA.

• During that same time period, 48 more projects — totaling roughly $2 billion in investment — were launched or proposed.

These include the Laura Street Trio venture, Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s vision for reviving the Shipyards, Florida State College at Jacksonville’s ongoing work to build a Downtown dorm, the District-Life Well Lived project and the Lofts at LaVilla (which already has a waiting list of prospective tenants).

• Downtown Jacksonville’s office vacancy rate — 15.4 percent — is at its lowest figure in a decade. In addition, there are more than 59,000 employees and nearly 2,000 businesses in the Downtown area.

• There are some 8,600 people living Downtown, and on average, the typical Downtown residential building is 95 percent occupied.

All of these numbers and a lot more point to a Downtown that is in “forward momentum mode,” and it’s a direction that all of Jacksonville should be excited about.

‘This is kind of a big deal,” Downtown Vision Inc. CEO Jake Gordon told a Times-Union editorial writer regarding the “State of Downtown” report.

“The statistics show Downtown is clearly on an upswing,” Gordon added. “Now the key is to keep taking the steps to keep the progress going.”

Indeed, that’s where the intriguing challenges for Downtown come in.

And they demand that while we should celebrate how far Downtown has come, we can’t lose focus on what we still must do for Downtown to reach where we want it to go.

So:

• Yes, it’s heartening that we’ve seen 33 projects come to full life Downtown over a recent 18-month period.

But now let’s keep eyes trained on moving more of the 48 that have been “launched or proposed” to the “completed” column over the next 18 months.

• Yes, it’s exhilarating that our Downtown office vacancy rate has now spiked downward into the mid-teens during the past 18 months.

But what’s stopping us from aspiring to see it fall into the single digits over the next 18 months?

And after that’s reached, why can’t we shoot for an office vacancy rate that’s flirting with 0 percent?

• Yes, Downtown Jacksonville is close to having at least 10,000 people living in the city center — which is generally considered the magic mark for having a sustainable Downtown.

But for our Downtown to be all we want it to be — to truly have the vibrant vibe we long for — reaching 10,000 residents can’t be seen as a crowning accomplishment.

It has to be seen as the very moment to raise the bar, the goals, even higher.

“Things are definitely looking positive,” Gordon said of Downtown Jacksonville’s upward trends.

“But we still need more people, more businesses, more restaurants, more investment, more everything,” Gordon added.

“We can’t let up now.”

Gordon’s right.

So let’s soak in the great numbers in the “State of Downtown” report — and let’s even shout about them from rooftops all over our city.

But let’s also keep in mind that if we want even more to shout about the Downtown Jacksonville of the future, now’s the time to remember the mantra that’s key to making it happen.

“We can’t let up now.”