Jacksonville, Florida

In 1968, Jacksonville consolidated with Duval County, creating an 840-square-mile jurisdiction under a single government. That made it, in terms of land area, the largest city in the contiguous United States. However, Jacksonville has only recently considered its urbanity and begun to establish a distinct identity.

Smart people suspected the place to start was the St. Johns River, which runs for more than 5 miles through the city limits. For most of the 20th century, the St. Johns\' ability to move people and goods determined the look and feel of the town. The city served shipping, finance, and the U.S. Navy, and the river\'s shores reflected that. Warehouses, shipyards, and parking lots claimed prime waterfront real estate. That, however, was the Jacksonville of another era.

When the city hosts the 2005 Super Bowl, visitors may have to be reminded that not so long ago everything else took a backseat to big ships and big business. Visible now is the evidence of a spectacular transition in progress. It\'s the effect of a $2 billion downtown redevelopment effort to move industry off the river and people onto it.

You grasp the new Jacksonville best at night, when the reflection of the brightly lit skyline twinkles in the St. Johns. The decks of private yachts gleam at marina docks, and water taxis transport partyers up and down the river to new restaurants, clubs, and sports arenas. Locals mingle with visitors on waterfront walks and trails.

\"I\'ve seen more and more people, whole families, coming down to walk along the river and to check out the restaurants,\" says resident Howard Holloway.

Because he grew up in the New York City area and lived in Washington, D.C., Howard naturally sought out the downtown when he moved to Jacksonville. He rents a converted loft while working on a degree at the University of North Florida.

Howard may have been something of a lonely pioneer a few years back, but now he\'s getting a lot more company. Some 400 downtown residential units are either occupied or ready for occupancy, and planners say the total will approach 10,000 in a decade.

To keep the excitement going, the city partners with business and nonprofit organizations to stage special events and create an environment that encourages more entrepreneurs to invest. There\'s a Friday Farmer\'s Market on Hogan Street. Lunchtime concerts play in historic Hemming Plaza, a downtown gathering place. Cafes and clubs have moved into street-level spaces of revitalized buildings. And there\'s a swelling arts scene, helped along by the programs of the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art.

The just-completed Veterans Memorial Sports and Entertainment Arena has joined the new Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville and football\'s ALLTEL Stadium to create a sports destination on one end of downtown. A nightclub district is coming into its own just in time for the Super Bowl. In the heart of downtown, the new owner of Jacksonville Landing plans some $250 million in renovations to that riverfront complex.

All this validates city leaders\' suspicions. \"In every survey we\'ve done, people have told us the river is our number one asset,\" says Terry Lorince, executive director of Downtown Vision, Inc., a partnership funded by downtown property owners. Now they have every reason to believe that all the money and energy invested along the St. Johns and in the nearby neighborhoods is paying off. BEN BROWN

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Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Spring 2004