Better Jacksonville Plan

Last updated
Better Jacksonville Plan logo BJP logo.PNG
Better Jacksonville Plan logo

The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney. It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000. Lex Hester was a key advisor to Delaney on the $2.25 billion package of projects, pushing for the inclusion of a new downtown library, then serving on the team of top administrators charged with making the far-reaching plan work. The BJP was codified as Section 761 [1] of Jacksonville's Code of Ordinances and administered by the City of Jacksonville, the JEA, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Transportation. A Sunset provision will terminate the half-penny sales tax used as part of funding the program, to be completed around 2010, no later than 2030. [2]

Contents

Resurfacing

The Better Jacksonville Plan financed $105 million to resurface streets in Jacksonville that had not been paved since 1985. The Department of Public Works paved nearly 1,800 miles of streets before it ended in September, 2007. The plan also financed $20 million to fund construction of new neighborhood sidewalks.

Road projects

These include widening, adding curbs and stormwater drainage infrastructure.

Railroad grade crossings

A six-lane vehicular overpass has been constructed to replace the existing ground-level railroad crossing. This helps alleviate traffic delays caused at this crossing by passing trains.

A pedestrian overpass has been constructed to bridge three sets of railroad tracks at this location, providing residents safe passage over this busy crossing.

A pedestrian overpass has been constructed to span the existing single-track railroad crossing, presenting walkers and runners with a continuous route over the track.

Rapid transit right of way

Study alternatives

Environmental preservation

Targeted economic development

New or improved public facilities

Courthouse problems

The project cost estimates, on which the program was based, were made in the late 1990s, when the price of building materials was relatively stable. Total costs were initially estimated at $190 million.

In 2003 Mayor John Delaney left office, and was succeeded by John Peyton. Construction had been authorized to commence at the original $190 million amount, but concerns over rising costs caused Peyton to stop work on the courthouse complex on October 28, 2004. [12] At the same time, the mayor's office confirmed a $759 million shortage in Better Jacksonville Plan funding. The office cited rising construction costs as part of the reason for the budget deficit. [13] Afterward all work on the complex ceased for several years. In 2008, the Jacksonville City Council approved work on the facility for a contractor guaranteed cost of $350 million. [14]

Construction actually began in May 2009, with more than 400 workers engaged for over a year. As of June 27, 2010, construction was 37% completed, with the final pour of the concrete roof above the seventh floor. The completion date was established at May 2012, nearly a year later than Mayor Peyton hoped, but the project was within budget. [15]

The City's website stated on February 18, 2011 that interior construction of major systems was on schedule and 55% of the total project was complete, with the exterior work nearly finished. [16] The courthouse opened on June 18, 2012. [17]

Completion

As of late 2014, sales tax revenue was $14 million below what had been projected under plan assumptions, mostly due to the Great Recession. To pay for expenditures, the city borrowed money from other city funds, to be repaid as tax collections rose. Renovation of the old federal courthouse, replaced by the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse, was expected to begin during 2015 at a cost of $7 million. A special committee was created by the city council to determine the remaining work on the BJP, obligations to other funds, and to project a realistic completion date. Their report was delayed until early 2015 to allow time to evaluate the condition of city bond funds. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Jacksonville is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonville consolidated in 1968. It was the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020, and became the 10th largest US city by population in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 295 (Florida)</span> Interstate Highway in Florida, United States

Interstate 295 (I-295), an auxiliary route of I-95, is a beltway around central Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The 61.04-mile-long (98.23 km) beltway consists of two segments, the West Beltway and the East Beltway, with I-95 serving as the dividing line between the two. The entire highway carries a hidden designation as SR 9A by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The West Beltway was constructed in the 1970s, with the East Beltway being built from the 1980s to the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Delaney (Florida politician)</span> American politician and academic administrator

John Adrian Delaney is an American lawyer, politician, and university and college President. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, from 1995 to 2003, and as the president of the University of North Florida from 2003 to 2018. In 2021, he was named President of Flagler College after a few months as Interim. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Transportation Authority</span> Agency responsible for public transit in Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 6,687,200, or about 24,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 202</span> Highway in Florida

State Road 202 (SR 202) is a 13.042-mile-long (20.989 km) state highway that extends from U.S. Route 1, in Jacksonville, Florida to SR A1A, in Jacksonville Beach, near the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Ponte Vedra Beach, and includes a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. To locals, the road is better known as J. Turner Butler Boulevard, Butler Boulevard, or JTB. Despite being named as a boulevard, the road is a completely limited-access expressway, with the exception of the westernmost 0.5 miles between US 1 and Interstate 95 (I-95),. It was constructed in sections by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. The first section opened in 1979, but the entire road was not completed until 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Peyton (American politician)</span> American businessman and politician

John Stephens Peyton is an American businessman and politician who is currently president of Gate Petroleum. He served as Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 2003 to 2011, when he was succeeded by Alvin Brown. He was the second Republican to be elected to the position since 1888. After his term he returned to Gate, his family business, and succeeded his father Herb Peyton as the company's president in January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 115</span> State highway in Florida, United States

State Road 115 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Jacksonville</span> Neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida

Downtown Jacksonville is the historic core and central business district (CBD) of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It comprises the earliest area of the city to be developed and is located in its geographic center along the narrowing point of the St. Johns River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods of Jacksonville</span> Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida

There are more than 500 neighborhoods within the area of Jacksonville, Florida, the largest city in the contiguous United States by area. These include Downtown Jacksonville and surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, greater Jacksonville is traditionally divided into several major sections with amorphous boundaries: Northside, Westside, Southside, and Arlington, as well as the Jacksonville Beaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 109</span> State highway in Florida, United States

State Road 109 is a 8.707-mile-long (14.013 km) state road in Jacksonville, Florida. It is an east–west road that starts at SR 13 and ends at Jacksonville University. SR 109 is known as University Boulevard because the route forms the eastern border of Jacksonville University's campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaVilla</span> Neighborhood of Jacksonville

LaVilla is a historic African American neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida and was formerly an independent city. It developed after the American Civil War and was eventually annexed to the city of Jacksonville in 1887 and is now considered part of downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duval County Courthouse</span>

The Duval County Courthouse is the local courthouse for Duval County, Florida. It houses courtrooms and judges from the Duval County and Fourth Judicial Circuit Courts. The new facility is located Downtown Jacksonville, Florida; it was built starting in 2009 and opened in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Beaches</span> Region of Jacksonville in Florida

The Jacksonville Beaches, or Jax Beaches known locally as "The Beaches", are a group of towns and communities on the northern half of San Pablo Island on the US state of Florida's First Coast. These communities are separated from the main body of the city of Jacksonville by the Intracoastal Waterway. The Jacksonville Beaches are located in Duval and northern St. Johns counties, and make up part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The main communities generally identified as part of the Beaches are Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach.

KBJ Architects, Inc. (KBJ) is an American architectural firm founded by Franklin S. Bunch, William K. Jackson, and William D. Kemp in 1946 from Jacksonville, Florida.

Donald Richard Moran, Jr. is a former lawyer and judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Florida for 41 years, including 21 years as chief judge, the longest tenure in Florida history. He was an early advocate of diversion programs for people with substance abuse and directed hundreds of people into treatment rather than jail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Jacksonville</span>

The government of Jacksonville is organized under the city charter and provides for a "strong" mayor–council system. The most notable feature of the government in Jacksonville, Florida, is that it is consolidated with Duval County, which the jurisdictions agreed to in the 1968 Jacksonville Consolidation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida</span> Overview of transportation in Jacksonville, Florida

The Jacksonville transportation network includes ground, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit. The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) operates the Port of Jacksonville, which includes container shipping facilities at Blount Island Marine Terminal, the Talleyrand Marine Terminal and the Dames Point Marine Terminal. Jacksonville Aviation Authority managers Jacksonville International Airport in Northside, as well as several smaller airports. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) operates bus, people mover, and park-n-ride services throughout the city and region. A major bus terminal at the intermodal Rosa Parks Transit Station serves as JTA's main transit hub. Various intercity bus companies terminate near Central Station. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major cities throughout North America. The city is bisected by major highways, I-95 and I-10, I-295 creates a full beltway around the city.

Atlantic Boulevard is a highway in Duval County, Florida, that forms the easternmost portion of State Road 10 (SR 10) and is also part of U.S. Route 90 (US 90).

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Street</span> Street in Jacksonville

Laura Street is a north–south street in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, named for the daughter of the city's founder, Isaiah D. Hart. Historically, the downtown portion of Laura Street has been considered the financial district of Jacksonville.

References

  1. ↑ City of Jacksonville website: Code of Ordinances-CHAPTER 761 - THE BETTER JACKSONVILLE PLAN
  2. ↑ Better Jacksonville Plan website
  3. ↑ "Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Butler Blvd./US-1 & Butler Blvd./I-95 Intersections". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  4. ↑ "Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: University/Beach Intersection". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  5. ↑ Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Salt Marsh (Fanning Island and FIND) Mitigation Sites [ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Beaver Street (Devoe to Edgewood) [ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Atlantic Boulevard (Girvin/Hodges/San Pablo)". Archived from the original on 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  8. ↑ "Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Atlantic/Kernan Intersection". Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  9. ↑ "Jacksonville Transportation Authority website: Atlantic/Southside Intersection". Archived from the original on 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  10. ↑ "City of Jacksonville website: Preservation Project Jacksonville". Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  11. ↑ "JEA website: Dec 29, 2006-New Septic Tank Phase Out Project in Mandarin Soon to be Underway". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  12. ↑ Luce, Ann: "KBJ Architects seeks to clear the air about courthouse project" Jacksonville Business Journal, November 12, 2004
  13. ↑ Ross, Melissa: "Better Jacksonville Plan in a $759 Million Hole" [ permanent dead link ] First Coast News, April 13, 2005
  14. ↑ Cormanik, Beth: "Courthouse project approved" Florida Times-Union, April 23, 2008
  15. ↑ Galnor, Matt: "Duval County Courthouse rising after years of struggles" Florida Times-Union, June 27, 2010
  16. ↑ "STATUS (current February 18, 2011)" City of Jacksonville website, Better Jacksonville Plan
  17. ↑ "Duval County Courthouse". December 3, 2012. City of Jacksonville. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Bauerlein, David (November 9, 2014). "Council committee examines Better Jacksonville Plan's multimillion dollar sales tax shortfall". Morris Communications. Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.