Friendship Fountain

Headline from Action News this morning…

“No Money for Jacksonville Riverwalk buildout”

Action News has learned there isn’t enough money to complete work on the Riverwalk.

But councilman John Crescimbeni found out Wednesday that there’s a problem.

“This one takes the cake,” said Crescimbeni.

There isn’t enough money in the budget to rebuild the entire stretch from Friendship Fountain to the Southbank. “What they’re … going to do is demolish all of it and only rebuild a portion of it. That’s one of the wackiest things I’ve ever heard,” said Crescimbeni.

During the Project Kick-off ceremony I had heard some mumblings that there may be a money shortfall however I was under the impression that the money for the full project had been allocated at one time.

If that is true then what happened to the funds that were allocated for the Southbank Riverwalk project originally and if not why was this not made clear from the start?  There does not appear to be any mention of lack of funds in the original announcements?

• COJ.net
• Firstcoast News

A City spokesman, according to the Action News story today, claims this was discussed back in August or September however there certainly is no mention of this in the original announcements that I can find…

I visited the area this past Friday and the demolition is well on track as the second building at the foot of the Main Street Bridge has all but been removed and it appears that portions of the Riverwalk are now being removed.

I urge everyone to contact their City Council Member and the Mayor and impress upon them how important it is to complete the Southbank Reconstruction in it’s entirety.

Until next time,
Bob

Rick Sawyer from the City of Jacksonville Recreation department contacted me this morning with the Holiday Schedule for Friendship Fountain for 2013.

Patriotic Music and Light show nightly from Nov 6, 2013 to Nov 12, 2013 in Honor of the Week of Valor and Veterans Day.

Holiday Music and Light Show will start on Nov 26, 2013 and run until Dec 30, 2103

New Years Music and Light Show Dec 31, 2013

I am waiting for confirmation for the scheduled hours however in past years the Music and Light show usually starts around 7 to 8 PM ET and runs until 10 PM ET…

Edit… Rick Sawyer just got back to me about the hours for the Music programs and they are running from 8:30 AM ET until 11 PM ET daily, which means Music is playing all day and the lights will show as soon as it becomes dark.

We also need you to be our eyes and ears and if you are at the Fountain during the times scheduled for the Music and Light program and it isn’t running please let us know so we can pass it on to the City.

Seems a bit early to say it but…

Happy Holidays to everyone.

The first step of the Southbank Riverwalk Reconstruction is deconstruction or demolition and the first to go is the building that sat at the Foot of the Main Street bridge on the west side, the Former home to the Jacksonville Maritime Museum, which is now located in the Jacksonville Landing.

Above shows the dramatic difference with the removal of the building.

As a result of completion of this step the Southbank Riverwalk has been reopened to foot traffic from Friendship Fountain.  The next step should be the demolition of the building on the east foot of the Main Street Bridge.  I am unsure of the plans for the next step which will be the removal of the building on the East foot of the Main Street Bridge, due to promises to have the Riverwalk open during the Florida – Georgia and Gator Bowl games…

Some additional images of the various steps in the removal of the former Maritime Museum building are below as well in albums in the JaxFountain Image gallery.

The view from the Main Street Bridge has already changed as a result of the removal of this piece of the Riverwalk landscape…

This is a great time to visit Friendship Fountain, the temperatures are cooling but it is warm enough for a very nice afternoon picnic or just a stroll.  And on Friday evenings the Fountain is Dressed in Teal to show support for our Jaguars.  So please stop on by anytime and enjoy a pleasant afternoon or evening at Friendship Fountain.

Until next time,
Bob

This afternoon at the foot of Friendship Fountain and the Southbank Riverwalk Mayor Alvin Brown announced the “Kick Off” of the long awaited reconstruction of the Southbank Riverwalk.

Chief Administrative Officer Karen Bowling, Councilman Don Redman, Haskell Representatives as well as other City and Construction representatives were all present. Unfortunately our Summer Florida skies

delivered some “Liquid Sunshine starting immediately before the ceremonies, ending almost on cue when completed, yours truly was soaked and many were scrambling to protect sensitive equipment.

I did get to meet Will Inman the Haskell Project Manager for the Southbank Reconstruction project. Will was kind enough to indicate that JaxFountain.com will have as much access as possible (much of the project will be completed from the water) to document progress of this all important project.

More Images can be viewed here.

Phase One will be the demolition of the former home to the Maritime Museum, now located at The Jacksonville Landing (next to the Toy Factory).

Currently the Southbank Riverwalk is closed from Friendship Fountain to just past the Main Street Bridge underpass, for safety reasons during the demolition of the two Buildings at the foot of the Main Street Bridge. This area is to be reopened to the public once Phase One is completed. The remainder of the Riverwalk remains open to traffic at this time.

We will be posting updates and pictures as the project moves along and by next week hope to have additional images. More information regarding the reconstruction of the Southbank Riverwalk can be seen at the following links:
Jacksonville.com
COJ.net

Until next time,
Bob

Psst…  Mayor Brown was very prompt and “On time” unlike recent holders of that office 😉