WORKServicesNewsPROJECTSCAREERSSay Hi

Hi.

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Style Always Matters

Furchgott's Department Store Credit: FTU / Robbins Design Studio

There is a certain amount of tension assumed to exist between new development and historic preservation. This needn’t be the case, according to Harbinger CEO Steve Williams, a self-described “pro-development preservationist,” who writes in a recent guest column for the Florida TU:

I am very pro-development, but I am also a preservationist. The two are not mutually exclusive, and there is so much wonderful opportunity for both in Jacksonville. Recently, the DIA announced that the city will be providing incentives for the restoration of Furchgott’s Department Store and the Union Terminal warehouse.

Like so many others in this city, I have fond memories of shopping at Furchgott’s as a child. Civic investment in buildings like that show that we value our own personal history, which is important to develop civic pride. These opportunities honor and celebrate the past, while looking to the future in a modern and new innovative way. Plus, it makes economic sense to preserve our authentic architecture.

I am very pro-development, but I am also a preservationist. The two are not mutually exclusive, and there is so much wonderful opportunity for both in Jacksonville. Recently, the DIA announced that the city will be providing incentives for the restoration of Furchgott’s Department Store and the Union Terminal warehouse.

Like so many others in this city, I have fond memories of shopping at Furchgott’s as a child. Civic investment in buildings like that show that we value our own personal history, which is important to develop civic pride. These opportunities honor and celebrate the past, while looking to the future in a modern and new innovative way. Plus, it makes economic sense to preserve our authentic architecture.

Indeed, some of the most successful developments in the US in recent years have been adaptive reuse projects. That’s not to say that new construction is destined to become a civic and cultural wasteland. Quite the opposite. We need only to look to Jacksonville’s past to see the possibilities new construction promises, as Williams notes:

After the Great Fire of 1901, architects from across the nation moved to Jacksonville to rebuild the ruined city. The leaders focused on a well-designed, quality plan to recreate Jacksonville as a dynamic city of commerce.

Within two years, there were more buildings constructed than in the decades before the fire — including a gorgeous business district where we can still admire the works of Henry John Klutho today.

After the Great Fire of 1901, architects from across the nation moved to Jacksonville to rebuild the ruined city. The leaders focused on a well-designed, quality plan to recreate Jacksonville as a dynamic city of commerce.

Within two years, there were more buildings constructed than in the decades before the fire — including a gorgeous business district where we can still admire the works of Henry John Klutho today.

Jacksonville is at another such turning point, as a shortage in housing supply has turned into a full-blown crisis, pushing housing prices and rents out of reach in what was previously a proudly affordable city. If Jacksonville is to continue to flourish, it is not a question of whether we build, but whether we do so with style and boldness. We’ve done it before, so let’s do it again.

Read Steve’s full editorial at the Florida Times-Union.

IN OTHER NEWS

  • Jacksonville DIA considering projects that would add a total 863 new housing units.
  • ...not to mention that proposed Four Seasons project near TIAA Bank Field.
  • Not a great day to have an all-crypto portfolio.
  • Someone spent four years researching how NIMBYism works, and now wants to make it easier for other stakeholders to fight it.
  • Volunteer teams are rebuilding cities in Ukraine as fast as Russia destroyed them.
  • MIT engineers successfully built load-bearing structures using tree forks, the usually discarded trunk portions where branches split, instead of steel joints.
  • New black hole image just dropped.

NEW AT FLORIDA MINING GALLERY

Looking For Gravity

Opening reception June 3rd. Don't miss it.

More info at floridamininggallery.com.

BREAK ROOM

Touché

--

‍

If you enjoyed this edition of Hi From Harbinger, why not get it delivered to your inbox every week?
Success! Thank you for subscribing.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
  • 2756 Park St
    Jacksonville, FL 32205
  • 1.904.268.4681
Copyright © 2022 Harbinger Sign. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy - We value your privacy, and any phone number or email address you provide via the website contact form or other contact will not be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties