Decade in Review: 10 Biggest Stories in Jacksonville During the 2010s

It’s been an eventful decade for Jacksonville.

The city experienced growth both in its population and in the form of dozens of major development projects. It moved closer to achieving the long-awaited revitalization of downtown and toward forming a city-wide identity.

The Coastal began publishing in December 2015, so we were around for just under half of the decade. But to honor the 2010s in Jax, we put together our collection of what we believe to be the biggest stories in Jacksonville from the past decade.

Check out our list below and be sure to let us know your thoughts on the decade’s most important events.

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, FINALLY

After much discussion of new development in downtown Jax following the turn of the century, the ‘10s was the decade when some of these projects finally got underway.

The past decade saw a few major downtown development projects completed, many of which made use of existing historic buildings. The Jessie Ball duPont Center, Cowford Chophouse, and The Barnett Tower are just a few examples of adaptive reuse projects that wrapped up during this decade.

As far as new construction goes, LaVilla received a few new affordable-living apartment complexes, Brooklyn added apartments and a Fresh Market-anchored shopping center, and the sports district added the new Daily’s Place amphitheater.

The city will look to capitalize on this newly-created momentum as it heads into the ‘20s.

LOTS OF NEW NEIGHBORS

The 2010s were a decade of growth for the city’s population, as Jax added over 80,000 new residents within the past ten years and currently ranks as one of the country’s fastest-growing cities.

Much of the growth has been driven by the city’s relatively strong job market, with financial and technology jobs in particularly high supply. That combined with a low cost of living and the construction of thousands of new apartment units throughout the decade have made the city a new hotspot for millennials looking to start their careers.

Tourists seem to be coming to the city more often as well. Hotel occupancy is up, and Jacksonville International Airport experienced record-breaking traffic last year.

With many more housing developments under construction and the potential of several neighborhoods finally beginning to be realized, look for population growth to continue as a big trend throughout the ‘20s.

HELLO, BIG-NAME BRANDS

Jacksonville finally got some love from a few major national brands in the ‘10s.

This past decade saw the arrival of shipping giants Amazon, which opened multiple fulfillment and distribution centers, and Wayfair. Near the Town Center, the city now boasts TopGolf, iFLY, Nordstrom, and IKEA – all new-to-market brands added this decade. And the popular Philly-based convenience store chain Wawa has opened several area locations, with plans for even more.

The addition of IKEA was particularly meaningful to the city, given the chain’s standards for building a new store in any given market. More than any other addition, it represents a major step forward in the city’s ability to lure in desirable businesses.

We may still not any closer to landing a Macy’s, but hey, we aren’t doing too bad!

HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE RISE

The 2010s were quite kind to many of Jacksonville’s oldest neighborhoods.

Springfield, the city’s oldest suburb, experienced the beginnings of a revival of its key Main Street corridor. Nearly a dozen new businesses now line Main Street, occupying storefronts that had sat vacant for years – or, in some cases, decades. Its close-knit community has grown exponentially as long-vacant residential properties become viable living units once again.

Riverside, which had already begun to experience a renaissance in the previous decade, solidified its place as one of the best walkable neighborhoods in the Southeast. Vacancies were filled in Five Points, and several trendy new eateries popped up in the area as well.

LaVilla, which has been mostly a collection of vacant lots ever since the mass demolitions of the ‘90s, gained hundreds of new residential units and is home to the city’s new Greyhound station as well as the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center, which should wrap up construction next year.

And Brooklyn has grown most of all, adding a new shopping center with big-name national tenants as well as multiple high-end apartment developments.

THE LANDING SAGA COMES TO A CLOSE

Have we mentioned yet that we’re disappointed about the demolition of the Landing?

We might have said something a few times, as the discussion over what should happen to the Landing carried on for much of the decade. Early discussions during the Alvin Brown administration revolved around redeveloping the building to open up access to Laura Street and add a mixed-use element. By the time Mayor Lenny Curry took office, the city and property owner Toney Sleiman had returned to being in a stalemate over the property.

The issue was resolved once and for all when Curry and Sleiman came to a multimillion-dollar agreement to give the city full control over the property.

Now, the building is being torn down, and we’re sure many of you will be glad to no longer hear about the Landing. Unfortunately, the first half of the ‘20s will now likely feature quite a bit of discussion over what will take its place.

KEY INFRASTRUCTURE COMPLETIONS

A few major city infrastructure projects were completed this decade, helping to ease traffic congestion in key areas.

The I-95 Overland Bridge project, which involved replacing the series of overpasses at I-95 and US-1 where it turns from Kings Avenue to Philips Highway, began in 2013 and took over five years and well over $200 million to complete. It created separate pathways for traffic heading northbound on 95 and traffic heading downtown to cut down on rush-hour jams, added several southbound merge lanes, and reconfigured Atlantic Boulevard’s on-ramp and off-ramp.

The I-95/Butler Boulevard interchange project added a flyover ramp to carry traffic from I-95 southbound to Butler Boulevard eastbound, as well as another one to separate traffic heading westbound on Butler to Philips Highway from traffic heading westbound toward I-95 northbound. It took around three years to complete.

And on I-295, the land of perpetual construction, the first in a series of express lanes opened earlier this year.

All three projects put the city in a better position to handle its ongoing population growth.

SHAD KHAN BUYS THE JAGS

Apprehension over rumors of Wayne Weaver’s plans to sell the Jaguars turned into gleeful optimism when Illinois businessman Shahid Khan was announced as the team’s new owner.

Khan quickly won over fans with his quirkiness and his commitment to keeping the team in Jacksonville. He’s already invested tens of millions of dollars of his own money into TIAA Bank Field, and he plans to spend hundreds of millions on his vision for the long-vacant Shipyards property.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for Khan and Jacksonville, though. He drew criticism for some of his local business dealings, including suing the previous operators of Edgewood Bakery before selling it. Some feel that his improvements to the Jags’ stadium – such as oversized scoreboards and end-zone swimming pools – have done little to improve the average gameday experience. And the team has struggled significantly with Khan as owner, putting together a rather dismal 37-89 record since he purchased the team.

All that will probably be forgiven as long as he never moves the team elsewhere.

MINOR LEAGUES, MAJOR RESULTS

The Jags may have not had the best of luck this decade, but overall it was a great decade for sports in Jacksonville.

The city added three new minor-league teams: the AFL/NAL’s Sharks, the ABA’s Giants, and the NASL’s Armada FC. And two of them, the Sharks and Giants, wasted absolutely no time on their way to being competitive.

Since beginning play in 2010, the Sharks have won three championships and failed to make the playoffs just once in ten seasons. The Giants, who also began play in 2010, won a jaw-dropping six ABA titles this decade.

Oh, and the Suns – who became the Jumbo Shrimp earlier in the ‘10s – also won two league titles during the decade.

JEA’S ONGOING DEBACLE

It’s never a great sign for any organization when its own board fires its CEO – and it’s an even worse sign when doing so becomes the only positive news to come from the organization this year.

The ongoing charade of JEA claiming to be in a “death spiral” for the sake of selling itself has quickly become one of the city’s most gripping storylines, and the drama has been going on for longer than you may have realized. Years of financial mismanagement left the utility $6 billion in debt to begin the decade. And its inability to grow and adapt as customers fled for more efficient solar options only worsened its financial situation.

Because of JEA’s status as a public utility, the city apportions part of its budget toward supporting its operation costs. Mayor Curry posited the idea that selling JEA would reduce the city’s financial responsibilities, and Aaron Zahn, Curry’s hand-picked choice for JEA’s CEO, initiated efforts within the company to pursue a sale.

Now, after massive public backlash, it appears that the sale may not happen after all. No matter what happens, Zahn will not play a role in it.

GROWTH AT THE TOWN CENTER

Already easily the city’s most popular mall since opening in the mid-2000s, St. Johns Town Center became an even more dominant commercial center with the addition of a new wing anchored by Nordstrom.

And the area surrounding the mall exploded during the past decade, with multi-use developments like The Strand, Gateway Village, and Town Center Promenade adding dozens of tenants to the area, many of which were new to the Jax market. TopGolf and iFLY Indoor Skydiving added an entertainment element to the area, as did The Escape Game, and soon another phase of the Town Center is set to also feature entertainment options.

The Town Center area will likely remain red-hot throughout the coming decade – and until they run out of land on which to build.