Jacksonville Landing

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The Jacksonville Landing has been compared to New York City's South Street Seaport, Boston's Faneuil Hall or Miami's Bayside--for good reason.^[1] All were developed by the Rouse Company and it was actually modeled after Baltimore's Inner Harbor.^[2] The two-level glass-and-steel complex with the orange roof on the north bank of the St. Johns river has been an icon for Jacksonville and one of the most recognized attractions in Northeast Florida since it opened in 1987.^[3]

Contents 1 Events 2 Location 3 Problems 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Events

The Jacksonille landing provides patrons with entertainment such as mimes, clowns creating balloon sculptures and fireworks. There is weekly live music of almost every type on the courtyard stage. The Landing is the home of around 300 events each year.^[4]Most events take place in the open brick courtyard in the center of the horseshoe shaped structure. Activities have included something for everyone:

Walk to Cure Diabetes Blessing of the Fleet St. Patricks Day Earth Day & Ecology Fair Jazz Festival World of Nations Sail Jacksonville Run for the Pies Cinco de Mayo Memorial Day classic car show

Freedom, fanfare & fireworks Jax4Kids Jaguar Team Rallies Labor Day Light the Night Georgia vs Florida football Komen Race for the Cure Halloween Veterans day Christmas tree lighting

Jacksonville Light Parade Sea & Sky spectacular New Years Eve Gator Bowl Team rallies Art Walk Pre and Post Event Parties Landing Restaurant Events Charity functions Political Gatherings baseball-card show

^[5]Just before the GA-FL football game in 2007, the Landing installed a 19x15 foot JumboTron in the courtyard.

[edit] Location

Unlike the facilities in the other cities mentioned above, this nine-acre complex is popular among tourists and local area residents.^[6][7]There are 65 stores as well as dining and entertainment in the 125,000sf building. The Landing features 10 full-service restaurants plus an inexpensive food court with indoor and outdoor seating that overlooks the river. The Jacksonville Landing (usually referred to as just the Landing by locals) has large local patronage base with over 65,000 Downtown office workers and over 1,000,000 residents in the surrounding metropolitan area of North Florida and South Georgia. However, it does attract a large percentage of the 5.18 million visitors that come to Jacksonville annually.^[8] In 2003, the Rouse Company announced it would sell the Jacksonville Landing to local developer Toney Sleiman for $5.1 million.^[9]

[edit] Problems

The city must still resolve a two decade-old problem of inadequate parking at the site. The city agreed to provide 800 spaces when the entertainment center was built but none of the vague plans for meeting that obligation ever came to fruition. Because the city has been in default of the parking provision in the lease, the Landing's owner is exempt from paying rent of about $100,000 a year. When the parking issue is resolved, the rent will become payable.^[10]

[edit] See also

• Jacksonville Riverwalk

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jacksonville Landing Official website