Eye has been following the sad situation with The Jacksonville Landing dispute between the Mayor and the Owners.  If buildings had a heart, certainly the Landing’s would be broken.

The Landing has been used in most every marketing picture by the city and others who want to attract new residents to North Florida.  It even has it’s own exit sign on I95 for travelers to find her and take pictures with the beautiful St. Johns River behind her.  She’s been so proud of all the publications she has shown up in.  She loves it when Presidents come to town and hold rallies on her stage.  She is so proud of all the fun times and events that have been held there too — and most of them free to the public.  She is always willing to help out non-profits and small groups who can’t afford to pay big dollars for access to staging.  She’s really, really proud of her community involvement over the years.

However, it hasn’t been easy being her.

The Landing keeps standing against all odds.  Since the day she was birthed by the Rouse Company until today – she’s been a pawn in political games.  Politicians have used her.  They have abused her.  They have abandoned her.

She has been pushed aside by every Mayor who came to the table since she was built.  They made promises.  They broke promises.  They said they would help with redevelopment and then they say No.  They said they would provide parking and then they ignore her.  They have made it hard for The Landing to be Great and she’s heartbroken about it.

She has stood back and watched as shiny, expensive new developments such as The District receives millions upon millions of dollars by the city and she can’t even get her docks fixed.

She is caught up in legal battles and she patiently waits for the Mayor’s “internal plan to take back The Landing” to be exposed.  She hates being a pawn.  She hates being used.

She deserves respect.  She’s hung in there and can’t wait for the new, shiny development she can be IF the Mayor and the City Council would do as they promised year after year.  She’s seen plans for her redesign and she loves them — but Mayors pull them back and refuse to work with her Owners.  Why?  Why won’t they let her be pretty again?

And she wonders what the Mayor and his legal team are up to in their latest move.  Read more about that here:  City legal move against the Landing

She doesn’t trust them.  She knows they are strategically doing something behind the scenes and she can only hope – they have her best interest at heart.  She isn’t counting on it however.

Yes, the Jacksonville Landing’s heart is broken and so is ours.  When hearts are broken, you can either “file for divorce” or you can build a new life together from this moment on.

Eye believes it’s time to stop the legal garbage and talk.  Work things out.  Bring respect back to the Owners who have held the Landing together through years of neglect by the city.  The Mayor can do this if he wants to.  He can be the hero.

Here’s what we believe:

If President Trump can bring North Korea to the table, surely Mayor Curry can sit at the table with the Landing Owners and together…

Make the Landing Great Again

Does Mayor Curry have what it takes to do that?   Is he a leader or a follower of “internal plan” designers?

What say you?  Do you think the Mayor can be a hero?

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://eyeonjacksonville.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Billie-Tucker-1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Billie Tucker has worked in the CEO world for more than 30 years and was the Chief Operating Officer of Vistage Florida, a think tank for CEOs. She started her own consulting practice, CEO Service Bureau, in 2001 and earned a reputation for her keen understanding of the motivations, challenges and goals of people and became a life-long student and teacher of leadership principles. She craved anything leadership related and enjoyed being around the world of entrepreneurial CEOs. She watched as they made decisions; pondered how they would make payroll when cash flow was tight; and appreciated how they created career opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. Because of her experiences, she has emerged as a key resource for the media and others who want to understand important insights about executives, management teams and board dynamics. In 2008, Billie became discouraged as she watched some of her clients struggle with the political economic impacts on their businesses. The same CEOs who mortgaged their home and charged up their credit cards to make ends meet to build a business and keep others working, now watched as their government bailed out the big banks who had mismanaged their resources. She cringed as most of her clients laid off employees for the first time and she vowed she would help them… somehow…someway. That somehow…someway showed up in the Tea Party Movement in America. She formed one of the largest tea party group’s in America (more than 9,000 members strong) and helped bring attention to America’s debt problem, out of control spending, over taxation and regulation strangulation on companies. With her background in working with leaders and her influence in the political and leadership world, Billie has continued her dream to help CEOs navigate these troubling waters that permeate the world of capitalism in America. She has been an active participant in the media as a guest on CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, Bott Family Network Radio and co-hosts a political/financial radio show in the Northeast Florida market entitled, Smart Money. She was the first speaker at the House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus inaugural event and was invited by Heritage Foundation to speak at their prestigious annual Heritage Resource Bank, and on their National Security Panel live broadcasts. She spoke at the Congressional Republican House Retreat in Pennsylvania in 2012. She was also the co-host and co-producer of the CNN Tea Party Express Debate in the 2012 Presidential Election. She is a firm believer that America needs more entrepreneurs and more opportunities for people to use their God-given talents and passions to better themselves, their communities and America. Her favorite quote has become her mission to help CEOs succeed: “Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison[/author_info] [/author]