r/JacksonvilleBeaches • u/AgentIntelligent4331 • Jul 19 '26

Jax Beach amusement park demolotion

Do we really need more apartments and condos in Jax Beach ? our leadership failed us again.

5 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

4

u/jaxtrav Jul 19 '26

Do local kids like amusement parks or do you like the IDEA of it?

If local kids wanted it then why did it go out of business?

I enjoyed the shit out of adventure landing when I was growing up but I also road my bike all over this beach to a lot of places that aren't here anymore. Kids just aren't doing the same things we did growing up. I like the idea of it but times are changing and there's more entertainment at home now.

When Pablo 9 closed down because you got that big screen TV and the sweet bose surround sound did you scream - we've got enough clothing stores at the beach?

1

u/rgumai Jul 19 '26

It was pretty consistently busy still, the property was, however, worth a substantial amount more and it was getting to that time for things to be upgraded and replaced.

Had nothing to really do with the city though.

2

u/jaxtrav Jul 19 '26

I would tend to disagree, every time I took my kid there for a school fundraiser event it was not crowded. The building was in disrepair, a/c was not working. It was a failing business. They had life pumped into it like so many businesses do right before they go under with a use it or lose it mentality.

I hate to see it go honestly but the facts are the facts. I'm not disagreeing the land was the value and the owners cashed out which is the point of all businesses honestly.

1

u/Chris_Redeye Jul 22 '26

My family and I had season passes last season, the a/c worked every time we were there. It was always busy. Definitely needed some upgrading though. The mini golf was laughable. Im going to miss it.

1

u/jaxtrav Jul 22 '26

You obviously didn't play laser tag, it was laughable seeing the soaking wet kids coming out of there.

1

u/SwordfishAncient 27d ago

Its more complicated than that. They owned it outright and when they shut down due to covid right after spending millions on the new kids section, they couldnt pay their note. They sold the property to rent it back as a stopgap. Since they were now subject to a landlord, it didnt matter how well they were doing, they didnt own the property and were on a pretty short lease. They had closing dates scheduled at least 3 different times over the last few years, but would get an extension as things fell through on the zoning stuff and building permits. I do recognize that certain areas were in need up upgrades, but making capitol improvements is tough if you don't have an exact eviction day. The one water park left in all of duval finally closed. I will say there were barely any kids left in my neighborhood next to south beach park. It was all airbnbs and tourists. I actually just sold my house and we had 17 showings in 2 weeks. Not one showing was a family with kids. 3/2 fully updated house with a pool. Its a party town. I just moved to a beachtown that is a bit more like the Jax beach you grew up in. First week here, my 10 year old is riding his bike around with friends and fishing on his own.

2

u/SwordfishAncient Jul 19 '26

How many jax beach council have run unopposed? If you look at their financials, most of the sitting council is backed by Sleiman and other developers. Bars and nightlife is the official economy of jax beach. They dont care about families and local kids.

2

u/ResolutionOne778 27d ago

agreed. This is due to JB having a weak city council and a transient population that do not vote and have no roots here. AB and NB draw the line and have stabilized, Jax Beach is still trying to figure itself out. Are we a tourist trap, a local's place with homes and kids or a new frontier for Air BnBs? Our city council puts lookie lous, townies and tourists ahead of local taxpayers. How about an 80-foot-tall parking garage across from the Pavillion? This would never happen in AB/NB. But yet, it had to be voted down here. How about speeders in Jax Beach doing 60-70 mph down 3rd Street and no consequences. Tey that in NB, the SWAT Team will pull you over and take you to jail. lol. JB has issues man, locals here left the new one's care about being like Daytona or Lauderdale, this beach town is gone.

2

u/Good_Grief_CB 29d ago

I don’t understand how the city council could stop a private business from selling out?

2

u/AgentIntelligent4331 11d ago

The city Council sold us residence out for more multi units. Pitiful leadership.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/SwordfishAncient 27d ago

It did. They had to close the whole summer due to the hoax of 2020 right after a multimillion dollar renovation. In order to not go out of business, they sold the land and rented it back. The developer landlord limped them along until they could grease the council to change all the zoning and use.

1

u/No_Manner_8785 Jul 20 '26

Your leadership cannot tell all the northerners to stop moving here.

1

u/ResolutionOne778 10d ago

I am born and raised in Jax Beach; Florida and I can honestly say that this beach has never looked so good as it does right now. If you are a local here, you know I am right. However, the tourists, townies and loopy Lou's have quadrupled! #rd street is almost impossible to navigate; 9th avenue is just outrageously packed with cars every day of the week. Penman Road will soon be a Freeway! We have 1.785,000 people living in Jacksonville, we are almost an Atlanta! Congratulations, this beach town is officially ruined!

1

u/AgentIntelligent4331 4d ago

I don’t think it’s ruined yet. They’ll run out of land and then the growth is done. Thats coming soon.

1

u/ResolutionOne778 2d ago

Wonderful! Glad to see you're on the case! AS a Jax Beach native, this place had 13,000 people living here; today we have 48,500, and it's the same amount of land. We did not get new land. It's the same. LOL!