Quote:So a convention even further away from the highway is going to attract more customers because of the Shipyards? I have a hard time believing that. All of these plans sound great and I really hope they happen, but I have my doubts. Khan undoubtedly has the money to get things done but does he have stroke? The Good Ole Boy Network that has been running downtown affairs for decades may have some resistance to some of these plans. He also has to deal with a powerful church downtown who may not have very high opinions of him. I hope it all comes to fruition but I have some doubts.

A convention center on an interstate with nothing around it for blocks besides an underutilized monorail system is hardly worth worrying about.  They could convert it into something more useful like a museum for railroad history in the state of Florida and develop it as an attraction.  With no hotels supporting it, it's about as useful as screen doors on a submarine. 

 

I worked for Bucky Clarkson, a guy who was determined to build a hotel adjacent to the current convention center, and filed multiple lawsuits attempting to get the city to allow him to do exactly that probably 10-15 years ago.  There was no desire at that time to build any hotels in that area.  There are already a couple of major hotels on the north bank closer to the shipyards, and another major hotel chain is already lined up to build if Khan's plan is approved and comes to fruition.  If you have a convention center, you need a hotel within walking distance, if not literally attached to the hotel itself.  The best option for that would be to build it as part of this project in the shipyards.  Otherwise, find a way to build it closer to the heart of downtown within a block or two of the existing hotels.  While that would make the old courthouse an ideal location, I'd much rather see the city get the waterfront back on the tax logs, and move the jail and other facilities in that area that would allow this to happen and help to upgrade the atmosphere in that area.

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