A year of violence, uncertainty and empty stores faces a rough end for Jacksonville Landing businesses.
While event crews are setting up for the New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Jacksonville Landing, stores and restaurants are preparing for a drop in foot traffic.
The TaxSlayer Bowl pep rally, which in previous years brought thousands of fans, will now be held at Deck the Chairs in Jacksonville Beach.
“When I heard the pep rally wasn’t going to be here, I was very disappointed,” said Paul Glaser, general manager of Fionn MacCool’s.
The City of Jacksonville approved a permit for the Landing to host its New Year’s Eve Celebration but limited the crowd to 2,000 people.
It comes at the end of a difficult year for small businesses caught in the middle of a rift between the City of Jacksonville, which owns the property, and Jacksonville Landing Investments, which operates it.
“They’re actually hurting the small business guy,” Glaser said.
In May, Mayor Lenny Curry announced the city planned to end JLI’s lease.
The following month, Curry unveiled his idea of tearing the property down and creating a green space called Riverfront Plaza.
Then in August, a mass shooting left three people dead and almost a dozen injured at a video game tournament at Chicago Pizza.
After a year of violence, and uncertainty, businesses like Fionn MacCool’s plan to make the most of what’s left of 2018, while the start of 2019 brings only more questions about the future of the Jacksonville Landing.
“We don’t know what the end game is going to be,” Glaser said. “It’s a shame.”