Myrtle Avenue Warehouse District

[thelakelander]

One of the big impetuses for the development of Channelside in Tampa was the building of the aquarium and the cruises ships coming in.  Also, back then, Ybor (adjacent) had begun to be more developed and be seen as a "destination."  These are site specific, but all districts have assets they can build on.

I remember the Channel District really taking off after the streetcar had been extended to through the area.  I looked at buying a small warehouse there back around 2000 but thought things were overpriced and that the redevelopment process would take much longer.  Looking back, I blew that opportunity.

Public policy has to encourage that creative development though.  And a city can have more than one warehouse district too.  Maybe Jax has 2-3 smaller ones that each offer something a little unique and make each of them destinations in their own right.  If public policy loosened up of course.

Bingo!  Right now we have a brewery/arts district starting to develop in Riverside, a market district along Beaver and who knows what the future can hold for Myrtle, Springfield, LaVilla and others?  If public policy can be modified to encourage creativity and innovation, the sky is the limit for a lot of issues Jacksonville faces.

[avs]

The street car certainly was good.  I left it out as an impetus because back then people hardly used it (even though a ride was 25cents).  I used to ride it back then and I thought it was great.  I would park in Ybor and take the streetcar downtown to the Planning Dept to work.  I, personally, loved that I didn't have to pay exhorbatent prices for parking in a downtown lot all day or spend time in the morning looking downtown to park.  It was good that as the district took off public transportation was already there and ready to go - it was planned ahead of time

Why not use some warehouse zoning overlays in key Jax warehouse districts to override that silly ordinance in certain areas?  The overlays could allow more alternate development in those districts and encourage more creative uses.  They could then be used in policy development for stimulus such as tax incentives? Such as the Riverside district that is developing.  Give some incentives for artists housing development or galleries?  just a thought I am throwing out. 

[thelakelander]

I'm in agreement with modifying zoning in specific areas to encourage creative redevelopment.  I think the model Kansas City took with their Crossroads District is one worth looking into for Jacksonville.

[billy]

Just allow residential uses in structures fifty years old or older, and only in light industrial areas,
not heavy. I've mentioned this before. City of Atlanta made this modification years ago.