ReNew Arlington- Is there hope for Arlington?

[C267A]

Read about the efforts to revitalize Arlington.  Several things we wanted to share, but not know how to attach a PDF file.  At this point, Arlington will take all the help it can get.  But the improvements are mostly public land.  The CRA, Community Redevelopment Area, is consisted of mostly commercial businesses along key corridors. 



http://www.coj.net/renew-jax.aspx

[coredumped]

I agree that Arlington needs help but it's not as bad as people think. It's still one of the most densely populated areas and there's million dollar homes in the area.
What it needs is a king street. Old Arlington needs a hipster district with pubs and the like.
Regency needs to be dealt with too.

[thelakelander]

It's got JU, a riverfront and a historic core at the intersection of University and Arlington Road. It also has the Arlington Expressway's service roads, which are set up perfectly for BRT with dedicated lanes. So there's some assets to play around with.

[C267A]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.


Karen Nasrallah is doing a great job of leading this initiative for Renew Arlington. She led the initiative for 220 Riverside.

[coredumped]

Exciting stuff. Hopefully it gets off paper and in the ground.

A while back there was some drawings of town and country with some condos alongside the expressway. It was probably during the housing bubble, but maybe a smaller version could be implemented.

[ProjectMaximus]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.

Which one is that? Is it the old hotel grounds?

[wanderson91]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.

Which one is that? Is it the old hotel grounds?

It's the one that sits at University and Arlington expressway. Massive complex with few businesses

[CCMjax]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.


Karen Nasrallah is doing a great job of leading this initiative for Renew Arlington. She led the initiative for 220 Riverside.

T&C mall is a great opportunity for redevelopment and right next to the old center of Arlington and JU so it's a great spot.  JU students really need a reason to live in Arlington other than just being close to campus.  But please no high rise proposals until this town can start filling out high density medium rise infill developments.  There is too much vacant or underused property in the core right now to warrant any sort of high rise development.

Coredumped - here is the mj article from 2012 . . . . . . .

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-aug-creating-a-better-arlington

[jaxnyc79]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.


Karen Nasrallah is doing a great job of leading this initiative for Renew Arlington. She led the initiative for 220 Riverside.

T&C mall is a great opportunity for redevelopment and right next to the old center of Arlington and JU so it's a great spot.  JU students really need a reason to live in Arlington other than just being close to campus.  But please no high rise proposals until this town can start filling out high density medium rise infill developments.  There is too much vacant or underused property in the core right now to warrant any sort of high rise development.

Coredumped - here is the mj article from 2012 . . . . . . .

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-aug-creating-a-better-arlington

Amen to that.  Let's fill up vacant lots throughout the "Urban Priority Area" with one-to-three story residential designed with new urbanist principles in mind.  San Francisco is incredibly dense, but its vibrant streetscape is mainly framed by 2 and 3 story residential developments with perhaps first floor retail.  High-rise development is way over-rated.

[CCMjax]

Yes, and there is real hope to totally redevelop Town and Country Shopping Mall.  It's up for sale!  Now, for a really good developer who will come in, tear that 19 acres of aged buildings down and build a fantastic, exciting mixed use center, a high rise, with open pedestrian courts and trees and landscaping, interior parking garages and turn it into a real "Hipster" place.  No, not the Plush.  But nice places to dine or get a glass of wine, slice of pie or pizza, after the symphony, or perhaps after a Jags game, any kind of event.  Arlington is just as close to downtown as San Marco.  It's time we invited the Hipster crowd over the bridge.


Karen Nasrallah is doing a great job of leading this initiative for Renew Arlington. She led the initiative for 220 Riverside.

T&C mall is a great opportunity for redevelopment and right next to the old center of Arlington and JU so it's a great spot.  JU students really need a reason to live in Arlington other than just being close to campus.  But please no high rise proposals until this town can start filling out high density medium rise infill developments.  There is too much vacant or underused property in the core right now to warrant any sort of high rise development.

Coredumped - here is the mj article from 2012 . . . . . . .

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-aug-creating-a-better-arlington

Amen to that.  Let's fill up vacant lots throughout the "Urban Priority Area" with one-to-three story residential designed with new urbanist principles in mind.  San Francisco is incredibly dense, but its vibrant streetscape is mainly framed by 2 and 3 story residential developments with perhaps first floor retail.  High-rise development is way over-rated.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, in my opinion Savannah and Charleston's downtown spaces and streets are much more attractive than say Miami because their downtowns are mostly low to medium rise (2 to 10 stories).  More light gets down to the street and you don't feel overwhelmed by concrete, glass and steel, you can actually see the sky.

[JECJAX]

I currently live in Old Arlington on the river close to the old center of Arlington at Arlington Rd and University Blvd.  Arlington is far from gone.  There have been quite a few young couples moving over in the area west of University Blvd.  Houses are affordable and the property is desirable.  People actually walk and JU students jog along the river.  We know the potential our neighborhood has and the interest it could draw being so close to downtown.  We have seen in Ft Lauderdale older apartment complexes be renovated and desirable among young people.   All of this sounds great - we just need that spark to get things moving !

[CityLife]

Arlington has a lot of strengths in its favor and I'm glad to see steps taken to improve the area before it gets too late.

Strengths

-JU
-Geographic location between DT and Beach
-Easy access to airport, zoo, port, Mayport, DT, Beach, Town Center/SS, and salt marsh north of SJR
-One of the city's outdoor gems, the Arboretum
-Diverse housing stock
-Very affordable compared to Beach or in town neighborhoods
-Numerous commercial development opportunities

What else am I missing?

[JECJAX]

-Several boat ramps 
-A public pier
-Hiking trails
-Tree Hill
-Miles of riverfront property
-mid century architecture
-new subdivisons - some under construction

[jaxnyc79]

I'd like to get others' opinions on this.  Arlington commercial zones are made worse in appearance by the clutter and the lack of scale of business signage fronting the streets.  Could a sign ordinance with certain aeshetic standards, and perhaps a monument base, significantly improve the appearance (for what that's worth)?  All the commercial zones in new upscale developments have monument signage to enhance the built environment...I know Arlington may not draw the spending power of those developments, but don't modest-income folks deserve attractive adjacent commercial zones as well.

[CityLife]

jaxnyc, what are the current sign regulations? Are pole signs allowed? If so, what are the max heights?