Jacksonville's San Marco: 'No man's land'

[thelakelander]

Hendricks Avenue is a patchwork of shops and restaurants mixed with empty storefronts: the poor stepchild or a street ready to boom

By Roger Bull

It's the other street in San Marco. Though just a block or two away from the trendy shops and crowds around the square, development along Hendricks Avenue is still uneven. There's growth, a mix of shops, restaurants and offices, but there's also empty buildings and storefronts.

Mashid Parsa, owner of the new Green Erth Bistro, called it "the ghetto of San Marco."

Designer Larry Wilson first bought property on Hendricks 13 years.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-06-11/story/san-marcos-no-mans-land

[thelakelander]

Cool.  According to the article, a Hurricane Grill & Wings will be moving into the old Panera Bread location on Hendricks this fall.

[CS Foltz]

Much thanks for the link lake! Like every where else, slowly but surely, got no where to go but up? Would you know about bus routing in that part of the world? It looks to me like LR would be a good match and from what I remember, there was trolly at one time there? I would allmost bet there are still rails buried there like there were in Springfield found during the Main Street renovation!

[thelakelander]

The SS6 runs down Hendricks between I-95 and Atlantic Blvd every 35 minutes (http://www.jtafla.com/InteractiveSystemMap/map5.htm).  The trolley ties were pulled up out of Hendricks when the streetscape was completed a few years ago.  LRT would be difficult because you won't be able to cross the FEC at grade.  However, this is one area where a short extension of the skyway really makes sense.  It already terminates a block away from Hendricks and once you get it over the tracks, you can drop it to ground level all the way down to Atlantic Blvd, making both Hendricks and San Marco Square accessible. 

[ProjectMaximus]

I'm sure you've shown this plenty of times already, but how can you drop the skyway to ground level all the way down to atlantic? Where would the ROW be acquired, since the path would have to be closed off from pedestrian and automobile crossings? Thanks.

[thelakelander]

This graphic illustrates how a conceptual 0.63 mile Skyway extension to San Marco Square could be developed to further reduce capital costs.  White represents the existing Skyway route.  Red represents elevated expansion segments while yellow represents ground level expansion segments.  At $15 million per one way mile, this extension would probably cost around $20 million, providing a direct connection between Downtown, Hendricks Avenue and San Marco Square.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-oct-re-evaluating-the-skyway


An example of the skyway at ground level.

[Charles Hunter]

But that doesn't answer the question about the effect of it bisecting that area.  We are always talking about how bad it is for highways to divide neighborhoods - especially adjacent to FEC Park.  Wouldn't an electrified, fenced off, Skyway be even more of a barrier than a wide road - which it is possible to cross (even if not all that safe).  Also, with the hotel and proposed retail at (and using) the Kings Ave. garage, I don't think ground level would work there, either.

[CS Foltz]

Thanks for the info lake.......I dug into it and found the SS6 route you posted. I agree Mr Charles...........elevated would be possibly the most viable option but it is an option!

[thelakelander]

But that doesn't answer the question about the effect of it bisecting that area.  We are always talking about how bad it is for highways to divide neighborhoods - especially adjacent to FEC Park.  Wouldn't an electrified, fenced off, Skyway be even more of a barrier than a wide road - which it is possible to cross (even if not all that safe).  Also, with the hotel and proposed retail at (and using) the Kings Ave. garage, I don't think ground level would work there, either.

The area is already fenced off and divided by the FEC railroad.  A ground level Skyway would be no different than a ground level EL, MARTA, MARTA or Metrorail (which all exist).  I'd also argue an extension to Atlantic Boulevard makes the area more accessible because the stations and line would give pedestrians a chance to get across the tracks and another north/south corridor.

[thelakelander]

You probably can't go completely to the ground near the hotel/garage but you can still drop it down a bit between Kings Avenue Station and the garage's entrance.


^Dropping it down: Indianapolis' people mover.

[Captain Zissou]

Most important part of the article..

For designer Wilson, one of the keys is connecting with the hotels and condo towers on the Southbank.

"We need to create a walking corridor from the housing there," he said, "and that's going to require infill. But I'm not sure it's going to happen anytime soon.

There are hundreds of residents along the river, but nothing for us to do.  There is no connectivity between us and the buildings south of I-95.  Until they can provide for the residents that are already in place, the area will fail to grow.  This could be one of the better corridors in the city, but the lack of amenities, attractions, and people cause it to fall behind Riverside, San Marco Square, Murray Hill, King St, and even Lakewood.

[tufsu1]

Personally, I think the connectivity under I-95 is pretty good....the main issue, imo, is that condo towers don't generally create much streetlife....I've almost always in favor of mid-rise (4-10 stories) residential buildings over towers.

[RiversideLoki]

I remember when Larry opened The Nest (he was kinda emulated by Nest Living). It was such a neat place. But a little too early for its' time. So he rented the property to the guy who got the Tropical Smoothie franchise, which has been doing really well. Now Larry's in his own design studio in the little building next to Trop smoothie with business partner Rebecca Davisson (both of whom I'm consider really good friends.) He got out of Rink Design when he saw the writing on the wall and has the most beautiful space. But those two have always been two of the most talented interior designers I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And both have really good insight into San Marco and the city as a whole. Good to see him quoted.

*EDIT* Because I don't filter my words correctly sometimes.

[nestliving]

I remember when Larry opened The Nest (he was kinda knocked off by Nest Living). It was such a neat place. But a little too early for its' time.

Actually, I ripped my name off from a little store I visited in Denmark and another store called "nest" that's a staple design studio in London (Larry 'prolly ripped the name off from them). I actually never had a chance to visit Larry's store as it had closed long before I moved here but I appreciate your comparison as I too am a huge fan of Larry's work.

[Charles Hunter]

But that doesn't answer the question about the effect of it bisecting that area.  We are always talking about how bad it is for highways to divide neighborhoods - especially adjacent to FEC Park.  Wouldn't an electrified, fenced off, Skyway be even more of a barrier than a wide road - which it is possible to cross (even if not all that safe).  Also, with the hotel and proposed retail at (and using) the Kings Ave. garage, I don't think ground level would work there, either.

The area is already fenced off and divided by the FEC railroad.  A ground level Skyway would be no different than a ground level EL, MARTA, MARTA or Metrorail (which all exist).  I'd also argue an extension to Atlantic Boulevard makes the area more accessible because the stations and line would give pedestrians a chance to get across the tracks and another north/south corridor.

Is the FEC fenced off in that section? Can't tell from Google maps, although it looks like the park is fenced.  If so, it may not be as much of a barrier as I thought.