Walkable Commercial Districts: West Beaver Street
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/860009171_Zjhqa-L.jpg)
Before there was an Interstate 10, there was Beaver Street. This long-overlooked historic commercial district is unique for Jacksonville because of its industrial-market-blend character. Under the right circumstances, this gem can add to the quality and character of Urban Jacksonville without a significant public investment in newly subsidized infrastructure.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-may-walkable-commercial-districts-west-beaver-street
While admirable, i think it is going to take a lot more than that to make that area 'walkable' in the foreseeable future.
To get there from practically any direction you have to drive through a whole lot of sketchiness
Detroit's Eastern Market is not "walkable" in a sense like our Five Points or San Marco Square. It's still an industrial district. However, it does take on the appeal of an urbanized industrial district where similar businesses are clustered together in a manner to where its feasible for them to include small retail and wholesale components to their businesses.
Regarding the "sketchiness", that "sketchiness" is actually some of urban Jacksonville's most dense neighborhoods. Residents in these neighborhoods tend to be the city's most transit dependent and these neighborhoods don't have businesses like grocery stores and other retailers within walking distance. By improving the vitality of Beaver Street, you also encourage and stimulate economic revitalization, development opportunities and job creation for adjacent Northside residents. Thinking about it from this angle, how you describe Beaver Street today is exactly what Detroit's Eastern Market is. The only difference is Eastern Market has been allowed to naturally develop into an area where a mix of urbanized uses have been set up to support the industrial/wholesale activity taking place in the area.
A quick comparison of the two market places:
Population
1 mile 2 mile 3 mile
Detroit Eastern Market 17,974 55,121 98,683
Beaver Street Famer's Market 10,137 45,993 94,611
Income
1 mile 2 mile 3 mile
Detroit Eastern Market $19,988.00 $18,320.00 $17,214.00
Beaver Street Famer's Market $12,734.00 $15,493.00 $17,468.00 |
data source ESRI Community Analyst Online
Wow! I didn't realize the demographics were that close.
The income in the post above was per capita.
2010 Average Household Income
1 mile 2 mile 3 mile
Detroit Eastern Market $37,509.00 $36,728.00 $37,216.00
Beaver Street Farmer's Market $33,089.00 $37,299.00 $40,854.00
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Surprised me too. It shows the potential of the area. It seems to comfirm that support for the Farmer's market here is much greater than just the surrounding area. Would love to map their customer locations.