A peek inside Springfield's Warehouse District..

[sheclown]

Joe was driving by today and saw this building open:


So, he called the owner and got a quick tour.

It is pretty awesome inside:





It is for sale and the owner is ready to negotiate.  He was asking 600k, but the space could probably be had for half that.

It's nice, clean, sound, and huge.

The owner was so grateful to Joe for calling him, that he gave Joe a key.  I just know I'll drive by one day and see Joe building a total fleet of sailboats in there!  Lord Help Us All!

The warehouse district has so much potential...

Also, if you see something open, you may just get rewarded for your efforts if you call the owner!

[billy]

what is the address on Liberty?
area has so much potential...

[sheclown]

2336 Liberty

18,000 SF

[iloveionia]

Someplace here, there are lots of warehouse photos from this Springfield area.  New England towns embrace warehouses and have repurposed them into pretty hip places.  Northampton, MA comes to mind.  Monterey, CA turned their waterfront delapitated area into a aquarium and unique shopping area by repurposing buildings. 

There is so much potential in the Warehouse district.

[sheclown]

I wonder how many warehouses are in the warehouse district.  Anyone know?  If this one building has 18k SF, there's a lot of square footage in that district.

[movedsouth]

[COJ city planner voice]
that area would make a great parking lot for the stadium! In particular if we use Ionia as a 4 lane highway after all those ugly old houses are gone.
[/COJ city planner voice]

[thelakelander]

I wonder how many warehouses are in the warehouse district.  Anyone know?  If this one building has 18k SF, there's a lot of square footage in that district.

Depends on the borders but including Swisher, its probably over 1,000,000 square feet of historic warehouse space.  There are at least 18 in this image and there are a few that aren't shown in it.  Here is a "Then & Now" article we ran on the district back in 2008.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-jul-then-and-now-the-springfield-warehouse-district

Here's some good news for this district.  The 2030 Mobility Plan will be introduced to city council tonight.  The initial CIE (Capital Improvement Element) includes funds for rail line that will connect the airport area to DT, via the S-Line ROW.  There's a very good chance that a station could be constructed in the heart of the warehouse district, which could become a catalyst for the revitalization of the area.

[sheclown]

great news! 

[billy]

Is there a copy of the Mobility Plan availale online?

The Warehouse District is a fascinating, extremely underutilized asset.
It appears that about 60% of the non Swisher space is on the market.

[thelakelander]

^Here you go, although I don't think the latest version has been uploaded yet.

http://www.coj.net/Departments/Planning+and+Development/Community+Planning/Mobility+Plan.htm

I'm about to head down to Miami for a few days to check out some rail related TOD development and a loft residence I designed that's now under construction (sorry not stopping in South Beach this time).  There are some areas down there that are similar to the Springfield warehouse district that have been redeveloped as lofts and art galleries, etc.  I plan to get some pics to share on this site.

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

i absolutely adore the warehouse district, and would love to see it get a bit ov a boost--though with how picky i can be, i'll probably end up complaining about whatever/whoever ends up in the buildings.

[letters and numbers]

What are these properties zoned for? I mean residential or industrial? Man you know these will take off on the next boom I think

[ChriswUfGator]

Letters and numbers, you generally have very little trouble going from a more intensive to a less intensive use, it's going the other way that proves problematic. So these properties, which are zoned heavy commercial or industrial, would be able to be converted to residential or light commercial if the market supports it.

[letters and numbers]

Hey thanks. I think one of the warehouses was going to be converted right? so I wonder if that was already rezoned if so I wonder how far along in renovations it was before the market busted

[peestandingup]

Usually warehouse districts get converted after infill gets really high in the surrounding area & the typical business district gets vibrant & completely built out, which Springfield still has a ways to go yet in these regards.

So as cool as the warehouse district is here, it'll probably be a while before it gets any attention.