How To Spot The Next Hot Neighborhood

[thelakelander]

If we're going to invest in a streetcar, its going to have to connect multiple destinations together.  That's the whole point.  Connect a few popular walkable destinations and funnel infill growth into the areas between them, creating a large walkable urban core in the long run. 

If not, you've got the same situation we have with the skyway.  Something that goes from nowhere to nowhere.  Riverside, San Marco, DT, etc. all should be considered as stops along a transit spine that connects these neighborhoods and others with various major destinations and employment centers throughout the urban core and eventually the city.

[simms3]

Here are some new townhouse developments in Columbus, OH.  They are on Gay and Fifth Streets, near downtown.  If we're going to build streetcars, we need to allow developments like these.  Currently, we are filled to the brim with single family homes, and no matter how small the yards and close together the houses, they don't make a $300M+ system worth it for 99% of Duval taxpayers.  Would RAP and SPAR allow stuff like this?

Pictures from Chadoh25 on Columbus Ohio and the metro area, page 15.















The Columbus Library as a bonus.  Wish our new courthouse looked half as good.  Fortunately, our library does because we went with an actually good architect (my favorite architect, Bob Stern).



Here are a few of my pictures from a snow this December in Atlanta.  They show some contemporary apartments.  These things are going up everywhere in Atlanta, and as a result, we have pockets of walkability that school what we have going on in Jacksonville.  There must be 50 new buildings in the Atlanta core in Midtown West, Ralph McGill, Old 4th Ward, Grant Park, Inman Park, etc etc just like these.  There is space for retail on the ground level.  Intown Atlanta is even starting to see upscale mall stores locate in town.  Anthropologie just renovated a warehouse 1.5 miles West of me in Midtown West, and it’s not alone.  These areas aren’t even served by rail, but there is abundant parking and they are dense and walkable.  Atlanta also has bike sharing and zip cars, so it is lightyears ahead of Jax even though it is lightyears behind its northern peers.







Would SPAR and RAP allow developments like this?  Why are Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Tampa, Austin, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Richmond, and other cities seeing denser infill like this, and we, with a 20% decadal growth rate and great urban bones, don’t see anything of the sort?  I know Brooklyn Park was going to be a development of this sort (not in a historic district….oh no, we wouldn’t dare tear down one house for this or allow this on any empty lots in Springfield), but it failed.

Here are some pictures from Atlanta’s Edgewood Historic District.  I proposed a project for an empty lot on Edgewood.  This area is exploding with rebirth.  It is a historic district and it has the King Memorial and tons of history/old buildings, etc.  Still, new buildings are allowed and encouraged.  There are some restrictions on Edgewood and Auburn Ave (these two streets will see streetcar within a few years), but most of the area has few restrictions and a TAD issues bonds every now and again to help developers out.





BBQ Restaurant in an old gas station with restored lofts behind it.  *LOTS* of restored lofts in Atlanta.




This is the lot I worked on.


Quite a mix of styles here.  Nothing architecturally spectacular or fitting, but better than blight and empty lots!


What Main Street in Springfield SHOULD look like.  Springfield has more middle class residents than this area, yet this area is seeing 4 star restaurants started by celebrity chefs in old warehouses (Kevin Rathbun, Rathbun Steak, etc) and tons of new bars and shops and galleries.  Springfield has?




Close to downtown, yes, but should still be an example for Jacksonville.  Auburn Avenue is even more spectacular, but my project was not on that street, so no pictures one block over.


This building “fit” some old, historic structures into its façade.  On the ground floor are a Smoothie King, a Thai restaurant, residential services like a laundry place, etc etc.


I’ll post some pictures of a conceptual project I worked on for the street last year.  It’s a project that I don’t think SPAR and RAP would approve of.

I chose the Edgewood Avenue Historic District because it was already becoming a hot and up and coming neighborhood, but I predicted it would just explode.  The announcement for the new streetcar line funded mostly by TIGER II was just the icing on the cake.

[simms3]

Here are a few slides from a project I did a while back, just to give you an idea of a small, simple project that would be relatively easy to implement and could incorporate any number of designs.  I don’t think SPAR or RAP would allow such a thing, maybe RAP.  These are the small, little developments that will make a neighborhood walkable and a streetcar viable.  Unfortunately, they seem to be frowned upon in Jacksonville, and there is too much red tape.  This is purely conceptual and very basic.  Financing was calculated using a friend from the Atlanta Development Authority in charge of TADs and Argus Software (which I’m fortunate to have).  These are just a few of the slides.





This only applies to Edgewood Avenue to keep the street in character.  There aren’t so many restrictions on architectural features (hardly any actually).  They simply apply strict bulk density codes and almost any use is allowed.  This lack of regulation in a historic district would be foreign in Jacksonville.  6 floor contemporary apartments and even high rises can go up in most places in the area, just not on Edgewood.








TADs: Successful in so many cities, foreign in Jacksonville.  The point of a TAD is new development in struggling areas to bring up the tax base after a certain period via property value increases and new developments.  Jacksonville seems to not want new developments within 3 miles of downtown unless it looks stupidly like a 2011 version of a 1920 building/home.


I even used MetroJacksonville (I hope that was ok)




















I sketched out my idea for the site and had a friend in the College of Architecture work on the renderings.  She has the renderings on the updated PowerPoint, which I have on a drive, but I’m lazy and these will do.







Sorry for so many pictures, but I, too, try to spot up and coming neighborhoods.  I would love to be a developer some day.  It is important to me.  I’m just not very optimistic about Jacksonville because it’s a bundle of red tape.  Jax wants to be something it really can’t be and it wants to enforce so many rules and regulations as if there are developers falling out of the sky trying to build, when really there is nobody trying to do anything because it sucks to work with the City of Jacksonville/historic preservation groups compared to other places.  A streetcar line can work as long as we can let go of a little bit of the past and embrace the future.

[peestandingup]

If we're going to invest in a streetcar, its going to have to connect multiple destinations together.  That's the whole point.  Connect a few popular walkable destinations and funnel infill growth into the areas between them, creating a large walkable urban core in the long run. 

If not, you've got the same situation we have with the skyway.  Something that goes from nowhere to nowhere.  Riverside, San Marco, DT, etc. all should be considered as stops along a transit spine that connects these neighborhoods and others with various major destinations and employment centers throughout the urban core and eventually the city.

Col. Hans Landa: [giddy] Oooh, that's a BINGO!.....Is that the way you say it? "That's a bingo?"
Lt. Aldo Raine: You just say "bingo".
Col. Hans Landa: Bingo! How fun!

[peestandingup]

Here are some new townhouse developments in Columbus, OH.  They are on Gay and Fifth Streets, near downtown.  If we're going to build streetcars, we need to allow developments like these.  Currently, we are filled to the brim with single family homes, and no matter how small the yards and close together the houses, they don't make a $300M+ system worth it for 99% of Duval taxpayers.  Would RAP and SPAR allow stuff like this?

Nice! Yeah, that's the thing. Lack of true density in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown (esp the historic ones). They're basically almost all single family residential homes that you can't really do anything else with. And their business districts can't be extended anymore either. To get the kind of density you need, we have to make better use of land space & abandoned buildings.

Really "historic Springfield" needs to get off its high horse, cut the phony bologna neighborhood boundaries & embrace "new Springfield" with its warehouse district. Convert some of that space into lofts, apartments, mixed-use commercial space, galleries, etc. But good luck getting them to go for that.

To me, that area has the most potential for this kind of thing than anywhere else in North Florida.

[dougskiles]

Simms3 - great pictures and projects!  Your passion for this stuff is inspiring.

A streetcar line can work as long as we can let go of a little bit of the past and embrace the future.

The streetcar can be what ties the two together.  The most interesting places I travel to are the ones who have figured out how to celebrate the past and look to the future.  People like to know where they came from.  For example, I like sitting in really old churches thinking of what people must have been praying about 500 years before me.  I also like new development and seeing creativity in action.  The two can co-exist.

[thelakelander]

Simms great shots.  However, we're not done if they aren't allowed in Riverside and Springfield.  Why not focus these things on districts that were originally developed to be twice as dense as those two neighborhoods and where you wouldn't waste time battling residents you'll need for support?  If we want downtown to really succeed, this is the style of the development that should be encouraged in neighborhoods like Brooklyn, LaVilla, Sugar Hill, the Eastside, New Springfield and the Cathedral District.  Luckily, a short starter fixed transit line connecting urban Jax's popular historic districts and downtown would also pierce these areas.  Given that land is cheaper in them and what you can do with property isn't as regulated, they set up as places where affordability and creativity can combine to create the scenes in the images you've shared.  

Why a Trolley and Why Now?

There would be many advantages to operating a trolley in The Loop for both the area directly served and the region as a whole.

Connectivity: The Loop Trolley will link two existing MetroLink Stations to cultural institutions like the Missouri History Museum, the University City City Hall, and all the attractions in The Loop like theaters, restaurants, offices and shopping opportunities with vibrant mixed-use and residential neighborhoods.

Economic Development: Trolleys have proven to be a catalyst for residential, commercial and recreational development in cities like Memphis, Little Rock, Tampa and Portland. This is key for the east section of the alignment.

Pedestrian-Friendly Neighborhoods: Trolleys make it easy for people to get around and stop at several locations without the problem of finding parking. This will only enhance The Loop and all that it has to offer as one of the Ten Great Streets in America as designated by the American Planning Association in 2007. It will also provide access into Forest Park, one of the city's highlights.

Environmentally-Friendly: Trolleys are a great way for St. Louis to go green. Because they are powered by electricity, trolleys are much quieter and cleaner than gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. They also enable individuals to reduce their carbon footprint, so everyone can do their part to go green!

Tourist Attraction: Trolleys can also enhance the unique and special sense of place that is The Loop and the St. Louis region. St. Louis is famous for its historic streetcars. This brings history alive for residents and tourists alike.

http://www.looptrolley.org

You should check out the discussion happening in St. Louis, regarding their Delmar Loop streetcar project that they just won a $25 million federal urban livability grant to construct.  The short line will connect the popular Delmar Loop (about two or three times the lenght of our Shoppes of Avondale) with their popular Forest Park.  One of the main reasons they won the grant is because most of the line goes through the neighborhoods of West End and DeBaliviere Place.  They're using the streetcar as an economic development tool to stimulate the type of development you suggest should be in Riverside in a neighborhood every bit as depressed as Brooklyn.  They're using concept where you connect two popular destinations together as your end points to help funnel growth and redevelopment in between them.  We should be applying the same concept, which was recently made famous by Portland's experience with the Pearl District.

[thelakelander]

A streetcar line can work as long as we can let go of a little bit of the past and embrace the future.

The streetcar can be what ties the two together.  The most interesting places I travel to are the ones who have figured out how to celebrate the past and look to the future.  People like to know where they came from.  For example, I like sitting in really old churches thinking of what people must have been praying about 500 years before me.  I also like new development and seeing creativity in action.  The two can co-exist.

I agree.  This is one of the main reasons not to overlook the spots in need of redevelopment that exist between today's popular neighborhoods.  From a historical standpoint, many date back further and are the home of significant historical events that have shaped the Jacksonville we know of today.  Like the popular places, they also have historic building stock remaining.  However, at this point they are still affordable, which makes infill development feasible to the average resident as well as the big wig developer.  In addition to this, they aren't official historic districts.  That means anyone really desiring to use their creativity can do so without running up against neighborhood/preservation group opposition.  So all we really need to do is connect our popular spots together because that connectivity will also bring opportunity to these districts.  

Here are links to photo tours of overlooked places that would stand to benefit the most (in terms of economic development) from connecting places like Riverside, Springfield and San Marco with downtown.

Cathedral District (DT/Springfield streetcar route would go right through district)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2008-sep-urban-neighborhoods-the-cathedral-district

New Springfield (starter commuter rail line would tie neighborhood with Shands and downtown)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2007-aug-forgotten-jacksonville-new-springfield

Durkeeville (starter commuter rail line would tie neighborhood with Shands and downtown)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-apr-urban-neighborhoods-durkeeville

LaVilla (all modes of transportation would be funneled into the JTC)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2006-aug-lavilla-jacksonvilles-first-incorporated-suburb

Eastside (streetcar line to stadium offers the possibility of tying in Florida Avenue)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-oct-urban-neighborhoods-the-eastside

Murray Hill (commuter rail line to Clay County would connect neighborhood with DT)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-jun-urban-neighborhoods-murray-hill

St. Nicholas (commuter rail and skyway extensions would allow for better connectivity assuming Overland Bridge project doesn't forget about pedestrian connectivity)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-mar-urban-neighborhoods-st-nicholas

Fletcher Park (skyway extension to Atlantic Blvd could fuel redevelopment along Kings Avenue and Atlantic Blvd.)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-oct-urban-neighborhoods-fletcher-park

Brooklyn (DT/Riverside streetcar route would go through community)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-jan-brooklyn-downtowns-final-frontier

Sugar Hill (commuter rail on neighborhood's edge and if elected, Mullaney wants this area to become a urban medical district with a medical school)
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-mar-lost-jacksonville-sugar-hill

[dougskiles]

How about once the skyway is extended to Atlantic Blvd along with a commuter rail station, we build a street car along Atlantic connecting San Marco Square and St Nicholas?

[thelakelander]

Since a streetcar won't be able to cross the FEC at grade, Atlantic Blvd would have to be elevated between Hendricks and Kings.

[dougskiles]

How about once the skyway is extended to Atlantic Blvd along with a commuter rail station, we build a street car along Atlantic connecting San Marco Square and St Nicholas?

Idea fail... too much cold medicine and coffee

The best place for streetcar in Jacksonville to me is: Riverside to Downtown through Brooklyn.

Second would be Springfield/Shands to Downtown (with stop at FCCJ skyway/bus station) and along Hogans Creek.  Actually, the more I think about it - this should be first.  Connect two major employment centers with the potential for dense urban redevelopment in between.  Also tie in the rejuventation of Hogans Creek.

[thelakelander]

Here are some new townhouse developments in Columbus, OH.  They are on Gay and Fifth Streets, near downtown.  If we're going to build streetcars, we need to allow developments like these.  Currently, we are filled to the brim with single family homes, and no matter how small the yards and close together the houses, they don't make a $300M+ system worth it for 99% of Duval taxpayers.  Would RAP and SPAR allow stuff like this?

Where did the $300 million figure or the idea that Duval County taxpayers would have to fund it come from? Just to keep readers from being confused, that's not what's happening in Jax. Jax's entire proposed streetcar system should be less than $100 million. That's something that connects Riverside, DT, Everbank Field and Springfield together. That cheaper than the proposed I-295/Collins interchange.  The Mobility Plan is expected to generate $50 million for it, which is a little less than the cost to build the Beach/Kernan overpass.  Assuming we can leverage those funds with federal matching grants or public/private partnerships, we won't need anything from local taxpayers. What has been cooked up locally stands to be a financial trendsetter nationally.  I can't wait to see how things work out in the upcoming years (assuming a mayor with vision is elected, of course).

[thelakelander]

Actually, the more I think about it - this should be first.  Connect two major employment centers with the potential for dense urban redevelopment in between.  Also tie in the rejuventation of Hogans Creek.

Within the Mobility Plan the two top transit priority projects are: 1) a DT/Park & King streetcar alignment and 2) a starter commuter rail alignment along the S-Line and up to Zoo Parkway.  Combined, these projects would tie Riverside, St. Vincents, EWC, Shands, Springfield, New Springfield, Panama Park and Jax Zoo/Imeson Industrial Park with DT and the skyway.

[simms3]

I hear your points, and I have some of the answers already (to many of my questions) as do many of us.  I am just trying to paint a realistic/honest/non-sugarcoated picture of development in Jacksonville.  Berkman, Strand, and Peninsula did nothing for our city, yet all received public incentives.  Brooklyn Park?  I don't have all the details and most likely only the development firm does, but it failed here.  Nothing is happening in Jacksonville.  It's not 100% because we don't have a future streetcar or current streetcar/LRT; there are other reasons that we are failing.

I'm so mad that Jacksonville has over 11% unemployment when we should have below 10% given our economy and what we have going for it.  Our city is currently pathetic, no offense to it.  I know that we are the fire under the feet for our city leaders (meaning MetroJacksonville), and 99% of the time I am promoting and defending Jacksonville.  I have gone from 110% optimistic to 110% depressed about the situation in literally 2 weeks.  Mood swing?  hahah it could be!  Unfortunately, reality is setting in with me.  We have Mt. Everest to climb, and we don't have an oxygen tank to assist us.  I hope we don't die on the way.

I've read all those articles you posted, and they are great!  Our city should pay more attention.  Unfortunately, I get the gist that it half-heartedly does.  I see some progress, but progress that we make in Jax is worthless without some of the most vital components necessary.  All we need is one visionary.  Charlotte had one guy (who got demonized unfortunately for his role at BofA).  Most places just have 1-2-3 people who drive everything.  Jacksonville still has nobody, yet we have so much we could take advantage of.

Hot neighborhoods?  With all of the press Avondale and Springfield have received recently, one would think they would just begin to explode!  Nope.  Fat chance.  I used to be proud of these neighborhoods, until I got really involved in other cities and started traveling beyond restaurants and tourist traps.  We hardly have anything super unique!  Press?  I think other organizations thought they could be a huge help to what they saw as potential.  Fat chance.  We have stuff going on, but come on.  Preservation of single family homes needs to take a back seat to new development until we get something going on.

We screwed LaVilla and Brooklyn too much.  They are too desolate to be attractive to real, quality development.  They are like deserts with trees and parking lots.  Not a lot of potential until we hit downtown, Springfield, San Marco, and Riverside.  Unfortunately Springfield, Downtown, and Riverside have way too much red tape.  The economy doesn't help, but how the hell is Jacksonville's economy so bad when we are the most diverse economy in Florida by far!

We are about to lose some big ticket items in this city.  Short list?  Fabio Mecchetti, Wayne Weaver, Preston Haskell won't be around forever, I don't want to call too many people out, but there are a lot of people getting OLD or flat out leaving.  I can think of two people in the same league who have risen to the occasion, but they face quite a battle with our uneducated population, and people like Redman, Crescimbini, Yarborough, Brinton, and so many others who we all know hold our city back.

I have to end my rant, but it's time we got mad at how poorly our city is performing and we have to quit relying on "being in Florida" for our growth.  That will not help us anymore.  We have a diverse economy that we do jack **** about.  We have basically everything we need right at our fingertips.  We can no longer hold out for things, be picky, act like idiots, discourage change, or tout ultra low taxes as an attraction for business (if it was a real attraction, we'd have a lot more business).

[simms3]

$300 million figure was just something I pulled out of my butt.  I know a 2-3 mile starter streetcar line would cost under $100M.  Connecting the shops of Avondale, King St, 5 Points, Springfield, downtown, the sports district, San Marco, and perhaps a couple other areas could easily cost over $300M.

Also, I know about federal funding.  I know about public transit funding.  The taxpayer will still feel like he is footing the bill, even if he is footing 10% of the bill.  The total figure is what matters to the public.  Billions, even hundreds of millions of dollars scares the public, usually.