Southside's Tapestry Park

[Metro Jacksonville]

Southside's Tapestry Park



Metro Jacksonville revisits a quaint, budding mixed-use development where the Southside corridor meets Gate Parkway.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-sep-southsides-tapestry-park

[Doctor_K]

The w xyz bar in the Aloft hotel is a pretty cool place.  Cool, chic atmosphere and an awesome bartending staff. 

They have such signature drinks as the 'Cosmo-not' and the 'Cucumber Collins' which are absolutely to die for.

[copperfiend]

I went to a conference at the Aloft a few months back and we had a great experience. The bar is great if not a little overpriced. And they have Bold City on tap!

[finehoe]

How do they know the 2012 population and household income?  Can they tell us some stock picks as well?

[dougskiles]

Tapestry Park is a nice place, and I like the aloft hotel chain.  We stay in them whenever we can, mostly because they allow dogs.  But... I would have much preferred to see them downtown or in one of the urban neighborhoods.

[peestandingup]

Tapestry Park is a nice place, and I like the aloft hotel chain.  We stay in them whenever we can, mostly because they allow dogs.  But... I would have much preferred to see them downtown or in one of the urban neighborhoods.

These faux urban developments out in the suburbs are always funny to me. I normally don't have a problem with them & actually enjoy them (if they're planned correctly) as long as the city they reside in is well established & is the "main attraction". Obviously downtown Jacksonville isn't that, so I'm not sure why we wanna make something look like a downtown & throw a bunch of development behind it when we already have one that's, you know, actually the real deal. But yet ours has buildings falling down & is littered with vacant/surface lots. It doesn't make a lot of sense in the grand scheme of things since all of this stuff resides in Jacksonville proper.

This town & its leaders never ceases to amaze me how little they care for thoughtful & careful planning. Seems like anything goes.

[Captain Zissou]

This town & its leaders never ceases to amaze me how little they care for thoughtful & careful planning. Seems like anything goes.

I strongly disagree.  If it was truly "anything goes" the market would create denser developments that cluster complimenting uses.  It makes the most sense for developers and small businesses.  We would still have a lot of sprawl due to the cheap land, but there would be more nodes of density.  The city has actually managed to do worse than if they enforced zero rules.

[stephElf]

Has anyone been to corner bistro? How is it?  How does it compare to Taverna/ Orsay/ Bistro AIX?

[iluvolives]

Has anyone been to corner bistro? How is it?  How does it compare to Taverna/ Orsay/ Bistro AIX?

I wouldn't even try to compare. I found Corner Bistro to be mediocre  lunch spot- no where in the league of the other 3 you listed. But it always looks crowded at night so maybe it has a good HH vibe.

[fsujax]

Brooklyn would have been a great setting for this development. I used to work at the Forum in Alpharetta, Ga, just north of Atlanta. It was exactly the same type of development, except bigger with more stores like PB and WS.

[peestandingup]

This town & its leaders never ceases to amaze me how little they care for thoughtful & careful planning. Seems like anything goes.

I strongly disagree.  If it was truly "anything goes" the market would create denser developments that cluster complimenting uses.  It makes the most sense for developers and small businesses.  We would still have a lot of sprawl due to the cheap land, but there would be more nodes of density.  The city has actually managed to do worse than if they enforced zero rules.

Perhaps, but that would be assuming our market (the people in general) even want or care about density. Our sprawling development would suggest that they don't since those places aren't exactly sitting vacant like a lot of the core is. I'm just saying, the proof is sorta in the pudding on this one.

Now, it is possible that a lot of these same types have never actually lived inside of a really, densely populated area/city & they've never left suburban Jacksonville for an extended period in their entire lives. So they might not even know exactly WHAT they want because they don't have anything to compare it to. A lot probably think this is just the way it is.

I can certainly attest to that line of thinking because I always lived out in the suburbs in my fresh-out-of-college days in KY because, frankly, I didn't know any better. It wasn't until I started traveling outside of my comfort zone in my own town, visiting different cities, & then ending up moving deep inside the beltway of DC until I realized how much better a truly connected, densely populated environment is over the suburbs.

[cline]

Now, it is possible that a lot of these same types have never actually lived inside of a really, densely populated area/city & they've never left suburban Jacksonville for an extended period in their entire lives. So they might not even know exactly WHAT they want because they don't have anything to compare it to. A lot probably think this is just the way it is.

The residents living in these suburbs are defintely not strcitly Jax natives.  I've talked to a lot of people that are transplants to Jax from much larger cities and many of them have chosen to live in northwest St. Johns County.  They all cite better schools as the reason.

[dougskiles]

I strongly disagree.  If it was truly "anything goes" the market would create denser developments that cluster complimenting uses.  It makes the most sense for developers and small businesses.  We would still have a lot of sprawl due to the cheap land, but there would be more nodes of density.  The city has actually managed to do worse than if they enforced zero rules.

Look no further than the great cities of the world that developed prior to the invention of 'zoning' to see the evidence of this.  Left alone, the businesses will settle in the spots where they can provide the best service - the corner market, cafe, drycleaner, bike shop, clothier, you name it, all within walking distance.

Is it too late to go backwards?

[finehoe]

Look no further than the great cities of the world that developed prior to the invention of 'zoning' to see the evidence of this. 

Which explains why Houston is such a paragon of urbanity and walkable development.

[ProjectMaximus]

Look no further than the great cities of the world that developed prior to the invention of 'zoning' to see the evidence of this. 

Which explains why Houston is such a paragon of urbanity and walkable development.

Yeah, I agree. I dont think we can identify a constant in basic human desires of municipal layout. It defers from populace to populace. Many people really do honestly prefer not to live on top of other people and to drive around to basic necessities. Others even want wide open spaces and solitude. I can't empathize but I do understand it.