The Evolution of the Arlington Expressway

[BackinJax05]

With the close proximity to downtown, I do see the Arlington area coming full circle.  As an Arlington resident, you can still be very close to downtown, have awesome river views and be able to find great affordable older homes.  I'm seeing lots of young married couples getting their starter homes and walking my neighborhood.  Thanks for the memories of what Arlington use to provide to the city and potentially what it could be able to provide again.

Amen!

Like so many other areas that have gone to Hell and back, so, too, can our Arlington!

[mbwright]

I used to live in Arlingwood.  It was so convenient to DT, and Blue Cross whee I used to work.  You could certainly see that the area was great at one time, and not that long ago.  I would much rather have had everything closer, but the shops along the expressway, and lone star had closed.  Interesting how an area that had shopping, grocery stores, and many other amenities crashes and dies, when you still have the neighborhoods with people living there.  Instead of the Publix on the expressway, or Winn-Dixie on Lonestar and also Town and Country, you had to over to Merril Rd.  I really like the neighborhood a the time. (1998-2004).

[thelakelander]

Town Center, Downtown..........I'll go to the one that gives me the closest access to West Marine and REI.

I noticed the style of expressway with access roads, ie Arlingtone Expressway or Southside, has fallen to the way side in favor of true limited access like J. Turner or the multi lane road like San Jose. I welcome that change. I remember a similar Mercury Blvd in Hampton/Newport News that was WAY too complicated. It made it more convienent to get things done elsewhere.

The trend of businesses leaving Arlington Expressway seems to apply to  all of old Arlington. You can see some of the same trend begining in Mandarin at the San Jose/St Augustine around the Kmart. The early stages have the large anchors divided up and replaced by clearance stores and other lower tier retailers.  Also closed empty buildings that were solid franchises like the Wendy's. It is all caused by people moving farther out.

From a land use perspective, I prefer the Arlington Expressway's service drive concept over JTBs and San Jose Boulevard style arterial design.  It's essentially a "multiway boulevard" with local (service roads) and express lanes (the expressway) already in place.  You see a lot of this in places like Texas.  This provides you with direct access the entire corridor as opposed to nodes of activity only at interchanges with the expressway.  It also creates the opportunity for a linear corridor featuring a mix of uses with reliable mass transit connectivity.  I could easily see something like BRT being idea for the service drives between Regency Square & Downtown.   Out of all our BRT corridors being considered, I think this one actually makes the most sense from a implementation and supportive land use standpoint.  If envisioned and implemented right, it could become a new face to Arlington providing an environment that no other suburban area in Jacksonville has.....plus it's directly across the river from DT.

[Adam W]

What was the name of the railway-themed restaurant that was located on the expressway (it was on the right-hand side if you were traveling towards Downtown)? For some reason "Pennsylvania Junction" sounds familiar, but not quite right.

[Charles Hunter]

Victoria Station - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Station_(restaurant)
Used to enjoy eating there. 

[Adam W]

Victoria Station - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Station_(restaurant)
Used to enjoy eating there.

Thanks! I remember the buildings were either made out of old boxcars or made to look like they were made of old boxcars. When you're a kid, that's pretty cool. My folks ate there a few times, but never took me...

[I-10east]

Awesome info Lake. What's some of the skinny concerning the Regency Inn's infamous history?

[fieldafm]

Awesome info Lake. What's some of the skinny concerning the Regency Inn's infamous history?

You mean, besides being a modern day brothel and opium den?

[Steve Ducharme]

Nicer article.  One thing not mentioned in regards to the economic decline along the expressway was the almost simultaneous "flight" towards the newer larger more modern housing developments of the  ICW and  beaches to the east and Mandarin to the south by many long time established residents and families.  Consequently, a lot of these homes created a large affordable rental market right across the river just in time to welcome all the displaced low income residents who were squeezed out/fled when the Springfield preservation efforts got under way.  This contributed heavily to a big nosedive in economic vitality on both sides of the expressway.

[BackinJax05]

Awesome info Lake. What's some of the skinny concerning the Regency Inn's infamous history?

You mean, besides being a modern day brothel and opium den?

The Travel Inn & Kings Inn are the same. Sad, too.  Once upon a time the Travel Inn was a Scottish Inn, an inexpensive but very clean motel. The now pathetic Kings Inn was a Holiday Inn, as mentioned in the article. The Holiday Inn was next door to Offshore Power Systems in the Oaks office complex. Holiday Inn had a restaurant, banquet & meeting space, and the Cellar Lounge bar.

When the Regency Inn was a Ramada Inn, it was a pretty nice place and had the Purple Jester lounge and restaurant.

[spuwho]

Interesting that everyone seems to attribute the downfall of Arlington retail to suburban flight. I haven't been a lifelong resident, so I never saw what was along the Arlington Expressway during its heyday.

IMHO, there were 2 other impacts to the area.

- Poor planning in the area, allowing new retail centers to be built so closely to existing retail hubs
- What drove this poor planning? Jacksonville's inability to grow its GDP at the same rate as the national rate

Corporate HQ losses, Base closings, shifting of wealth to Orlando & Atlanta, changing transportation modes, all contributed to a net reduction in the greater Jacksonville's economics. This resulted in larger reaches for tax revenue, consolidation, more lax planning to facilitate more retail (and subsequent fees), allowance of ex-urban growth at the expense of urban infill.

I like SJTC, but I still can't understand why the city would allow a developer to build such a large retail hub in such close proximity to 2 others?

[Charles Hunter]

In this free-market town, if the Planning Dept. were to suggest that a land-owner couldn't do what he wanted with his land, that was properly zoned, just because some Planner thought (for example) a new shopping center was "too close" to an existing one, they would be run out of town as a Socialist Central Planner, depriving some poor down-trodden land-owner from using their own property.

[spuwho]

In a suburban area I once lived, the city of Oakbrook, IL built an outdoor mall in 1962. (Oakbrook Center) It was considered a wonder and even today it is considered a really great place to shop. It compares somewhat to SJTC today.

However, the City of Lombard, IL was jealous and didn't like the fact that people were driving their shopping dollars (and taxes) to neighboring Oakbrook. So they worked with a developer to have Yorktown Center built in 1968. Yorktown Center looks and feels very much like Regency Center.

These major malls, both regional in size are only 5 miles apart on the same major highway.

By the 1980's, Yorktown was dying. The anchors were leaving. Oakbrook continued to thrive as they added on and brought in higher and higher type of store types. If an anchor left, there was another one waiting in the wings. After being sold several times, Yorktown is beginning to turn itself around in the midscale mall market. What helped is that the general density of surrounding Lombard, Downers Grove and Elmhurst has grown to a point where (barely for Yorktown) it can support 2 major retail hubs so close together.

The fact it survived even while many chains moved into strip mall based storefronts to avoid high rents is still somewhat amazing.

These were 2 competing towns, so they had no inclination to cooperate on zoning, retail planning, etc. It was just city fathers saying, "we want the tax revenue". Yorktown delivers, as it has it own sales tax district just for the mall. 9.25%, where the rest of town is only 8.25%.

Looking back at Jacksonville now, these aren't 2 competing entities fighting for a piece of the sales tax pie from a range of nearby residents. It's one and the same. The Planning and Zoning people do have some say on how land is used in the area. How many times on MJ have I heard about rejected plans for city owned vacant lots downtown?

If I wanted to buy the Laura Trio and turn it into a vertical retail hub, do you think they would approve it? I am not saying it is the right or wrong thing for its use, I am arguing what the priorities would be for the city. Would they say yes at the expense of the Landing which is still trying to get its feet underneath them again? Or is it anything goes, so sorry Charlie (or in this case Sleiman) these guys are the latest 'thing' and nuts to you?

Jacksonville now has 3 major retail hubs less than 12 miles apart from each other. Nocatee TC is going to bleed off Avenues in 5-10 years from the south. River North and STJC is bleeding off Regency.

These sites being so close together will not be sustainable until they start permitting and zoning higher densities in the Southside. It took Yorktown Center almost 20 years before it could recover and nearly died twice. Is this the future of Arlington as well?

[thelakelander]

If someone proposed a retail center in downtown, without a doubt, it would get approved.  Just look at the talk surrounding various riverfront properties over the last couple of years.  We have a struggling Landing and all some could dream about is having Ben Carter build a SJTC on the Shipyards site.  Go back a few years and we even had the Peyton administration dreaming of creating some type of retail entertainment marketplace on the Southbank, at the expense of the Landing.

[Noone]

^The expense of the taxpayer. Palms Fish Camp. Shipyards. Just pick your favorite  taxpayer bailout.

Anyone want to kayak and fish under the brand new No Fishing signs that was never before Waterways? Who will restore the Public Trust?

How much of the $11,000,000 is going to Arlington? Arlington is across the river.

I miss Victoria Station. The railroad cars.