Jacksonville: Five Points, Riverside, Avondale

[lakelander]

The next stop on my Jacksonville tour is the Riverside neighborhood, about a mile south of downtown on the west bank of the St. Johns River. Three neighborhoods, for the most part, make up what is now known as Riverside/Avondale Historic District, the largest in Florida.

Five Points

Developed in the mid 1920's, at the interesection of Park, Lomax & Margaret Streets, Five Points serves as the main commercial district for the Riverside/Avondale neighborhood. Today, the gritty district is Jacksonville's main center for alternative & eclectic shops, as well as restuarants and bars. For more information check out www.h5p.com.

is anybody interested in a fixer-upper

Riverside

Originally a suburb of Jacksonville, Riverside was laid out in 1868. The streetcar suburb, along with several others was annexed into the city in 1887. Riverside's development really took off after the Great fire of 1901 destroyed downtown. Tody its one of city's most popular and vibrant urban neighborhoods.

Avondale

Originally the site of the Magnolia Plantation, which produced sea island cotton, Avondale was laid out as an extension of Riverside in 1884. Avondale is arguably the most exclusive neighborhood in Jacksonvillle before the land boom of the 1920's.

old streetcar tracks

St. John's Avenue

Located in the heart of Avondale, St. John's Avenue is a great place to dine outdoors at unique restaurants or shop at specialty retail boutiques.

 

[teshadoh]

Again - great images, I commented on them at another website.

 

[BKM]

The Publix is a great example of a streetscape-friendly supermarket (all of the photos were great, this one just caught my eye for "professional" reasons.

 

[lakelander]

The Publix is a great example of a streetscape-friendly supermarket (all of the photos were great, this one just caught my eye for "professional" reasons.

The Riverside Marketplace (Publix) was constructed on the site of a vacant hospital. It has really sparked commercial and high density pedestrian oriented uses in the area. The parking lot basically sits in the middle of the complex, surrounded by retail shops and outdoor pocket parks & plazas facing the street.

If anybody is interested, here is a link to a pdf file showing the center's demographics and site layout (phase 1).

http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Riverside Market Square.pdf

Phase 2, now open, but not shown on the pdf file, completely encloses the parking lot, along Oak Street.

 

[teshadoh]

I think Atlanta has a love/hate relationship with Sembler. They have developed or developing 5 intown shopping centers - all marketed as 'urban'. But nothing is urban about a parking lot surrounding a strip center. That's where the nearest Publix is to us, it's an 'urban' Publix - meaning it's small. http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Publix at Piedmont.pdf
& another one nearby
http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Midtown Place.pdf

But it appears Sembler finally has it right with one that is coming up 2 miles from where I live -
http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Edgewood Retail.pdf

This one has more shopping along the streets w/ parking tucked in the interior. The problem with the other 2 is that they are difficult to get to on foot. Especially if you view the Midtown Square plan - the only entrance is on Ponce de Leon, everywhere else it is fenced off. With Edgewood they may finally have built something that blends in with the neighborhood.

 

[lakelander]

I think Atlanta has a love/hate relationship with Sembler. They have developed or developing 5 intown shopping centers - all marketed as 'urban'. But nothing is urban about a parking lot surrounding a strip center. That's where the nearest Publix is to us, it's an 'urban' Publix - meaning it's small. http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Publix at Piedmont.pdf
& another one nearby
http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Midtown Place.pdf

But it appears Sembler finally has it right with one that is coming up 2 miles from where I live -
http://sembler.com/synopsisSheets/Edgewood Retail.pdf

This one has more shopping along the streets w/ parking tucked in the interior. The problem with the other 2 is that they are difficult to get to on foot. Especially if you view the Midtown Square plan - the only entrance is on Ponce de Leon, everywhere else it is fenced off. With Edgewood they may finally have built something that blends in with the neighborhood.

The Edgewood center certainly does look impressive with the parking areas being hidden from the streets, especially with a big box store like Target, being one of the major tenants.

 

[lowlyplanner]

Sembler didn't come in with that plan...

They got ahold of a entire block that had been a hospital site. Their original plan featured a standard Publix and Eckerd's pharmacy in the center of the lot, surrounded by parking. It took a lot of work by the neighborhood group and the city staff to get them to go with that design. Now it supposedly has the highest income per square feet of any of the Jacksonville stores (because it's smaller but takes it just as much money). And more leasable square feet in the project as a whole - the neighborhood wanted more stores and less parking, and better design and materials.

When we do visual preference surveys everybody wants the "Riverside Publix."

Great photos lakelander - they really show off the neighborhood.

 

[lakelander]

Sembler didn't come in with that plan...

They got ahold of a entire block that had been a hospital site. Their original plan featured a standard Publix and Eckerd's pharmacy in the center of the lot, surrounded by parking. It took a lot of work by the neighborhood group and the city staff to get them to go with that design. Now it supposedly has the highest income per square feet of any of the Jacksonville stores (because it's smaller but takes it just as much money). And more leasable square feet in the project as a whole - the neighborhood wanted more stores and less parking, and better design and materials.

When we do visual preference surveys everybody wants the "Riverside Publix."

Great photos lakelander - they really show off the neighborhood.

Thanks for the background story on the Publix complex. That goes to show the results of what a neighborhood can achieve when the residents get their acts together.

 

[ablarc]

Lakelander, these are surprisingly nice streetcar suburbs, reminiscent of Coral Gables though in a more diverse architectural style.

Are you going to show us St. Augustine?

 

[lakelander]

Lakelander, these are surprisingly nice streetcar suburbs, reminiscent of Coral Gables though in a more diverse architectural style.

Are you going to show us St. Augustine?

Yes, I just haven't had a chance to upload the pics yet. I also have a few of Amelia Island that I may throw in.