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Better zoning practices are becoming popular in cities across the United States. Reducing suburban setback requirements and placing buildings between the sidewalks and parking lots can completely change the look of even the most architecturally bland strip mall.
The Jax of today: The suburban strip malls we have grown accustomed to are a form of visual blight, mainly due to the sea of asphalt between them and the streets they line.
Why not Jacksonville? Believe it or not, this is a public storage facility in suburban Charlotte, NC. Maybe Ash Properties should take a look at this design, since they are having so much trouble trying to put one up in Julington Creek?
Changing suburban zoning practices by reducing front setback requirements and putting an emphasis on moving parking lots away from the street can do wonders for the typical suburban strip shopping center. The shopping center, shown above, fronts the street and effectively hides onsite parking.
While the buildings form a pedestrian friendly wall along the suburban street, plenty of surface parking is still accommodated behind the buildings.
By reducing setback requirements and encouraging developers and businesses to embrace the street, even a traditional outparcel can take on a completely different look and appeal.
Charlotte's Piedmont Town Center brings density to a suburban area simliar to Deerwood Park. Before a recent revision, the proposed Avenue's Walk development on the Southside would have created a similar feel.
While the rear of the Piedmont Town Center loses a little luster with the strip of surface parking between the street and the buildings, the density of the complex serves as an example of what a community with less density than Jacksonville can accomplish when they take a stand to better utilize property.
Shown above is a Kroger-based shopping center between Buckhead and Midtown Atlanta. While the St. Johns Town Center has been mentioned as a model shopping center project, it would benefit from the techniques that these simple centers incorporate to reduce the blight of surface parking.
These suburban projects should serve as a model for Jacksonville to overhaul its suburban zoning codes. We have witnessed the design guidelines in the 2000 Downtown Master Plan repeatedly ignored. In order to make these projects a reality, these design suggestions need to become design requirements.
For more information regarding the planning department's intentions, visit:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,5.0.html
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copperfiend
July 03, 2007, 09:53:01 AMThere is a large number of projects in Atlanta that have this look to them. I was in the Vinings a few weeks back and there is a new development with a few trendier establishments. The layout is enviable. Alot of the new Kroger centers have better layouts too. One even had an attached parking structure with parking on the roof. In the burbs!
And I hope the St Johns Town Center is not a model for anything. The layout of the SJTC is a huge disappointment. The parking and traffic are nothing short of disasterous.
thelakelander
July 03, 2007, 08:45:23 PMSJTC excells in tenant mix only. If anyone needs a good local example, the Riverside Publix center is a great one to follow.
urbanlibertarian
July 05, 2007, 04:01:27 PMIt seems to me that the Publix/Starbucks center at the corner of Riverside and Margret is an example of what this article asks for. Well, except for the Oak St. side, that is. The Riverside and Margaret St. sides are close to the street and hide the parking lot.
thelakelander
July 05, 2007, 04:12:34 PMYes, the Riverside center is a good model to look at. Even along Riverside Avenue, the parking is decently buffered with the retail building housing the sushi restaurant and a small outdoor courtyard, just to the south. The Oak Street side is the lone exception.
urbanlibertarian
July 05, 2007, 04:36:03 PMWho knows? Maybe someday the center will expand along Oak St. completing the horseshoe.
deathstar
October 28, 2008, 01:47:27 AMheights unknown
October 28, 2008, 06:03:46 AMGreat post. In my opinion all developments, buildings, etc. should be "up on the street" vice parking lots "in your face" with the buildings or development set way back. Parking lots should be in the back of the buildings or development or have parking on the street curb on the sidewalk.
Heights Unknown