State Thomas Neighborhood: An Urban Bartram Park

Residential - Apartments

Both Bartram Park and State Thomas are home to multiple rental developments.  However, State Thomas requirements to engage the streetscape and conceal off-street parking combine to create a different human scale setting.


Bartram Park


State Thomas




Developed Public Space

Neither Bartram Park or State Thomas include significant developed public space.  In Bartram Park, streetscapes are designed to also serve as linear greenways.  In State Thomas, infill development has been built around pre-existing public parks.


Bartram Park


State Thomas




Off-Street Parking

Private parking is located in the front of buildings in Bartram Park. In State Thomas, off-street parking must be concealed from the street to enhance the pedestrian experience.  As a result, building footprints tend to be closer to the property's edge.


Bartram Park


State Thomas




On-Street Parking

In Bartram Park, there are few public accessible streets and on-street parking is not included within their right-of-way.  In State Thomas, all streets were rebuilt to include parallel parking opportunities, reducing the need for large off-street parking areas.


Bartram Park


State Thomas



Commercial

Bartram Park's commercial centers are designed to draw from a population much larger than the development itself. Developments are similar to those found on any typical arterial highway.  Being within the urban core of Dallas and accessible to streetcar and LRT lines, State Thomas is dominated by dense residential use. While there is a major commercial presence in Uptown, retail in State Thomas is regulated to Allen Street.  These dining and neighborhood retail uses serve as the mixed use component of apartment and condominium structures lining the corridor.  Having businesses such as the local barber or cleaners within walking distance of many residents, reduces the amount of automobile trips on surrounding roadways.


Bartram Park


State Thomas



Adaptive Reuse

Since Bartram Park was built on undeveloped property, there was no need for new development to integrate with the surrounding community. Like Jacksonville's Eastside, Brooklyn and LaVilla, Dallas' State Thomas was a historically black neighborhood in economic decline.  A historic district, like Springfield and Riverside, remaining older structures have been preserved, restored and put back to use, while new infill has been added.  This creates an opportunity for a large pool of residents to take part in the growth of the community.  The restoration of former underutilized properties to support the denser immediate population also creates a unique urban blend of old and new.


Bartram Park


State Thomas


State Thomas



Applying the State-Thomas Philosophy with Bartram Park-style density in the Urban Core.


An aerial of the southern entrance of urban Jacksonville's Eastside. During the 1990s, many blocks of the historic State Thomas neighborhood looked identical.

State-Thomas was everything neighborhoods like Brooklyn, the Eastside, LaVilla, Sugar Hill and the Northbank's Cathedral District are today.

The revitalization of State-Thomas has been largely credited to the combination of creating TIF and PID districts to improve public infrastructure and urban land use policies, feeding off the excitement of the area's new streetcar line.


An aerial of State Thomas infill from the same scale as the Eastside aerial above.

Over 14 years, 2,700 new residential units have been added within the State-Thomas TIF.  Many of these multifamily units are no different in quality or construction material from what we see locally in suburban developments like Bartram Park.

The major difference is pedestrian scale land use and urban design policies, allowing these structures to be situated in a walkable urban setting.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com