Walkable Commercial Districts: Edgewood Village

[Metro Jacksonville]

Walkable Commercial Districts: Edgewood Village



While much of the focus in our city is on downtown revitalization, Jacksonville's urban core and inner-ring suburbs are home to a number of long-overlooked, historic, walkable commercial districts. In our effort to promote better use of existing assets in our communities - which will facilitate sustainable growth and subsequently increase the city's tax base - Metro Jacksonville highlight's Edgewood Village (Murray Hill's First Block).

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-may-walkable-commercial-districts-edgewood-village

[SunKing]

i had never heard of the Florida Military Academy.  Was that located on the current BOA site?

[thelakelander]

The military academy was located where the senior housing development sits between Antisdale and Corby Streets.

[Dapperdan]

I spent many a summer afternoon walking to Wood's pharmacy for a fountain coke a we called it. I remember the lunch counte ron the side wall too.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Great article.  There is remarkably little Murray Hill coverage in Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage, so this just underscores what's been said on here before about how it skips a number of historically significant buildings in certain parts of the city.

[cline]

This is a great little area.  I recommend getting an order of pretzel nuggets next time anyone is playing pool at Perfect Rack- they are quite tasty.

I also noticed that the building just north of BBVA has been renovated and there are about 4-5 storefronts there with an adjacent parking lot.  Not sure how much the rent is or any other details.

[thelakelander]

If a moratorium plops up in Riverside, my guess is Murray Hill will benefit from it.

[cline]

Well, there are plenty of storefronts that are ripe for development.  Pretty decent amount of parking in the area too.

[PeeJayEss]

Great stuff. This is why I love metrojax. I like the history lesson where the rail is laid, then the people/businesses come. Very good to have in mind.

Edit: also, big props to Willie Nelson for getting Edgewood off the ground!

[mtraininjax]

If a moratorium plops up in Riverside, my guess is Murray Hill will benefit from it.

Maybe, possibly, but the area is poorer than Riverside. The area east of Edgewood is much like North Riverside and its bigger than North Riverside. The area west of Edgewood to Cassat is not without its issues, but the homes are nicer and tend to have more owners.

1170 will be the location of Taco Lu as many had stated, I was shocked, but I hope they can make it work!

[thehill]

If a moratorium plops up in Riverside, my guess is Murray Hill will benefit from it.

Maybe, possibly, but the area is poorer than Riverside. The area east of Edgewood is much like North Riverside and its bigger than North Riverside. The area west of Edgewood to Cassat is not without its issues, but the homes are nicer and tend to have more owners.

1170 will be the location of Taco Lu as many had stated, I was shocked, but I hope they can make it work!

Everything said about Edgewood could have been said about king street 5-10 years ago. Hopefully the lower rents/costs can meet up with aspiring business owners. And it shouldn't be over looked that the they have proximity to wealthier areas at fractions of the cost to other commercial districts in the area.   

[tufsu1]

If a moratorium plops up in Riverside, my guess is Murray Hill will benefit from it.

this is just what some want (development in Murray Hill and Brooklyn instead of R-A)....in fact its been mentioned that the same thing has happened in other cities....one neighborhood says no to business, and the adjacent neighborhood reaps the rewards

[WmNussbaum]

I wonder how many Saturday Matinees I went to at the Edgewood Theater. What a great way to spend Saturday morning. Bike to the theater and watch a news reel, a few cartoons, a movie and maybe some on-stage program.  All for the price of $0.25 - which now gets you 30 minutes on a parking meter.

[mtraininjax]

one neighborhood says no to business, and the adjacent neighborhood reaps the rewards

It is real spotty in Murray Hill, time has not been great to the Edgewood strip of businesses. Crazy Egg and Edgewood Bakery have been good stewards of the area, but in between, lots and lots of empty spaces. The strip is there to cater to the residents of the area, so that may tell you more about what is happening to the residents in the area. A real shame too, it has deteriorated since the start of the recession. It will come back, but its anyone's question as to when, as there are still 6,000 dollar homes for sale in the area, places you would not let your mother live alone.

[cline]

I don't think that the strip caters primarily to residents of MH.  Moon River, Perfect Rack, Crazy Egg, Edgewood Bakery, etc. easily pull residents from Avondale/Riverside.  I live in Avondale and the Edgewood strip is actually closer to me than the Park and King District (it's clearly not as vibrant though).  As a poster mentioned earlier, the Edgewood strip can pull from the wealthier areas due to its proximity. Its got available stores for reasonable prices and it has the potential to develop much like Park and King.  Taco Lu will definitely help this.