Avondale-a well planned early 20th Century Jacksonville Community with a great Urban Business District

Avondale was developed a couple decades after Riverside mostly between the 1910s-1950s. It was developed as an exclusive upscale subdivision by a development group out of Cincinnati which is why it was named after a high-end Cincinnati neighborhood of the time… Avondale. Sadly Avondale has a legacy of segregation as blacks were excluded from this extensively planned community. Fortunately the neighborhood has obtained a fair level of diversity in its present state by far less than it could have been. Avondale excels at having an intentionally designed 3 block business district along St. John Ave also referred to as the “”Shops of Avondale””. The neighborhood also developed with parks and parklettes being included intentionally to provide more residents with easy access to their own walkable park. Avondale also features well signed homes from the 1910s-1940s often in the Mediterranean Revival style and has good access to Dwtn and a thick tree canopy.

But due to its design corresponding with the rise of autocentric neighborhoods, Avondale is pretty low density, lacks the rental diversity of Riverside to the northside, lacks economic diversity, and has many residential streets without sidewalks. Retail amenities are also very concentrated at the shops of Avondale effectively making many parts of the neighborhood unwalkable to retail and cultural amenities. The neighborhood also needs bike infrastructure, more walkable schools and several key retail amenities (i.e. grocery store, drug store, etc.) to truly be a walkable urban neighborhood.

Click here to view my Avondale album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

• Good connectivity here.
• Only a 10-15 min drive to Dwtn but no dedicated bike access and Public transit takes 40-45 mins.
• Very attractive historic homes especially along Edgewood Ave and near the riverfront. Post WWII housing is generally urban including many of the commercial buildings along St. John’s and some newer condos near Big Fishwier Creek.
• Decent for sale diversity but less one-bed options than Riverside. Similar price point.
• Overall a very safe community with limited blight issues.
• Excellent tree canopy.
• A major state college sites on the western edge of Avondale.
• Great set of parks including medium sized ones, sports facilities, playgrounds, riverfront parks, and several parklettes spread throughout the neighborhood.
• Lots of food & beverage amenities concentrated along the St. John’s business district, a couple art galleries, a couple live music venues but not much else culturally.
• Retail amenities concentrated in the St. Johns biz district including lots of boutiques, gift shops, several dessert joints, gyms, antiques, and home good stores and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Almost no bike infrastructure here. Mediocre Public transit access.
• Pretty low density for an urban area.
• About 40% of residential streets have sidewalks and many of those don’t have modern ADA curbs. The business district along St. John’s however has excellent sidewalks and ADA infrastructure.
• Some rentals options but much less than Riverside to the north. Price points are similar to Riverside.
• Decent but not great access to walkable schools. Two well rated elementaries and a below average high school in the neighborhood.
• Missing several key neighborhood amenities including a supermarket, drug store, hardware store, hospital/medical offices, and local post office and public library.”