San Marco- a 1920s Mediterranean Revial Inspired Urban Community in South Jacksonville

The South Jacksonville community emerged after the American Civil War and was incorporated in 1907 With the opening of the St. John’s River Bridge in 1921, linking the neighborhood to Dwtn, development in San Marco exploded. Telfair Stockton developed 80 acres of the neighborhood as a planned Mediterranean inspired community strongly influenced by the City beautiful movement using more winding streets, planted mediums, and intentionally reserving space for parks. The development was centered on San Marco square, which was inspired by its namesake in Venice. In 1932, the municipality of South Jacksonville was annexation into Jacksonville. The portion of San Marco north of I-95 was increasingly integrated into Downtown Jacksonville’s urban fabric and in the 1980s officially was designated part of the Central Business District. The neighborhood began to decline under the pressure of suburban sprawl but the residents fought back by embarking with a major historic preservation movement in the 70s, revitalizing the San Marco Square commercial district, building a new public library and park complex, and converting the former South Jacksonville City Hall into a Police headquarters. San Marco is now one of urban Jacksonville’s most expensive and desired communities.

This and Riverside are arguable Jacksonville’s best urban neighborhoods. But there are still major improvements needed before I would considered this to be a premiere urban district starting with densifying the neighborhood so it can become more walkable and amenity rich. The San Marco commercial districts could be upzoned and single family zoning could easily be abolished throughout most of the neighborhood. I’d also like to see more affordable housing options and walkable schools.

Click here to view my San Marco album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Excellent access to Dwtn across all modes of transit even including a bike lane. 30 min bus ride and 10 min drive to Dwtn.
Decent public transit access and better than most inner city Jacksonville neighborhoods
Overall a very safe community with limited blight.
For sale housing is on the pricy side but still pretty good diversity. Few 1-bed condos however. 2-beds sell between 100K-650. 3&4 beds sell btwn 175K-1.5 M. Some larger mansions even sell for more.
Excellent park amenities with several small-medium sized parks well distributed throughout the neighborhood. Also a Community Center, which functions as a mini-recreation center and a town square in the heart of the commercial district.
About 70% of all San Marco streets have sidewalks and most of those that have sidewalks have modern ADA curb cuts.
Great historic architecture especially the 1920s Spanish Renaissance biz district.
Decent urban-infill which generally has pretty good urban form. Not wild about the architecture style itself of the in-fill.
Several urban commercial districts in San Marco the best being the San Marco Square. Further towards dwtn along San Marco is a decent multiple commercial district and Henricks Street is semi-urban for several blocks. Atlantic St is the emerging biz district center on the public Shoppes East San Marco but this feels like a poor attempt at new urbanism as its not mixed-use and has too much surface parking. Kings Ave is a highway but has been tamed recently with a bus only lane.
Good cultural amenities including lots of restaurants, bars, cafes and breweries, a couple live music venues& art galleries, a community theater, several events centers, and night clubs.
Excellent retail amenities including a supermarket, several drug stores, lots of boutiques/gift shops, several antiques & home good stores, plenty of banks, a book & toy store, tons of dessert joints & gyms, a hospital, public library and some churches.”

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Low density for an urban district but on par with other inner-city Jacksonville neighborhoods.
* Racial diversity is pretty limited as this is a 3/4s Caucasian community.
* A well rated public middle school and small Montessori school are the only schools within San Marco but several quality schools on the edges of the neighborhood.
* Decent # of rentals but pretty pricey. 1-beds lease btwn 1K- the low2Ks. 2-beds btwn the mid 1Ks-2Ks. Some 3-bed product too that lease in the 2Ks & 3Ks.

Springfield- Jacksonville’s Historically Elite Neighborhood

Established in 1869, Springfield experienced its greatest growth from the early 1880s through the 1920s. It became Jacksonville’s first inner city neighborhood and its growth was fueled by the great Jacksonville fire of the early 20th century. The neighborhood also became a place for many of the City’s elite to settle with the majority of the houses built in wood frame vernacular structures. Springfield, like so many other inner city neighborhoods in Jacksonville declined in the Post WWII area thanks to suburbanization and it being surrounded by predominately African American and red-lined neighborhoods. The result of its decline was the removal of much of the historic commercial fabric along Main Street (Jacksonville longest historic main street) and 8th Street. Fortunately most of the grand historic homes survived and Springfield has been revitalizing since the 2000s.

The most intact portion of Springfield is south of 10th Street and generally closer to Main St. Although neighborhood streets north of 10th street are generally not bombed out, just more distressed and with more missing teeth. There are also efforts to create Jacksonville’s own version of Miami’s Wynwood with the Phoenix Arts District centered at 14th and Liberty Avenue where there are many underutilized or abandonded warehouses located. This is still in the nascent stages, but hopefully it takes off. Springfield also has solid public transit access, convenient access to dwtn, good housing diversity with a lot of affordability remaining, decent park and walkable school access, and lots of food & beverage amenities. Retail amenities are also pretty good but the neighborhood lacks a supermarket and other key amenities. As with other Jacksonville neighborhoods, Springfield needs more density to become a top-tier urban district. This starts with upzoning Main Street and 8th turning these corridors into true mixed-use districts. The neighborhood also needs better bike infrastructure and more park amenities in its northern half where they are non-existent.

Click here to view my Springfield album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent sidewalk and ADA infrastructure across nearly all of Springfield.
* Solid tree canopy throughout most of Springfield.
* Other than Downtown and Brooklyn, Springfield has the best public transit access in the City.
* Excellent access to Dwtn. Only a 5 minute drive and 10-15 transit trip. Sadly not bike paths connecting directly to Dwtn although there is a nice dedicated bike lanes going east-west on 8th St.
* Excellent connectivity as well with one of the City’s best neighborhood grid networks.
* Good racial diversity. breaking down to around 30% Black, 50% White, and 9% Hispanic.
* Poverty is still a bit high, but excellent economic diversity.
* Two quality public schools (elementary & middle school) sit within the neighborhood. A couple well rated high schools sit on the edges of Springfield and are walkable to some residents.
* Excellent historic housing stock containing Jacksonville’s best collection of late 19th century styles.
* Good for sale diversity (other than 1-beds) 2-beds sell anywhere from 50K-400K. 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere btwn 75K-600K. Still affordable product available on the edges of Springfield.
* Decent rental availability and some affordable options. 1-beds lease btwn $600-low1Ks, 2-beds btwn $800- high 1Ks, and go array of 3-bed rentals ranging btwn 1K-3K.
* Good park amenities mainly due to Henry J. Klutho Park running several blocks along a creek hosting lots of diversity amenities. Also a public pool and couple other parks.
* Solid food & bev amenities, a couple night clubs, a couple local museums and convenient access to arts amenities dwtn.
* Decent retail amenities including a couple drug stores, accouple groceries, some boutiques & gift shops, a couple banks, a handful of gyms and dessert joints, a major hospital, a skateboard shop, a music store, plenty of churches, and a post office.
* Good recent streetscaping projects along Main and to a less extend, 8th Street.

URBAN WEAKESSES:

* Median age of a Springfield resident is pretty old (around 45) but a decent number of kids live here.
* urban In-fill is pretty limited here.
* Limited one-bed for sale product. Price point is in the 100KS.
* Limited park access in the northern half of Springfield.
* Missing some key retail amenities including a supermarket, post office and hardware store. Also not a ton of boutiques or creative stores.
* Safety has certainly improved recently in Springfield but a decent amount of it still occurs especially on the edges of Springfield. Still a good amount of blight as well.
* Main Street is the longest historic commercial street in Jacksonville much of it has sadly been demolished. South of 8th Street is the most in-tact with many new business filling vacancies. North of 8th St has mostly been replaced with autocentric buildings.
*E 8th Street is also a historic biz district but most of it has been demolished.
* Pedestrian activity was pretty limited.
* Density is pretty low for an urban district.

Murray Hill- An attractive historically working class Jacksonville urban district

I essentially only included the northern half of Murray Hill with the more urban portion north of Kingsbury Street. The areas south of here are completely devoid of sidewalk infrastructure and far from the relatively walkable business district that runs along Edgewood Ave.

Murray Hill (Heights), in Jacksonville took the name of a neighborhood in Manhattan. The Heights part of the original name may be due to its relatively elevated location compared to Dwtn. Development in Murray Hill was sparked by the Great Fire of 1901 which lead to a great expansion of the City to the west and south of Dwtn. The neighborhood got another boost in 1914 with the construction of streetcar line giving Murray Hill convenient access to Dwtn. The neighborhood was annexed into the City of Jacksonville in 1925. Murray Hill has always been a haven for modest working class families and hosts an attractive mix of brick, wood, stucco, concrete, bungalows and cottage style homes. Like much of inner-city Jacksonville the neighborhood began to decline in the 1970s thanks to white flight and the construction of suburban malls. But Murray Hill was less affected than neighborhoods north and east of Dwtn as it was not completely red-lined like those community. Fortunately most of the neighborhood remained in tact by the 2000s and revitalization efforts began to take root by the turn of the 21st century, due to its centralized location, attractive but modest historic housing, quality parks, and relatively walkable commercial district along Edgewater Ave. More recently families desiring urban living but unable to afford neighboring Avondale of Riverside are moving here.

Murray Hill also offers a lot of rental options and at pretty modest prices. It has an excellent tree canopy and good array of walkable retail and cultural amenities concentrated on the Edgewood Ave corridor. For Murray Hill to bevome a great urban district it simply needs more density. This can start with upzoning along Edgewood avenue incentivizing mixed-use infill to built on this already successful business district. Cassat Avenue needs a complete redesign as its a very ugly autocentric road. Better sidewalk and biking infrastructure is also needed along with more walkable schools and some key retail amenities such as a supermarket. But Murray Hill seems to be headed in the right direction however.

Click here to view my Murray Hill album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Good access to dwtn thanks to the short driving commute.
Solid urban street grid and good connectivity.
Much more working class neighborhood than neighboring Riverside but higher than ideal poverty rates. Also much higher Black and Hispanic households here than Riverside.
Good for sale housing diversity and very reasonably priced compared to neighboring Riverside and Avondale. This includes several 1-bed condo options generally selling in the 100Ks. Lots of 2-bed options selling anywhere from 75K to the low 300Ks. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 90K-500K.
Decent # of rentals and pretty moderately priced. 1-beds rent for $900- 1.5K, 2-beds in the low1Ks-mid1Ks, and even a good # of 3-beds leasing between the 1.5Ks to mid 2Ks.
Good array of small and medium sized parks well distributed across Murray Hill.
Excellent tree canopy.
*Edgewood Ave contains the bulk of retail and cultural amenities in Murray Hill. Good array of restaurants, bars, and cafes, a quality community art center, a live music space in the historic Murray Hill Theater, and couple breweries & night clubs.
Decent retail amenities including a couple grocerias, a drug store, a couple banks, a Goodwill’s, several boutiques and vintage stores, a bookstore, a couple antique stores, several dessert joints & gyms, plenty of churches, and a public library branch. There is also a suburban Lowes a block from Murray Hill’s western edge.
The inner half of Edgewood Avenue until the Murray Hill Theater is pretty pedestrian friendly but the outer half starts to feel more like a Stroad.
Murray Hill is a neighborhood on an upward trajectory but still some lingering crime issues. Cassat Ave is pretty rough on the western edge but the residential street near it are nice. The residential area just north of Edgewood is historically pretty working class. Some rougher looking homes but not widespread blight and abandonment.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Only a small dedicated bike lane in Murray Hill and along Cassat Ave. Other than that no bike infrastructure.
Below average density for an urban district but decent for Jacksonville.
About 50% of residential streets have sidewalks and many of those don’t have modern ADA curbs. The business district along Edgewater generally has good sidewalks and ADA infrastructure.
Really only one school in the neighborhood, a well rated elementary. A handful of schools on the edge of Murray Hill with mixed ratings.
Missing some key retail amenities including a supermarket, post office, and medical offices.
*Cassat Avenue along the western edge of Murray Hill is a pretty ugly autocentric street. Some hope as a bike lane was recently installed here. But it really needs a complete resign to be more walkable and safe.”

Fairfax- A quasi-urban neighborhood located on the St. John’s River

“Fairfax sits just south of Avondale and was mostly developed between the 1920 and 1960s. The northern edge of the district is where the best urbanity lies with older homes and the Hershel commercial district which has a couple blocks of decent urban form. The rest of the neighborhood, while on a good grid, is mostly single family homes where sidewalks are optional. Highway 117 is the other Fairfax commercial district creating the district’s western boundary and is a classic American Stroad lined with lots of strip malls and autocentric uses.

Fairfax has the typical suburban strengths of good safety, full tree canopy, decent retail amenities (albeit often car centric) and a lots of for sale housing diversity. While I don’t consider Fairfax a quality urban district yet, there is hope that it could transition into a more urban neighborhood thanks to its existing urban grid and semi-urban biz district along Hershel Street. A good place to start this transition is to upzone the Hershel Street corridor allowing mixed use infill. Fairfax also needs bike infrastructure, walkable schools, better public transit, and more consistent sidewalks to be a functional urban district.”

Click here to view my Fairfax album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

*Convenient access to Dwtn by car, along a 15 min drive. Takes about 45 minutes by bus and no protected bike paths to Dwtn.
* Solid grid and good block connectivity.
* Decent For sale options but no 1-beds available. 2-bed for sale homes sell anywhere btwn 100K-450K. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 180K-700K with a handful of mansions selling over 1 M.
* Overall a pretty safe community.
* Great tree canopy.
* Decent retail amenities but half of them are located in a suburban shopping mall. The neighborhood has a supermarket, a department store, a couple drug stores, a hardware store, several banks, a book store, a couple boutiques and antique stores, several salons, a couple gyms and dessert joints, and a couple churches.
* Decent historic homes much of the commercial infill is in suburban shopping malls.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Public transit is so so and bike infrastructure non-existent here.
Poor density for an urban district.
Good sidewalk and ADA along the main arteries of Fairfax. But sidewalks only existing on about 1/3 of all residential streets.
Pretty Caucasian neighborhood with limited racial diversity. Better economic diversity.
No schools within the Fairfax boundaries but a quality elementary school just north of the neighborhood and several small schools to the west.
Rentals are very limited in Fairfax.
Pedestrian activity is pretty limited
Parks are concentrated in the southeast corner of the neighborhood. Stinson Park is very nice along the riverfront and a couple parklettes nearby.
Cultural amenities are limited to a handful of restaurants & bars, a lively night club, a coffee house, and a couple art galleries.
Hershel Street has some urbanity and semblance of a business district esp. near St. Johns Ave but still several small shopping malls. As a 6 lane road Highway 117 is a lost cause has host the bulk of Fairfax’s strip malls.”

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.”

Riverside- Neighborhood with Jacksonville’s best preserved Historic Architecture

“Riverside and Brooklyn (neighborhood just to the north) saw modest growth until 1887, when the city of Jacksonville annexed them and established a streetcar line. The neighborhood really exploded between the Great Fire of 1901 and Florida’s real estate bust in the 1920s. This was a great period to develop architecturally as some many different revival styles were in vogue. Riverside probably contains the best diversity of historic home styles in all of Florida. Riverside and Avondale helped to preserve their architectural legacy by creating one of the City’s largest historic districts in 1974. Riverside also became a cultural center for Jacksonville’s LGBTQ population and is now one of the City’s most in-tact urban districts.

In additional to preserving many of its historic homes, Riverside all has three commercial districts making it one of Jacksonville’s most walkable neighborhoods. These districts include several blocks of King St. and the Five Points commercial district centered on Park St. and a more limited biz district along Stockton St. The neighborhood also has typical suburban amenities including good schools, safety, solid park space, and extensive tree canopy. The neighborhood excels at providing a diversity of for sale and rental options and price points and has solid cultural and retail amenities. Riverside escaped, for the most part, the post WWII disinvestment of many parts of the City except for the north edge of the neighborhood along I-10 where many homes are dilapidated or demolished. Not surprisingly this was the part for the neighborhood with the highest concentration of African Americans historically. This area is slowly rebounding but lacks sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. For Riverside to become a premiere urban district it needs additional density to drive better walkability and amenities. I’d also like to see more bike infrastructure and more park amenities in the north edge of the district.

Click here to view my Riverside and here to view my Five Points Albums on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Pretty good grid and connectivity.
Go access to Dwtn across all modes of transit. Decent bike connection to Dwtn and pretty good transit service. Only a 10 M drive to Dwtn.
ADA infrastructure is pretty good sidewalks exist on about 80% of streets (less so in the more blighted areas along I-10) and ADA standard curb cuts existing on about 40% of intersections with better consistency in the biz districts.
Pretty good schools with several well rated elementary schools and a high school, albeit not rated well.
Good for sale diversity including a good # of 1-bed condos that sell btwn 150K-330K, 2-beds sell btwn 100K-500K (some more expensive) with lots of diversity and 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere btwn 150K-1 M with some price mansions & bay front condos.
Good amount of rental product and decent amount is moderately priced. 1-beds lease anywhere btwn $850-2K, 2-beds btwn $900-2.5K and a good # of 3-beds homes for a bit more.
Overall very safe but some blighted areas remain around 1-10.
Several quality parks but I’d like to see several more in the Northern edge of the district where none exist.
solid tree canopy across most of the neighborhood.
Lots of attractive historic homes throughout. Modern in-fill is pretty good but a decent amount of autocentric commercial uses.
Excellent food & beverage amenities, several breweries, several art galleries, the Cummer Art Museum, a couple historic homes and several night clubs.
Good retail amenities including a couple supermarkets, a farmers market, several drug stores, plenty of boutiques & gift shops, a couple book stores, banks, plenty of dessert shops, a couple gyms, several antique & home good stores, a public library, a major hospital, plenty of medical offices & churches.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

No bike share stations in the neighborhood or across Jacksonville.
So so density for an urban area.
Some economic and racial diversity but the district is majority white and affluent with the exception of the low income parts near I-10. Neighborhood is also pretty old on average with limited family households.”

Rock Hill, SC- A Major Charlotte Suburb and South Carlina’s 5th Largest City

Its very difficult to create a defensible urban evaluation area of urban Rock Hill. I did my best to include only areas built before WWII with sidewalks and limited blight. I used Lucky Lane and State as the rough western boundary, the southern border is Albright Rd, Spenser, Eastbrook, Willow brook, and Charlotte as the eastern border, Cherry as the northern border, but north of Dave Lyle Blvd I only include the area between White St and Charlotte St.

Rock Hill is 5th-most populous city in South Carolina. The city is also home to three colleges, including Winthrop University, which enrolls 6K students. Rock Hill was a tiny settlement until the construction of the railroad in the 1850s. Due to its position on the railroad, Rock Hill became a transfer point for Confederate soldiers moving supplies to and from the front. Most of the merchants in Rock Hill around 1870 were former Confederate soldiers; many were entrepreneurs who were new to town, trying to start over. The town was not officially incorporated until 1870. The City’s population quickly grew to 5,500 by 1900 and then 15,000 by 1940s. After the WWII, most of the City’s growth was come from sprawl, which got supercharged with the City being within the rapidly growing Charlotte Metro area. By 1980 Rock Hill reached 35K souls and currently sits at 75K residents.

Rock Hill has done a good job stabilizing its Dwtn and turning it into a destination and more recently a place to live. Main Street has a great streetscape and urban fabric. But when the urban fabric quickly turns into surface lots and low intensity uses in the ring outside of Dwtn. Residential areas west and south of Dwtn are spotty with some intact streets but others that contain many vacant lots. North of Dwtn the residential areas are more intact thanks to their proximity to Winthrop University. Some apartments buildings are popping up on the edge of Dwtn. Hopefully this trend continues and the core of Rock City continues to densify.

Click here to view my Rock Hill Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Dwtn Charlotte is a1/2 ride with no traffic. Bus service to Dwtn is pretty infrequent.
* Good economic diversity across Rock Hill as a whole but very concentrated poverty south and west of Dwtn. Similar trend with racial diversity.
* Excellent age diversity thanks to the college and many families living here.
* Sidewalks and ADA curb cuts are pretty good across the City but certainly better at Winthrop University and Dwtn than the poorer neighborhoods to the south and west of Dwtn.
* Several decent elementary schools within central Rock Hill but not walkable middle or high schools.
* Good array of rental options with studios and 1-bed units leasing btwn $800-mid 1Ks, 2-beds lease btwn 1K-2K, and a handful of 3-beds that lease in the 2Ks.
* For sale housing is pretty affordably priced. 2-beds lease btwn 80K-400K, 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere btwn 150K-750K.
* Good parks including a several dwtn plazas, a large cemetery, a Botanical Garden, and a large park with sport fields, and a major recreation center.
* Overall a pretty safe community but a decent amount of blight remains.
* Good architecture dwtn including a good mix of historic and quality urban in-fill. Some nice housing north of Dwtn but a good amount of autocentric uses along the main streets outside of Dwtn.
* Good urban form in the core of Dwtn
* Cultural amenities are concentrated in the small Dwtn core including a good array of food & beverage businesses, several theaters, a handful of art galleries, a handful of night clubs, several museums, and the cultural amenities of Winthrop University.
* In the dwtn core this is a nice array of boutiques, clothing stores, banks, a book store, a couple home good stores, a dwtn public library, and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

No bus service in Rock Hill but there are several decent shuttle routes connect the core City and to the University. There is also commuter service to Dwtn Charlotte which is over an hour.
Pretty low density for an urban area but par for the course in the Carolinas.
Biking infrastructure is non-existent.
Ok retail amenities including.
The Dwtn core is missing important neighborhood amenities including a supermarket, drug store, etc. Some of these are located in the suburban shopping mall located on Cherry Rd just north of the University. Outside of this shopping mall and the Dwtn core, retail amenities are pretty limited.
Good pedestrian activity in the Dwtn core but limited outside of it.”

Wesley Heights- a Gentrifying Charlotte’s Westside Neighborhood with one of the City’s best Historic Districts

“I followed the standard boundaries for Wesley Heights with the exception of extending it southward to I-77. Wesley Heights was first developed after 1911 and includes one of Charlotte’s most in-tact historic districts including a nice mix of Bungalows, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival style architecture. Wesley Heights had a downturn post WWII thanks to white flight and historically had issues with crime. But the neighborhood has turned the corner taking advantage of the general rise in value across Charlotte. Wesley Heights has seen newer in-fil development especially on its edges including mixed-use apartments along Morehead, a major townhouse development (sky Terrance Towns) in a former industrial area, and attractive new urbanist development along the Steward Creek Greenway.

Wesley Heights also has a wonderful greenway with multiple arms spreading across the neighborhood, which also hosts paved recreational trails connecting seamlessly to Dwtn. The district has lots of housing product mixing new and historic for-sale options but lacks much affordable housing. Tree canopy is generally thick and lots of food and beverage amenities. But like most of Charlotte urban neighborhoods Wesley Heights needs more density to be able to support more retail amenities and ultimately improve its walkability. The neighborhood also only has one walkable school and poor urban form along Freedom Dr and Thrift road.”

Click here to view my Wesley Heights Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Great set of dedicated bike lanes with great connections to Dwtn.
Lovely new urbanist development with even some attached housing on the western edge of the neighborhood.
Excellent access to Dwtn which is just to the easter of Wesley Heights across all modes of transit.
Solid diversity categories, especially age and economics.
Historically a higher crime area but this has changed significantly as the neighborhood has gentrified. Generally considered very safe.
Market rate housing is diverse and plentiful here with a good mix of historic and new product. A handful of 1-bed condos selling in the 200Ks. Good array of 2-bed product including SF homes, Townhouses and condos. Range anywhere from 260K-700K. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 400K-900K.
Good # of rentals but 1-beds are a bit limited. Lease in the low-mid 1Ks. 2-beds are more plentiful and lease btwn the high 1ks to mid-2ks. Good # of 3-beds but pretty pricey. Lease in the mid 2ks-mid 4Ks.
Excellent park amenities with the Irwin and Steward Creek cutting through most of the neighborhood and creating several greenways and very wooded paths. Bryant Park also sits on the southern edge.
Good tree canopy with the exception of the more industrial western edge of the district.
Generally attractive architecture with interesting mix of historic and quality urban in-fill. Still some crummy autocentric and industrial uses in parts.
Decent pedestrian activity thanks to all the greenways and urban node on Morehead.
Good food & beverage amenities and art gallery and convenient access to all the Dwtn cultural amenities.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Pretty low density of an urban area.
Good elementary school just to the north in Seversville. Some decent schools in neighboring neighborhoods but not walkable to Wesley Heights residents.
As Wesley Heights gentrifies there seems to be less and less affordable product. Not enough dedicated affordable hsg is being built.
Not much other than food & beverage amenities for cultural amenities.
Ok retail amenities including a couple boutiques, several furniture stores, a bike shop, a couple banks, several salons, only a couple churches.
Decent urban massing along Morehead but Freedom Dr and Thrift Rd are very autocentric and industrial.

Villa Heights- One of Charlotte’s First Working Class Suburbs now Undergoing Rapid Gentrification

Villa Heights originated around 1900 as a new suburb but a working class community. Villa Heights along with Belmont and Optimist Park were Charlotte’s first entirely working-class suburbs. This represented Charlotte’s growth as a City as it became a major textile producer. Like most other Charlotte suburban areas, Villa Heights had only white residents until the major urban renewal projects of historic black neighborhoods like Brooklyn (the modern day 2nd Ward) in the 60s. Sadly the influx of African American residents lead to White flight and an increase in poverty, crime, and blight for the neighborhood. But Villa Heights stayed in much better condition than neighboring Optimist Park and much of its historic SF homes remain.

Village Heights has gentrified significantly in the past couple of decades like much of inner City Charlotte and this has lead to new multifamily construction along Davidson, new townhouses along Parkwood and the Villa Avenues, renovation and new construction of single family homes and less and less affordable product. Homeownership is certainly out of the reach of working class families but some product selling in the 300Ks & 400Ks is still affordable to middle class professionals. The gentrification of Village Heights has improved its urbanity as the major thoroughfares (Davidson, Parkwood, the Villa, and Mattheson) are urbanizing albeit still have lots of dead spaces and auto centric uses. Bike lane, ADA curb cuts, and sidewalks existing along the main roads but sidewalks are missing in about 1/2 of the residential streets. Villa Heights also has good public transit access & convenient commute to Dwtn, excellent diversity (esp. racial), a thick tree canopy, good parks, lots of apts, and good food and beverage amenities. To become a solid urban district Village Heights needs to build up its business district, densify, create more affordable housing options, build new walkable schools in the neighborhood, and add some key retail amenities (i.e. more local shops, post office, and public library). With Charlotte’s rapid growth I feel Villa Heights will continue to urbanize but hopefully with more attention to creating a higher quality urban environment.

Click here to view my Villa Heights album on Flickr

URBAN STREGNTHS:

Excellent Racial Diversity with about a 40% white and Black population with decent Hispanic population.
Solid public transit access thanks largely to good access to several Blue Line stations. This comes with convenient access to Dwtn as well with good bike and transit access along with convenient car access.
Good economic diversity and decent age diversity.
Historically the neighborhood had some safety issues but this is rapidly improving.
Very thick tree canopy.
Attractive early 20th century single family homes.
Some good urban infill along Davidson but some autocentric commercial uses along Parkwood and The Plaza.
A moderate # of apartments but on the expensive side. More focused on 2 & 3 beds. 1-beds lease in the mid to high 1Ks. 2-beds mid 1Ks to mid 2Ks and 3-beds 2K-5K.
For sale is generally SF homes but a handful of condos selling in the 300Ks. 2-beds sell btwn 300K-700K with a handful of condos selling in the 300Ks. 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere from mid 300Ks to low 1Ms. As you can see a handful of moderately priced homes but more for sale product is pretty expensive.
Expansive Cordelia Park sits in the SW corner of this district with a public pool. A couple other smaller parks with playgrounds spread throughout the district.
Decent food and beverage amenities with a good # of restaurants, the urban district market (a small food hall), breweries, and cafes along Davidson (near 24th) a handful along Plaza, which is a pretty residential and semi-autocentric road.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* About half of the streets are without sidewalks but when sidewalks exist there is generally good ADA curb cuts. Main streets have sidewalks.
* Pretty low density for an inner city neighborhood.
* Pedestrian activity is pretty limited. Some along the commercial node on Davidson.
* Really no affordable housing here.
* One quality walkable elementary school in the neighborhood. Well rated but not walkable Montessori school in neighboring NoDa and not so well rated public high school to the south.
* Really not other cultural amenities other than food and beverage stores.
* So so retail amenities thanks to a supermarket, drug store, a couple boutiques, a bakery, several salons/barbers, a couple gyms,. several churches, and a couple medical offices.
* No public library or post office in Villa Heights.
* Urban massing of the main streets (Davidson, Parkwood, the Villa, and Mattheson) is improving with new urban apartments and townhouses but still plenty of dead spaces and autocentric uses.

Optimist Park- A Historic Disinvested Innercity Charlotte Neighborhood Experiencing a Construction Boom thanks to the Blue Line

Optimist Park began developing by the turn of the 20th century but would never became as dense and built out as other inner ring Charlotte neighborhoods like Dilworth or Elizabeth. Mills and factories opened in the areas along the railroad line (now where the LYNC Blue Line is located) and simple single family homes were built for the workers. In the 50s & 60s the neighborhood become increasingly Black as African American families needed affordable housing after major urban renewal projects, most notably the wholescale demolition of Charlotte’s historic Black neighborhood “Brooklyn” which is now the modern day 2nd Ward, caused widespread displacement. Optimist Park quickly became a low-income enclave of the City and fell into disrepair.

With the construction of Charlotte’s new light rail system in 2007 large scale multi-family homes began to replace low intensive land uses. Even with a significant number of new apartment buildings, Optimist Park still has a very low-density for an urban neighborhood. Development is focused along Brevard Street (close to the light rail), the southern edge of the neighborhood adjacent to Dwtn, and along Davidson & 34th where some retail exists. The opening of the 25th Street station in 2018 supercharged development demand in the neighborhood. But much of the neighborhood remains low-density single family development and the main arterial road (Davidson) is still very underdeveloped. As the neighborhood fills in it will certainly become more walkable but I would be nice to see more intentionality with rebuilding the neighborhood with a sense of place, with significant affordable housing, more schools, better bike infrastructure, and important neighborhood serving retail amenities.

Click here to view my Optimist Park Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Pretty optimal economic diversity and good racial diversity. Most of the neighborhood are young professionals.
Excellent public transit and very convenient access to Dwtn.
Some condos units are reasonable prices with 1-beds selling in the 200Ks. 2-beds sell for 300K-500, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 350K-1 M depending on size and age.
Tons of rentals available but moderate to expensive in price. Studios lease in the low 1Ks, 1-beds in the low-mid 1Ks, 2 bed around 2K and even some 3-bed units that typical lease in the mid 2Ks.
Better cultural amenities including the Optimist Park Food Hall featuring many restaurants, bars, and cafes. Also several breweries and cafes spread throughout the district a couple art galleries, a couple night clubs, and convenient access to the cultural amenities in Dwtn to the south and NoDa to the north.
Good park amenities including the medium sized Cordelia Park which includes a pool, the expansive Little Creek Greenway that runs north to south just a couple blocks east of the neighborhood, and a decent recreational trail that runs along the light rail line.
Overall a pretty safe neighborhood.
Lots of urban in-fill that is generally of good quality. Home historic homes remain but not much.
Still lots of good tree canopy but this is incrementality being reduces as the neighborhood urbanizes.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Limited biking infrastructure.
Very low density for an urban area, but this should shift quickly as the neighborhood is built out with high density apartment buildings.
Not great connectivity thanks to all the railroads and historic industrial uses here.
No walkable schools in the neighborhood but a couple in adjacent areas.
Really no dedicated affordable housing.
Some retail amenities here but not great. Optimist Park hosts a supermarket, a couple boutiques and salons, several gyms, a couple vintage stores, several bakeries and dessert joints, a couple churches.
Overall lack of cohesion in Optimist Park. A couple good nodes on Davidson and near the light rail station but lots of dead spaces that still underdeveloped.
Much of Davidson simply lacks buildings, which is odd for the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare. A decent nodes is emerging at Davidson & 34th and Brevard St and the area adjacent to dwtn continue to fill in with lots of apartment bldgs (but generally limited retail space).
Still not enough population or retail in the neighborhood to foster lots of pedestrians.”