As public hearings over the contested rezoning application of the nearby redevelopment proposal for the Roost restaurant unfolded, a debate emerged as to how the predominant character of present-day Oak Street should drive future development opportunities. Some neighborhood residents feel that a strict interpretation of the Overlay should guide commercial development along Oak thereby limiting the intensity of uses, while others feel that the mixed use nature of the street coupled with the presence of blighted properties provides incredible opportunities to redevelop various parcels into higher and greater uses.
The Overlay breaks down the Riverside Avondale Historic District (District) into a series of Character Area Designations, based on the predominant existing uses within each area. Each Character Area carries a set of physical standard criteria including massing, height, setbacks, parking and landscaping that all encourage the identified character use of the area. Oak Street is defined as an Office Character area, whereas the general character of the area is recognized as predominantly office.
This map depicts the location and extent of the full streetcar system in Jacksonville during the 1930’s. A streetcar line once ran along Oak Street eventually terminating all the way to the present-day Ortega neighborhood. The physical characteristics of streets along streetcar routes were heavily influenced by the presence of this mode of transportation.
Historically both Oak Street and Post Street served as streetcar corridors serving the Park and King commercial district. One could observe that the width of Oak Street is intentionally wider than nearby streets in order to accommodate the historical streetcar lines that once contributed to the neighborhood’s expansion in the early 20th century. Several transit oriented buildings along Oak still stand today that were constructed in the early 20th century because of the presence of the streetcar, giving a visual reminder as to the historical development pattern that shaped this particular corridor.
Above: The massing, style and setbacks of these mixed used buildings provide a direct connection with Jacksonville’s old streetcar system.
Today, Oak Street possesses a wide range of uses. The area is anchored by the large St Vincent’s Medical Plaza to the West and the Riverside Publix Shopping Plaza to the East. In between, are a mixture of single family homes, commercial, multifamily, mixed use and office buildings.
Present day zoning
With an eye toward amending the comprehensive growth management plan in Jacksonville and adopt land use and transportation strategies that support a compact and interconnected land development form, the City of Jacksonville established a comprehensive set of regulations in 2010 called the 2030 Mobility Plan. The Mobility Plan provided a mechanism to fund a holistic set of mobility projects, including alternative modes of transportation, by way of a mobility fee system. To further the goals of the Mobility Plan, and ultimately promote the kinds of fiscally responsible development patterns deemed to provide a high quality of life, a list of future transportation improvement projects were identified that would address mobility gaps and deficiencies in Jacksonville’s current transportation network. These projects sought to enhance a variety of transportation modes including roadway, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit specific to designated character areas. Each set of projects were neighborhood-appropriate so that contextually sensitive modes of transportation could be enhanced without adversely impacting existing neighborhoods.
This map depicts future legacy transit projects identified in the 2030 Mobility Plan. The future streetcar line is shown in orange
One of the major mobility projects identified for the Riverside Avondale Historic District was that of re-establishing a modern-day streetcar network. Mobility Fees collected by new developments within the neighborhood would be used to partially fund this project. Due to its historical use and present-day efficiencies within the existing street grid, Oak Street was deemed the most appropriate corridor to host any future streetcar systems- connecting the Park and King commercial corridor with downtown, Springfield and beyond with a predictable public transportation service. Although the proposed streetcar system appears dead in the water, it should be noted that City planners, the development community and neighborhood advocates (all of whom collaborated on the establishment of the 2030 Mobility Plan) appear to have deemed Oak Street as an appropriate corridor for the kinds of dense, compact and mixed-use, transit-oriented development that tend to follow the establishment of rail-based transit systems.
What is clear is that, while somewhat similar in nature, present-day zoning laws and transportation demand policies are in a state of conflict with present-day realities and historic uses and development patterns. A zoning variation request for a redevelopment project along Oak Street such as the proposed use of 2502 and 2510 Oak Street, must be viewed within that murky lens.
Article by Mike Field