Jacksonville Neighborhoods with 'walkability' command higher premium - Riverside/Avondale, San Marco, & Springfield (Miami: real estate, crime)

[fsu813]

Sections of Jacksonville where it's a short walk to shopping, dining, movies, parks and libraries are holding real estate values better than subdivisions where residents have to travel by car for the same things, a national study contends.

The report, "Walking the Walk - How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities," was commissioned by CEOs for Cities and prepared by Portland, Ore.-based Impresa Inc. The report rated 15 cities on a basis of how much of those cities were walkable, or had residential areas within easy walking distance of places people regularly want or need to go.
"It's all about the destinations," said report author Joe Cortright.
Of the cities, Jacksonville was 14th with a Walkscore.com walkability score of 36 out of 100, while eight other cities - most of which were medium-sized cities located in the Western half of the U.S. - got scores of 50 or lower.



Homes with 'walkability' command higher premium | Jacksonville.com

[fsquid]

In other news the sky is blue! It is like that in most cities. I love San Marco, I just can't find anything in my price range for a family of four. Gives me something to work for though.

[fsu813]

i used to be able to walk to work, just 2 & 1/2 blocks away........now i'm a whole 1/2 mile away and i have to bike it. pity me!

[Joe 4520832257]

No surprises there. That Springfield - even with its remaining crime issues - manages to command such strong prices, shows how important walkable neighborhoods are to certain consumers.

One of my big concerns about Jacksonville's future is its extremely limited offering of traditional (what this article called "walkable) neighborhoods. Jax basically has Riverside-Avondale, San Marco, Springfield, and not much else. If someone wants a traditional neighborhood but doesn't happen to like these 3, then they are sh*t out of luck.

It would be really nice to see a true New Urbanist development in Jax. There are a few places that have used some elements of the New Urbanism - but no one has taken it all the way yet.

[lightheaded1der]

Kind of makes me wonder if the incidence of obesity is lower in more "walkable" neighborhoods. If I walked a few blocks for my ice cream, I'd probably be a lot better off If I tried to walk for ice cream now, it would be a good 3 hours or so before I'd get there, and I'd be sunburnt.

[fsu813]

Murray Hill has great potential to be added to this list of walkable neighborhoods = histoirc district as well, they already have a preservation society, but the commerical appeal on Edgewood and a couple other streets is lacking.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by fsquid

...I love San Marco, I just can't find anything in my price range for a family of four...

Originally Posted by Joe 4520832257

...One of my big concerns about Jacksonville's future is its extremely limited offering of traditional (what this article called "walkable) neighborhoods. Jax basically has Riverside-Avondale, San Marco, Springfield, and not much else. If someone wants a traditional neighborhood but doesn't happen to like these 3, then they are sh*t out of luck.

It would be really nice to see a true New Urbanist development in Jax. There are a few places that have used some elements of the New Urbanism - but no one has taken it all the way yet.

Originally Posted by fsu813

Murray Hill has great potential to be added to this list of walkable neighborhoods = histoirc district as well, they already have a preservation society, but the commerical appeal on Edgewood and a couple other streets is lacking.

I thought this comment from the article sums up the desirability factor nicely:

She cited a statistic from the Brookings Institute, which calls the trend "walkable urbanism," that indicated that about 25 to 30 percent of home-hunters seek walkability, but that it's available in only about 4 percent of residential areas nationwide.

"There's a premium on it," Lorince said.


While our more walkable areas of Jax may have held their value a bit better that the rest of Jax/Jax area, they're still quite affordable compared to other cities. It might be a matter of giving up a few hundred square feet of living space, but if it improves your quality of life, what are you really losing?

Broadening the scope of a neighborhood search might also help folks who are seeking a walkable neighborhood in Jax. FSU mentioned Murray Hill. On the other side of the river you have Saint Nicholas, Mirimar, Lakewood, etc. So you don't have to be "on the square" in San Marco to have walkability. There are other older neighborhoods that have walkability.

Rather than have our tax dollars go to developers who will build faux "new urbanist" neighborhoods out amongst the sprawl, we need to let our city leaders know we want our older, inner city neighborhoods revitalized first. We need infill in our downtown and first ring neighborhoods. We need landscaping and new street lights, sidewalks and signage. We need the city parks spruced up. The people already exist there, the community is in place - we don't need to move them 20 miles outside of the city only to have them drive back in to get to work in the morning . We already have a decent plan in place, it's part of the Better Jacksonville Plan and it's called the Town Center Program. We've already seen the success of the program in San Marco:

Town Center Program

While I enjoyed my brand new house out in the Intracoastal West area, moving back in towards the city center where I live now was the right choice for me, I'm definitely more of an urban girl .

[fsu813]

if you haven't already, visit metrojacksonville.com. they advocate for this.

[fsu813]

More analysis that says walkable, urban neighborhoods (such as the ones mentioned in the orginal post) will be more & more in demand:

Is the age of the suburb over? 4 key demographic trends

Some experts say shifts in the desires of several groups mean that America’s great reurbanization lies ahead

Demographic shifts and changing values will increase demand for pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities in both urban and suburban settings, according to John McIlwain of the Urban Land Institute.

“The age of suburbanization and growing homeownership is over,” McIlwain said in a recent report, “Housing in America: The Next Decade.” “The coming decades will be the time of the great reurbanization as 24/7 central cities grow and suburbs around the country are redeveloped with new or revived walkable suburban town centers.” This transition will be fueled by the growth of two-person households, an end to baby boomers’ suburban infatuation, and public policies designed to stimulate compact development. In his report, McIlwain points to four key demographic trends to watch:

Is the age of the suburb over? 4 key demographic trends - MSN Real Estate

[Robyn55]

I used to live in center city Philadelphia - 10 minute walk to work - before I moved to Miami - and then here. Walking is a nice concept - but sometimes it isn't practical - even if the distances aren't very far. Try lugging home 10 bags of groceries - and your dry cleaning (I used one of those collapsible shopping carts) - in the rain - snow - 20 degree weather - 90 degree weather - etc. Or taking your bike anywhere in Philadelphia or Miami or JAX even a mile or two when it's dark out to go a restaurant. I prefer to have a car for the "heavy lifting" chores I have to do - and to walk - ride a bike - for fun.

BTW - if you are talking about moving "far out" just for the sake of getting a cheap 1/4 acre with a cheap house on it - the exurbs - the places where you have to spend 30-60 minutes or more (depending on state/city) to get to work - then I agree with you 100%. Robyn