712 replies to this topic

[Florida]

Gaines Street Project

The project begain in the Fall of 1993, when FDOT officials sought to improve east/west travel on this state road. The corridor was a prime area for improvement because of its location. Gaines Street is considered the gatewat to the City and the State Capitol Complex. It connects Florida A&M University and Florida State University. The street offers access to downtown, which is the core of the City due to its many state and local government facilities and office buildings.


The initial design suggested by FDOT would turn the road into a six lane, high speed thoroughfare. Many people involved felt the solution presented by FDOT was "to move the automobile and no a solution for pedestrians, the universities, businesses, and the community." Many were not in support of the initial plan because they did not support the high speeds that would come about as a result, and they were also concerned FDOTs plans didn't take into consideration future land use and economic development issues.


FDOT joined with the local officials to develop an alternative solution that would enhance the effectiveness of the existing four lanes, provide for the future capacity through an expanded grid, provide safe travel for pedestrians and bicyclists, promote economic development, and connect the two major universities as well as the state capitol.


Nature trails and parks will be provided throughout the corridor, offering opportunities for relaxation and recreation Tallahassee-style.


Transportation ehnacements, such as sidewalks, bike lanes, traffic circles, and other pedestrian scale improvements are part of this vision.

The project has tremendous impace on FSU, and FAMU. The Gaines Street corridor will provide student housing facilities and entertainment and create and attractive entrance to both campuses from Gaines Street and Railroad Ave.


The project is expected to cost  $57 Million and is being funded with a local sales tax option.

Any thoughts on what this district may become?

Edited by TaureanJ, 15 April 2007 - 07:07 AM.

[Florida]

So far "Live\Work" units have been constructed on the corner of St. Francis and Macomb Streets.

Landscaping along Rail Road has been completed.

A Marriott hotel has been Proposed and Approved for a site at Railroad and Gaines. It should break ground this year. Rendering will be provided as soon as I can get one.

Many warehouses on this road have been purchased and are expected to be demolished beginning this year. I can truly see this becoming Tallahassee's new strip with night clubs, art galleries, and a possible performing arts center nearby.

[bobliocatt]

I can see this as well.  Its come a long way since 2001, my last year in school there.  I was suprised to see all of the funky shops and bars starting to spring up around Gaines and Macomb.  However, I wish the city and developers would work to keep several of those old warehouses.  Because renovating them, would only add to the unique setting of the Gaines Street corridor.

[Florida]

I can only smile about the warehouse deal... because I want them gone! For a gateway into a city that prides itself as clean and pristiene, thats not what I want to see.


Take a look here... this triplex was recently completed in the All-Saints District[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/TaureanJ/Gaines%20Street/70053078533.jpg
This is another small apartment that sprung up as a result of the Gaines Street Project.

Edited by TaureanJ, 21 December 2005 - 08:03 PM.

[bobliocatt]

Sorry, but this is horrible.  I'd take a brick warehouse (if any are left at this point), that can be renovated into authentic lofts or a restaurant/brewery, with outdoor seating along the street, any day over the typical cheaply built college apartment buildings that exist all over Tally.



Although, the Gaines corridor isn't this dense, there are couple of older historic warehouse buildings, with character, worth saving.  Keeping some of these will only enhance the landscape, as well as provide a direct link to that area's history as Tallahassee's oldest warehousing and manufacturing district.

[A.H.Johnstone]

That would be awesome if some of those warehouses could be turned into bars, restaraunts, shops, art galleries, etc. This could be such a vibrant area and those characterless apts. are holding it back. Come on now, gotta preserve Tally's history here!

[Florida]

when you put it like that... it seems so nice to preserve the warehouses. However, many of the warehouses remaining on Gaines Street aren't brick on the front, but merely big box metal structures..... pictures will be coming!

But if they could capture the historical beauty in what may remain of the few quality warehouses.... that would be nice.

[Florida]

when you put it like that... it seems so nice to preserve the warehouses. However, many of the warehouses remaining on Gaines Street aren't brick on the front, but merely big box metal structures..... pictures will be coming!

But if they could capture the historical beauty in what may remain of the few quality warehouses.... that would be nice.

[Florida]

Marriott Residence Inn
The City is negotiating the sale of a vacant parcel located on the northwest corner of the Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue intersection with a developer who proposes to build a Marriott Residence Inn on the site. The proposed development, which is separate from the Marriott Hotel under consideration at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, will consist of 135 rooms, 5,000 square feet of meeting space and 5,000 square feet of retail space. This will be the first major development constructed in the Gaines Street Corridor in many years, and will help serve as a benchmark for future development in the area as envisioned by the Gaines Street Revitalization Plan.

There is infact a rendering of this project... I just can't seem to locate it right now... but expect it soon.

[Florida]

See Gaines Street Marriott

Edited by TaureanJ, 11 May 2005 - 11:33 PM.

[bobliocatt]

Great news.  Hopefully something else can come along and take the place of the two gas stations across the street.

[Florida]

I agree...  or maybe the other corner where the "Beeper Kings" (it operates under a different name but Im old school) is could be converted into a more attractive location to compliment.

Edited by TaureanJ, 12 May 2005 - 06:48 AM.

[asonj23]

Is this plan merely a development guidline or is it a developer's plan to revitalize the area?  I would love to see something like this come to life, although it will be a slow process.  Where is my magic wand...?

[bobliocatt]

^Its just a development guideline.

[asonj23]

Let's hope there are developers out there willing to drop some bills and make this happen.

[Florida]

^ This is starting to happen. Much sooner than I expected too! As you can see the new Marriott hotel will be built at the corner of Gaines and RR, there are homes being built on All Saints St. and there is also a new Condominium Complex already under construction on All Saints as well.

[Florida]

The Gaines Street design itself is infact a guideline. The most important role for the government was to establish the design on the road itself. They will make it a Blvd with one way traffic on Gaines and opposing traffic on another existing street parallel to it.

[bobliocatt]

^Bad idea.  Its well know that it isn't a good idea to make highways in a zone you plan on being heavily used by pedestrians.  One-way streets also suck, because they limit the visibility of retail shops along the street, as well as encourage faster moving traffic.  If officials would have bothered to look around, they would see that most cities have been converting their one-way streets in pedestrian friendly areas to two-way traffic.   Instead of caving in to FSU, major traffic should have remained on Pensacola, north of Doak Campbell and Gaines should have been taken down to two lanes with parallel parking and wider sidewalks on both sides.

[Florida]

A look at the Gaines Street Master Plan, which was created with the assistance of over 300 local residents and elected leaders, shows this will be a very intimate street, with shops designed to interact with the road and its pedestrian and bike facilities. The purpose of this entire Gaines Street project is to prevent fast moving traffic through this University transition area. There will be off street parking and landscaping as well. This is a very nice project design that Tallahasseeans are very proud of.

Edited by TaureanJ, 12 May 2005 - 09:26 PM.

[bobliocatt]

^For some reason, fast moving traffic and pedestrians don't mix well.  I'm sure everyone had good intentions, but when designing pedestrian friendly zones, you have to design for the pedestrian first and automobiles second.

Sometimes I think we let DOT take too much control over roads in our cities, thus we end up with anti-pedestrian ideals like turning Gaines into a one-way street, with multiple lanes.  Another example of this, is the six laning of Riverside Avenue in the Brooklyn area of Jax and the overpasses in the Better Jax Plans.  

BTW, I remember sitting in on a Tallahassee city hall meeting when they were discussing this, back in the late 1990's.  At the time, urban design was the farthest thing from my mind, so all of this flew over my head.  I wish I knew then, what I know now.