Midtown Tallahassee

[Florida]

D'oh alhemizers! You are correct.

[fivesfella]

Lots of touring bands stay at the Murat. It's cheap and in town. Local legend says that Ted Bundy stayed there, but that could easily be a myth. Of course, they do a lot of crack whore business, but there you go. There's also a pawn shop and a check cashing place within a few feet of there - it's actually sort of a seedy area, if you think about it.

(I've stayed at the Murat twice, but neither with a band nor a crack whore. It was much less disgusting than expected.)

[Florida]

^Exactly why they need to tear that thing down!!

[fivesfella]

Not likely, seeing as they do a fairly good business. They just replaced all the furniture (judging from the fact that the old stuff was all lying on the curb behind it waiting to be picked up earlier this year) and the sign (I liked the old one better, even if it did seem to usually advertise The Rat Motel).

[Florida]

Not likely, seeing as they do a fairly good business. They just replaced all the furniture (judging from the fact that the old stuff was all lying on the curb behind it waiting to be picked up earlier this year) and the sign (I liked the old one better, even if it did seem to usually advertise The Rat Motel).

[poonther]

The motel isn't as scary looking as some of their customers which is what I was trying to convey in my first post. IMHO there a few worse motels in the city than The Prince..like the Cactus Motel on West Tenn. and I believe the Lafayette Motel on W. Tenn. is becoming a pretty rough place.

Even though it's a pawn shop, the refurbishing job they did on that bldg. is a definite improvement for the 'hood.

Oh yeah I'm w/you too, I liked the old sign much better. I think it was in the Democrat that I read where they had to get rid of the sign b/c it was becoming too expensive and difficult to fix it.

[josefk]

I am sure you are correct josefk. I was thinking they could drop a level for that to happen, however I'm sure that would not make the building profitable. Just wishful thinking.

Their rear neighbor will be the Ponce De Leon Motel so lock your doors when you go to this building b/c I see a lot of sketchy stuff happening at that place. I often walk down this part of Calhoun b/c the road leads to Baskin and Robbins.

ea99 thanks for the info. I ASSume the price spread for the moving of the house depends on what? How far you move it or how much of the house you take w/you? Like porches etc? Do you think $155k to $235K is appropriate and do you think it will happen in your opinion?

[fivesfella]

Did they actually have "Rat Motel" on the sign?

I think this place is dangerous and gross. I'm so happy it's hidden behind all of those trees.

[Florida]

No, but the M and the U were frequently out of service, so at night it just said RAT.

It might be a little shady, but I've never thought of it as dangerous. It's family owned and operated, and, like I said, they seem to try and keep it up.

[poonther]

Looks like they could not find a buyer for the blue house at 800 N. Calhoun (corner of Calhoun and T'ville across from Baskin & Robins.) Shame to see that house be demolished.

Florida School Boards Insurance Trust (TSP080015) (21-25-20-451-0000) located on 0.95-acre at 800 North Calhoun Street. The proposed project is the construction of a 16,000 sq. ft. office building and the demolition of the existing 4,000 sq, ft. office building. The property is zoned CU (Central Urban).

[Florida]

I think someone would have purchased the house if it were allowed to stay on the property, but not one they would have to pick up and move. I think it was nice enough that they made the attempt to save it, but it must go so another can take its place. ...

[poonther]

This proposal is on COT's DRC agenda for 5.12 also. The church is proposing to move from their current location in Midtown out to the west side of T'ville road just south of Ox Bottom.

I find this proposal interesting b/c it frees up a large parcel in our up and coming Midtown. Once the church moves out, I'd love to see this property kept as it is, but NOT used as a church again. I've seen several old churches in other cities used for things such as condos, business offices and even nightclubs. I also believe the Florida Tax Watch building on Park Ave use to be a church. I strongly feel a different use of this property could only benefit what is happening in Midtown.

How do you guys feel about that?

St. Peters Anglican Church (TSP080026) located on 8.24 acres at 4784 Thomasville Road. The proposed project is for the construction of 2 church buildings totaling 66,000 square feet and the on-site relocation of a 4,029 square foot building. The applicant is also requesting a deviation to the development standards in order to reduce the parking setback from 20 feet to 8 feet. The site is zoned RP-1 (Residential Preservation 1).

[josefk]

This proposal is on COT's DRC agenda for 5.12 also. The church is proposing to move from their current location in Midtown out to the west side of T'ville road just south of Ox Bottom.

I find this proposal interesting b/c it frees up a large parcel in our up and coming Midtown. Once the church moves out, I'd love to see this property kept as it is, but NOT used as a church again. I've seen several old churches in other cities used for things such as condos, business offices and even nightclubs. I also believe the Florida Tax Watch building on Park Ave use to be a church. I strongly feel a different use of this property could only benefit what is happening in Midtown.

How do you guys feel about that?

St. Peters Anglican Church (TSP080026) located on 8.24 acres at 4784 Thomasville Road. The proposed project is for the construction of 2 church buildings totaling 66,000 square feet and the on-site relocation of a 4,029 square foot building. The applicant is also requesting a deviation to the development standards in order to reduce the parking setback from 20 feet to 8 feet. The site is zoned RP-1 (Residential Preservation 1).

[Glenn]

I also hope this property and/or building is used for something to bring everyday activity to the area like a restaurant, art gallery, unique retail center similar to Betton Place, etc. I'm not sure what kind of shape the church building itself is in but it's a great piece of property in a prime location.

What is the history of this church building / location? It was some other kind of church before St. Peters moved there, right?

So St. Peters has bought 8+ acres up in Bradfordville. I saw their sign in front of that big white house up there but didn't know they were planning to move everything up there. Sounds like they are going to relocate that big white house to another part of the property. Glad they are doing that to preserve some character instead of just razing it. It's a nice looking house from what I've seen driving by.

[poonther]

D'oh Glenn thanks for reminding me that Betton Place also use to be a church. I'm so use to that one, that I forget. Does anyone here remember what church use to be located there? I don't.

When I moved here, the current location of St. Peter's was used by some type of Church of Christ. I'm not sure what church was there originally.

Who knows if they'll change the use, I sure hope so, but I did some research and found out that the parcel is owned by Thomasville Road Partners. They also own the building across Johnston Street that use to house the Regional Planning Council and now has a real estate company in it. Upon further research I discovered that T'ville Road Partners is mainly Ed Murray, one of the principals in Talcor. Talcor owns a lot of that part of T'ville Road including Manor at Midtown.............so w/the success of that property who knows what may happen. I could definitely see them tearing down the small building next to Kool Beanz (I think this use to be the parsonage) and rebuilding it to connect or not w/the main church building. Later I'll do some "face-to-face" research on this parcel and see what I can find out.

[Glenn]

D'oh Glenn thanks for reminding me that Betton Place also use to be a church. I'm so use to that one, that I forget. Does anyone here remember what church use to be located there? I don't.

I want to say it was a Presbyterian church Poonther, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

When I moved here, the current location of St. Peter's was used by some type of Church of Christ. I'm not sure what church was there originally.

Who knows if they'll change the use, I sure hope so, but I did some research and found out that the parcel is owned by Thomasville Road Partners. They also own the building across Johnston Street that use to house the Regional Planning Council and now has a real estate company in it. Upon further research I discovered that T'ville Road Partners is mainly Ed Murray, one of the principals in Talcor. Talcor owns a lot of that part of T'ville Road including Manor at Midtown.............so w/the success of that property who knows what may happen. I could definitely see them tearing down the small building next to Kool Beanz (I think this use to be the parsonage) and rebuilding it to connect or not w/the main church building. Later I'll do some "face-to-face" research on this parcel and see what I can find out.

It would be great if "Kool Beanz" could move into this place! I know they've wanted to expand at their current location but can't because of the current zoning plus the zero lot line behind them doesn't even give them room to bump out their kitchen. That would be sweet if they renovated this old church & moved in there. Upstairs could be the restaurant & downstairs could be a bar with live music! Can you say OPPORTUNITY?

[poonther]

I walked over to Midtown this weekend and things were hopping! On my walk over there and through the noise of my Ipod, I got to thinking how can we make Midtown better?

My immediate ideas were to make designated crosswalks over T'ville Road. It can be pretty tough to cross the street sometimes. I'm talking about crosswalks that look different from the street much like what we have in downtown. There definitely needs to be one between Manor at Midtown and Whataburger. I could see one also at Chez Pierre at 6th linking over to the new Orleans Building development...if it ever gets built. Another is probably needed around Beard near Waterworks and then possibly one in the Kool Grindz area and maybe the Baskin and Robbins area too.

I'd also like to see maybe some different street lighting in the area...smaller more ornate poles and different street signage. IMHO all of this would give you even more of a sense of place in the Midtown area.

What are YOUR ideas and how often to you visit Midtown...if at all? This area is definitely a "gold-mine" IMHO. For purposes of this discussion I'm mainly talking about what I call "true Midtown" along T'ville Road from Five Points down to Monroe.

[TD]

I walked over to Midtown this weekend and things were hopping! On my walk over there and through the noise of my Ipod, I got to thinking how can we make Midtown better?

My immediate ideas were to make designated crosswalks over T'ville Road. It can be pretty tough to cross the street sometimes. I'm talking about crosswalks that look different from the street much like what we have in downtown. There definitely needs to be one between Manor at Midtown and Whataburger. I could see one also at Chez Pierre at 6th linking over to the new Orleans Building development...if it ever gets built. Another is probably needed around Beard near Waterworks and then possibly one in the Kool Grindz area and maybe the Baskin and Robbins area too.

I'd also like to see maybe some different street lighting in the area...smaller more ornate poles and different street signage. IMHO all of this would give you even more of a sense of place in the Midtown area.

What are YOUR ideas and how often to you visit Midtown...if at all? This area is definitely a "gold-mine" IMHO. For purposes of this discussion I'm mainly talking about what I call "true Midtown" along T'ville Road from Five Points down to Monroe.

[poonther]

I drive through it often, and visit whataburger every so often.... Its definately a nice area and I believe your ideas have merit, though with scarce city resources your lobbying skills must be prime to convince the city to open up its purse at this time.

[TD]

TD you need to get out of your car and explore it a little more on foot b/c it's better that way IMHO.

As far as my ideas go and money, by the time they plan for for them, hold 42 community meetings about the ideas, deal w/the negative NIMBY forces that are against any and all changes in town and then actually construct the improvements...the economy will have turned around and your grandkids TD will enjoy the changes.

[Glenn]

^ Poonther, I like all your suggestions for improving Midtown. And you are so right...you haven't really experienced it until you get out of your car, walk the streets & truly explore it. It has such a neat character & history about it.

I've always been curious, where does Midtown end & Old Town begin? Is Miccosukee the dividing line between the two areas?

[blackcoffee&bourbon]

Would the area have to rely on the city to add new signage/lighting? How about a public private partnership? The local retailers/residences could team up to come up with a design for those items and also raise some of the $$$ for the project. Then the city could install them and pay for maintence etc. Heck, maybe some green options for lighting could be found to cut down on energy cost. I do agree that if the above suggestions are left to the city, it will be a long time before it is done. (See Gaines St.).

The only thing the city really needs to be responsible for is the sidewalks. My wife works near midtown (Calhoun St.) and we love the area.

[poonther]

^Great suggestion bcb. I was thinking along those line too of a public/private partnership. I really like your idea about including some "green" functions into the upgrades and I think that would help sell it better.

I do know about 6 months ago they held a Midtown meeting in conjunction w/FAMU architecture school (I believe) to talk about how to make Midtown more pedestrian friendly. I wanted to attend that meeting, but I was out of town.

I know there is a Midtown Biz Association and they would probably be the ones to spear-head something like what you've suggested. Here's the problem I see w/that...Midtown Biz Assoc. includes businesses from T'ville and Monroe all the way up to Hermitage on T'ville. We've discussed that before of how crazy it is to include folks in Woodgate as part of Midtown...please! So my question is how do you get businesses in an association to pay for improvements not in their area? I know the biz owners along Monroe would be upset about it too.

While I think the whole Midtown area could use improvements, I'd like to see the "true heart of midtown" Five Points to Monroe along T'ville go at it first. Also the same improvements along that corridor won't work as well along 6 lane T'ville at Betton or at 5th and 4th at Monroe. So how do you improve one part of the area first w/out upsetting the rest of the area especially those bound in an association together?

Hey Glenn, yes Micco. is generally used as the dividing line between Lafayette Park and Old Town....or at least that's how the homeowner associations do it.

I've done some chatting around about the St. Peter's church and found out that long ago someone wanted to convert it into retail/office, but found it cost prohibitive b/c it has a huge asbestos problem. I'm going to do some more digging on this subject this week.

[poonther]

As I'm sure many of you are aware, the old blue house at the corner of T'ville,Monroe and Calhoun has been torn down to make room for the new office building.

What you may not know is that originally COT permitted the developer to remove all the trees on the site that line Calhoun Street. While these trees aren't Live Oaks, they do begin the canopy tunnel that makes that part of Calhoun what it is. The Lafayette Park Neighborhood Association got wind of this and tried to work w/COT to not remove the trees, however COT said it was already approved. Then by some stroke of luck, members of the neighborhood board realized that Calhoun is a COUNTY ROAD and therefore jurisdiction of the ROW of Calhoun is in COUNTY powers and not COT (I never knew that is how it worked.) The COUNTY understood the need for the trees on Calhoun and will not permitted them to be removed.

If you ride by the site, you'll see these trees are still standing thanks to the county. If 24 more hours would have gone by, these trees would have been gone. I believe this situation is a "win-win" for everyone. Score one for the County....which I rarely say.

[TD]

As I'm sure many of you are aware, the old blue house at the corner of T'ville,Monroe and Calhoun has been torn down to make room for the new office building.

What you may not know is that originally COT permitted the developer to remove all the trees on the site that line Calhoun Street. While these trees aren't Live Oaks, they do begin the canopy tunnel that makes that part of Calhoun what it is. The Lafayette Park Neighborhood Association got wind of this and tried to work w/COT to not remove the trees, however COT said it was already approved. Then by some stroke of luck, members of the neighborhood board realized that Calhoun is a COUNTY ROAD and therefore jurisdiction of the ROW of Calhoun is in COUNTY powers and not COT (I never knew that is how it worked.) The COUNTY understood the need for the trees on Calhoun and will not permitted them to be removed.

If you ride by the site, you'll see these trees are still standing thanks to the county. If 24 more hours would have gone by, these trees would have been gone. I believe this situation is a "win-win" for everyone. Score one for the County....which I rarely say.