Whither State Street?

[zenstyle]

I missed the bus this morning, so I hoofed it from my wee nest to the WYCA on Sheldon. Gorgeous morning!

As I was walking down State Street, I wondered why nothing's been happening along that stretch. It's one empty storefront after another, no landscaping to speak of, and quite depressing overall. Does anyone know if there's any kind of renewal program slated for that sad little street?

[GRDadof3]

I really like State Street myself. It would make for a great "transit oriented" development area, due to it's proximity to 2 or 3 bus lines, a proliferation of surface lots owned by St Mary's, and it's transitional area between Heritage Hill and downtown. I can imagine some mixed-use developments called "Altered State", "State of Grace", or "Icon on State ( ) JK on that last one.

We talked about this a bit at the PWCD meeting.

BTW: St Mary's is planning to build a big parking ramp at Jefferson & Cherry, so I'm hoping that it might open up some opportunities in that area to free up some lots.

[GR_Urbanist]

I walk State street on my way to work most of the week. It is an incredible little road that needs some serious TLC. Step 1 would be to get rid of Clark's Grocer.....um Liquor store and have a half way dignified grocery store located there. Right now, the current store is a real drag on the area. Step 2 is to line the street with two story, mixed-use buildings that fill in all of those parking lots.(btw, if you ever go down the street, look at the horrid concrete wall that St. Mary's uses to frame in one of their parking lots)

Step 3 is to dump the meters and add a DASH stop or two for the area.