What Jacksonville could learn from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

What does the nation’s first Naval shipyard and adaptive reuse have to do with the resurgence of Jacksonville? Maybe plenty.

History

Since the early 1800’s, the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard or “Navy Yard”, was the hub for major naval construction and maintenance in the United States. That is, until 1995, when the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) closed almost all of the Navy activities there. The city was left with dozens of abandoned buildings and more than 1,000 acres of waterfront property.

Adaptive Reuse

Enter the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID). In 2000, the PAID acquired 1,000 acres of the Navy yard on behalf of the City of Philadelphia. Since that time, more than $130 million in publicly funded infrastructure improvements has leveraged in excess of $700 million in new private investment.

By gutting and retrofitting many of the massive brick buildings on the Yard, the city has turned once seemingly unattractive, run-down spaces into hip, modern, environmentally-conscious offices, manufacturing spaces, restaurants, hotels and green spaces, while maintaining the historical uniqueness of the property. By offering substantial incentives, they’ve attracted tenants’ headquarters such as Urban Outfitters, GlaxoSmithKline, Mark Group, and Iroko Pharmaceuticals.

According to the Navy Yard Master Plan, “The Navy Yard is a dynamic, urban campus filled with energy, innovative ideas, and rich history, united together on the waterfront. Spanning over 1,200 acres, this sustainable, progressive campus is built around collaboration, business growth, and partnership between the more than 143 companies located here…The Master Plan allows for a vibrant mixed-use campus, based on historic preservation, sustainability, and smart growth. The Plan's vision includes environmentally friendly workplaces, notable architecture, industrial development, great public spaces, waterfront amenities, improved mass transit, and residential development. Due to the incredible growth of The Navy Yard, a 2013 update was released, building upon the successes to date, with an expanded vision of what's to come. At full build-out, The Navy Yard will support up to 13.5 million square feet of development, 30,000 people, and over $3 billion in private investment. With this Plan as a guide, The Navy Yard is planning for the future.”

While Jacksonville doesn’t have quite the same space to take advantage of, we do have several historical properties on the downtown riverbank that may lend themselves to such adaptive reuse. The Old Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant comes to mind. At 160,000 SF, it could certainly be adapted for mixed use much like the Navy Yard.

Maybe we can learn something from Philly. This type of adaptive reuse is working in other parts of the country too, even in places like Washington D.C., where nothing gets done. Admittedly, the city has to aggressively promote the idea and provide the necessary climate to attract major players to the table. 

Maybe. Just maybe.