In areas lacking hipster-haven status , the rebirth of depressed industrial areas often struggle with downward pressure from a neighboring downtown district who ' s redevelopment economy isn ' t yet firing on all cylinders . This raises debate as to whether public investment in adjacent depressed neighborhoods serves to siphon away investment potential from the core of downtown . Novice urbanists might argue this point in a race for resources in which any funds spent outside the perceived core threaten investment in downtown proper . This perspective is flawed and highly dependent upon the local market . If core revitalization opportunities exist , but are sluggish due to overinflated building prices , development in downtown proper is unlikely to take root due to the increased risk and limited return on investment . With the entry of a new frontier of development potential , perceptions of property value can change with new opportunities entering a limited marketplace . Further , the flexible floor plates of wide open industrial spaces are malleable enough to accommodate just about any modern use , including manufacturing activities like brewing , niche clothing fabrication , food service , and restaurants . These industrial spaces fill the " missing middle " of commercial space , bridging the gap between food truck or garage workshop and class A lease spaces . These lower rent districts give budding entrepreneurs a place where rents haven ' t outpaced the bootstrap ambition driving small cap business investments .
While the conversion of industrial buildings is relatively efficient for a diversity of uses , the infrastructure surrounding these spaces oftentimes isn ' t structured to support significant densification and walkability that accompanies mixed-use development . Streets with larger block structures accommodated semi-trailer deliveries but didn ' t contemplate cyclists or pedestrians in large numbers . Rail-served industrial sites border low volume tracks with slow moving freight delivered to fewer and fewer manufacturers . Overly wide streets enabled larger amounts of traffic to pulse through these growing areas , but the slow transition of infrastructure from old to new uses can leave early arrivals with a mixed bag of safety as some industries hold on despite the gentrification of the marketplace .
Figure 3 - Plan view demonstrating how a low traffic rail spur could accommodate additional pedestrian uses while connecting workers and residents to different attractions within the district via pedestrian and bicycle pathways . ( Courtesy DHM Design )
Conversion of street corridors into multimodal transportation passages is a critical step in legitimizing the transformation process . Establishing linkages to core population and job centers with these emerging districts signals that the long-term evolution is supported by local government
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