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Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges
This study found that overall, less new development occurred within the historic districts and that majority of the entire study area has maintained its historically low scale character with high integrity over time. The community in the study area is active in supporting preservation, and is concerned with perpetuating the existence of the historic storefront typology. However, their efforts to keep these character defining features evident in the area sometimes come at the cost of creating “historicized” storefronts that are loosely based on evidence of original fabric. This lack of protection is due to the superficial nature and unenforced guidelines dictating the special purpose district along Atlantic Avenue.
While the study area has a great history of foreign-born and diverse ethnic groups that helped shape the area into what it is today, our data indicates that there is both a decrease in the overall ethnic diversity of residents as well as a decrease in the density of said residents, as is evident in recent trends of row houses conversion from multifamily to single-family homes. Affordability in this area remains an issue, and is underscored by this conversion of homes, as well as the difficulty of local businesses in paying the rent for their storefronts along the commercial corridors and an increase in the number of chain stores.
These findings highlight the challenges and opportunities in the area. The challenges facing the study area include: how to deal with the rising commercial rents that make it difficult for small businesses to remain valuable and competitive, how to maintain the low scale building stock but increase population density, and how to recognize the various communities that helped to shape the area into what it is today. Opportunities for the study area rest with the strong sense of community that is heavily invested in preservation and in the local businesses, which is a strong source of support upon which to draw, the implementation of ZQA as an incentive to build more affordable housing, and recent strides by the Landmarks Commission in recognizing cultural heritage (such as in the case of Stonewall Inn) and important social histories. 233 Court Street Source: student photograph
