St. Joe Big Box development comes to SoWal

[avalon]

I don't believe I have ever seen an elevated "Big Box" type store. Is there any precedent for this line of thinking? Parking lots, located on the street-side of the store, don't bother me that much. I can't see how elevating a Wal-Mart is better for the look of 98. Maybe some "buffer" landscaping can help.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Target in Buckhead, across from the fancy mall, not Lenox, is elevated, in the second and third levels of a parking garage. They have a shopping cart escalator. I guess it can be done.

 

[beachmouse]

There's a multistory big box complex with attached parking garage in Tampa where Whole Foods and Petsmart have the ground floor, and Target has the second story.

Since it's going to cost a lot more to do it that way, it probably only makes sense when you're talking an urban infil parcel where land costs would otherwise be too high rather than normal greenfield development.

Also, it'd decidedly a higher elevation monolithic building and would look out of scale unless there were other multistory buildings right nearby.

 

[melscuba]

Target in Buckhead, across from the fancy mall, not Lenox, is elevated, in the second and third levels of a parking garage. They have a shopping cart escalator. I guess it can be done.

It's that way at a Target in East Cobb/Marietta too....elevated Target, parking underneath, shopping cart elevator. It works.

 

[Matt J]

I don't believe I have ever seen an elevated "Big Box" type store. Is there any precedent for this line of thinking? Parking lots, located on the street-side of the store, don't bother me that much. I can't see how elevating a Wal-Mart is better for the look of 98. Maybe some "buffer" landscaping can help.

The whole point of elevating it and providing parking under is to decrease the amount of parking needed around the building. Thus you can leave more "buffer" in place.

If you clear cut everything it will take 20-30 years for the trees they plant to create a buffer. If they don't have to clear already tall pine trees then the buffer is already there.