Adaptive Reuse: Norfolk's Waterside District

Some look at the Jacksonville Landing as a failure that's past its prime and believe that taxpayers should pay to demolish the complex, evicting several businesses from the downtown core without the serious consideration of adaptive reuse. When creativity and vision is allowed to enter the redevelopment discussion, structurally sound buildings from failed concepts can become viable destinations of activity. With this in mind, Norfolk's Waterside District is a festival marketplace concept that failed twice. Despite those failures, it has now become one of the most popular attractions in the downtown core.

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Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com. Photographs courtesy of Waterside District’s Facebook Page.