Sustainability Spotlight: Land Development and Mobility

Land Development and Mobility

GOAL: Facilitate land development patterns, transportation options, and building practices that support the City’s sustainability goals.

FOCUS AREAS:

Development in the Mobility District and Other Urban Areas
Green Building
Green Industry and Infrastructure
Alternative Transportation

Urban Infill

Infill development is a vital sustainability tool the City uses to optimize land use in urban areas and help minimize urban sprawl. Encouraging revitalization of already developed areas can help reduce environmental impacts and support options for alternative transportation. Some projects of note that are currently under construction include:

Former Northwood Centre - This 29.5-acre site is actively under construction and will be home to the new Tallahassee Police Department headquarters. Additionally, the site presents opportunities for new green space, community amenities and other economic development projects.

Gaines Street - The transformation of Gaines Street is the City’s quintessential infill success story. In its former role as a dated warehouse and industrial corridor, Gaines Street was underutilized. Numerous apartment complexes and businesses have been built in recent years, and several additional developments are actively under construction.

West Tennessee Street - This corridor has become a focal point for infill projects, which are either under construction or about to begin, including The Hub (366 housing units), Tallahassee Village (203 housing units) and Leo Tallahassee (277 housing units and a 148-room hotel).

E-Scooter

The City’s electric scooter program continues to be a popular transportation alternative for short trips in the downtown area. In 2024, the program resulted in:

74,667 e-scooter rides
82,124 miles traveled, which resulted in an estimated 3,285 to 4,517 kg of CO2 emissions avoided.

Public Transit Infrastructure

The City’s public transit department, StarMetro, continued to stay busy in 2024, starting construction on the new Southside Transit Center while simultaneously improving C.K. Steele Plaza. By coordinating the move of Greyhound and FlixBus services to the City’s centrally located transit center, residents and visitors will benefit from increased connectivity and access to affordable transportation options for years to come.

Construction of the Southside Transit Center, located at the northwest corner of Orange Avenue and Meridian Street, is scheduled to be completed in 2025. This transit center represents a huge leap forward in providing sustainable transit alternatives for residents and visitors. StarMetro is committed to continuing outreach efforts with the community as these transformative projects move forward, ensuring additional opportunities for residents to provide input.

Conceptual Renders of the South Side Transit Center Building
The Southside Transit Center will be equipped with many amenities including: 8 NEW bus bays, the ability to withstand a Category 3 Hurricane, ADA compliance standards, a family-friendly universal design, and a community room available to the public.

Student Ridership

StarMetro proudly provided over 120,000 free bus trips to K-12 students during the 2023/2024 school year as part of its Student Transportation for Academics and Responsibilities (STAR) Program.

StarMetro has served FSU students, faculty and staff for over four decades through the Seminole Express and Night Nole, which has been fully electric since 2019. StarMetro also provides fixed route service to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and Tallahassee State College (TSC) students.