A new look for RD River City Brewing project

[thelakelander]

Miami-based Related Group will seek conceptual approval from the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) for a mixed use project on the current site of the Southbank's River City Brewing restaurant on March 25th. The latest concept is a dramatic modification from an early resort-style design that received negative feedback in January. Let us know what you think about the new design.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/a-new-look-for-rd-river-city-brewing-project/

[jaxlongtimer]

Thanks for sharing, Ennis.

This looks far better than the original concept.  That said, I still would like to see this publicly owned land stay that way and be utilized as riverfront green space/public access with apartments set back much further/across the street.

I also note that the zone B and C height restriction zones are, respectively by their own documents, supposed to be 45 and 75 feet.  Yet they are asking to go to, respectively, 88'4" and 80'5".  This is exactly one of my other concerns:  We are letting too much height too close to the river.  What is the point in having setback standards if we are not going to adhere to them.  Knowing this city has no backbone, it is another reason why we shouldn't even consider these projects on (especially public) riverfront parcels.

[acme54321]

This is definitely an improvement.  It also looks like they finally realized that the way they had the boat ramp configured in the original proposal wasn't going to work.

[marcuscnelson]

It'd still be better if they could cut the front half (towards the river) of the building off and stack it on top of the other half. But this does seem less... monolithic than the previous design. Breaking up the massing is definitely a good move. I think the flatter roof helps too.

[Alex Sifakis]

This is so much better. I think it looks great, actually.

For those saying they would like the building pushed off the river and twice the height... I agree in a perfect world, unfortunately that building would not currently (or in future, without stepping stone projects like this) get built in jax. This is a great project for Jax's downtown and the waterfront, and getting Related here is a big win for jax - they lend a ton of credibility and will attract other regional and national developers to the market.

[heights unknown]

I like it; not tall enough for a 1 million pop city, but beggars won't be choosy; I'll take it.

[marcuscnelson]

This is so much better. I think it looks great, actually.

For those saying they would like the building pushed off the river and twice the height... I agree in a perfect world, unfortunately that building would not currently (or in future, without stepping stone projects like this) get built in jax. This is a great project for Jax's downtown and the waterfront, and getting Related here is a big win for jax - they lend a ton of credibility and will attract other regional and national developers to the market.

A man can dream, Alex. After all, we don't often get more than one chance to define our riverfront (unless climate change does us some very expensive favors). But yes, I suppose we can't make perfect the enemy of good. It's still a substantive improvement.

[DTWD_NW904]

I like the concept and this will definitely be an improvement to the area. Hopefully everything will go well and shovel will actually hit the ground something soon

[Captain Zissou]

It's a great improvement, but those east and west elevations are still massive and pretty uniform.  I was outraged at the last rendering, but I'm only mildly underwhelmed by this one. 

I'd love to know what is going on the museum property before this gets too far down the road.  I doubt the city has a plan, but will it at least remain a public use?  This used to be a cultural and educational hub, but if that property flips to private use then I worry that Friendship park will be less frequented and fall further into disrepair.  I know there are plans to spruce it up, but there have been plans for various parks for decades that remain unchanged.

[thelakelander]

^This is one of those things where a good master plan that lays out what will happen (and when) with public property comes into play. I hope it stays in public hands and is revamped into another cultural destination for downtown. Everyone has ideas but no one has money to invest in the construction of a new building, which is why adaptive reuse should get more play in this community. We made a mistake tearing down the Landing and City Hall Annex. I'm hoping we'll learn and do better when the next opportunity arises.

[Jagsdrew]

Maybe with more residential near the fountain, more noise from residents to the city & council will keep them accountable for maintaining the fountain but I laugh as I type this response.

[hightowerlover]

I don't like the flat roof personally, I think the other one definitely reads more resort, but I didn't think that was a bad thing.  This is Florida after all.  I'm not a fan of all the lack of character of rooflines in most residential buildings going up lately around the country.  Something to break up the monotony in the skyline gave it a little more interest. Plus with Jacksonville demolishing uniquely shaped architecture it was a welcome addition to me.

[Jagsdrew]

I just saw something in the renderings that I don't like which is the location of the pool right along the riverwalk facing DT. I don't think that's the best use of the area and should be opened to more public greenspace and/or outdoor seating with a restaurant or something.

[jaxjags]

With the asymmetrical building design, extensive courtyards, varied balcony sizes, and architectural exterior elements, I think the final product will be much better and a two dimensional rendering can provide. This is much better than the original and some of the Tampa examples shown here previously. Have to give them credit for doing what was asked, and not just changing the building color or roof design.

[martt12]

Where do you guys think they'll put the new RC brewery?  I have a feeling that they'll  try the place it in shipyards or close to the entertainment district area.