A new look for proposed LaVilla Daily's gas station

[jaxlongtimer]

This thing was cooked up a couple of years ago when Brian Hughes was the head of DIA. It was purposely included in the zoning update to allow a mixed-use gas station with 16 pumps.....specifically in LaVilla.

Need to check and see if Daily's made donations to Curry's campaigns.  Might be a connection if so  .  That's the "establishment" way of doing things that Daniel Davis would have perpetuated and why Jax isn't further along compared to its rivals.

[thelakelander]

I'm out of town but I hear that Hughes came to yesterday's meeting in support of the Daily's team. When the team found out that the agenda item would be deferred, many of them left.

[Zac T]

After being deferred for a month, the Daily's is on the agenda for final approval. DDRB staff is recommending approval even though the site plan has not changed at all

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2023/aug/18/lavilla-dailys-on-ddrb-agenda-for-final-approval/

[thelakelander]

According to the DIA staff, they claim that the Daily's team is still evaluating the changes that were provided to them after the deferral. It will be interesting to see if they do anything or try to push through the current plan.

[WAJAS]

According to the DIA staff, they claim that the Daily's team is still evaluating the changes that were provided to them after the deferral. It will be interesting to see if they do anything or try to push through the current plan.

Are those changes publicly accessible?

I don't understand the parking deviation. The 7-Eleven on Main St. is successful with minimal onsite parking. Removing the unnecessary spots from the Daily's plan would give enough space to extend the building along the full-length of Broad or Bay, which would allow a decreased deviation for street frontage.

Also, building gas stations in an urban environment isn't a unique thing. I'm amazed the developer submitted the original design as though it was appropriate.

[thelakelander]

I will get it uploaded this weekend, along with a rendering.

[thelakelander]

Basically, the recommendation is to shift the building closer to Bay and Broad Streets, to (1) create a second retail building pad and (2) activate the full block of Broad Street. So going from this:



To this:



Broad is seen as the primary north-south street, while Jefferson is viewed as the secondary street. Through preserving what's left and strictly calling for pedestrian scale infill new development along Broad, it is envisioned that a Jax version of Columbus' High Street (through Short North and pictured below) can be achieved as opposed to LaVilla becoming an autocentric extension of Brooklyn's Riverside Avenue.

[WAJAS]

I was intending on speaking against this development at the upcoming board meeting as a resident of downtown (Brooklyn). If the changes you mention are occurring, then I'd be more forgivable on the deviations they're granted.

I'm of the opinion that almost any development is good development with the amount of empty lots in downtown, but the developer has to make an effort to fit within the context. I'm not expecting any miracles here, like a multistory-multiuse development with a gas station on the 1st floor.

[Zac T]

I agree. While in a perfect world, I'd love to not have a gas station on this site, if they push for the newer site plan with the additional retail then I do believe it would be an overall net positive for this block

[Jax_Developer]

This project is really one of the more depressing ones as of recent. The fact that the developer team is local too is what is the icing on the cake for me. A 1+ acre DT site, is going to be a spread out gas station.. not a compact urban station, but rather a massive spread out gas station that rivals those in St Johns county (with some lovely surface parking). And, they want curb cuts at every street. The whole thing is just sad. Hard to imagine any other gas station corporation, other than GATE, being able to bully something like this through.

[thelakelander]

^I think the JTA project across the street is worse but it (Daily's) is an example of the struggle we face in building a vibrant downtown.

This stuff (urban site planning and downtown revitalization) isn't rocket science. It's actually pretty easy with that becomes the primary focus. Unfortunately, we've set a precedent where its a struggle just to get the basics right.

While I'd expect this with some of the development teams (most know better, but just do what their client tells them to or they get fired), the failure in the past has been on the public end, as we've helped facilitate poor urban development practices, just for the sake of getting something done and/or political pressures (sometimes for very petty reasons). I'm really hopeful that the recent council and mayoral administration changes will ultimately result in better standards from COJ to guide proper development.

[WAJAS]

^I think the JTA project across the street is worse but it (Daily's) is an example of the struggle we face in building a vibrant downtown.

This stuff (urban site planning and downtown revitalization) isn't rocket science. It's actually pretty easy with that becomes the primary focus. Unfortunately, we've set a precedent where its a struggle just to get the basics right.

While I'd expect this with some of the development teams (most know better, but just do what their client tells them to or they get fired), the failure in the past has been on the public end, as we've helped facilitate poor urban development practices, just for the sake of getting something done and/or political pressures (sometimes for very petty reasons). I'm really hopeful that the recent council and mayoral administration changes will ultimately result in better standards from COJ to guide proper development.

It's objectively hilarious that JTA, the organization tasked with encouraging and planning TOD, is building a surface lot and shack less than a block away from a Skyway and 'BRT' station.

[thelakelander]

It just shows that much of that TOD talk is hot air. They aren't experts at TOD.

[Jax_Developer]

When it's phrased like that, damn lol.. I 100% agree tho, I'm hopeful the JTA project won't happen. Maybe I'll be wrong on that one. This one seems for sure happening this way. The combo of the two is a real one two.

[jcjohnpaint]

What is wrong with the resubmitted rendering? Daily's in the 4th dimension?