Peyton Suggests Ball Fields for JEA Site

[BridgeTroll]

As a start we should extend the Riverwalk the length of the property.  This would preserve public access regardless of future development.  That side of the Riverwalk is about to be renovated anyway...

[thelakelander]

ROW can be preserved without paying to extend the riverwalk through access easements.  I would not spend one red dime for any type of infrastructure on the JEA property until a plan for its future is developed, accepted and adopted. We have limited financial resources.  The money we do have should be spent on connectivity, clustering complementing uses and building density.  Like Metropolitan Park, the JEA site is not centrally located.  In fact, its more isolated than Metropolitan Park.  The downtown we see today is a result of not clustering and spreading our financial resources too thin.  If we truly believe that density creates synergy, our financial focus should be on projects that promote these urban characteristics in an effort to stimulate additional clustered economic development.    

[mtraininjax]

I wonder how serious he was or if it was just him being courteous on a radio show.

I am amazed he makes public appearances still. After all he has no money, no real courageous vision, and plans to leave office with the same hot air he arrived with.

What a wasted 8 years.

[stjr]

Why would you take a property that can be taxed and turn it into non-taxing status?

Mtrain, you are failing to take into account that properties bordering public areas like this can become just as valuable or more so as if they were built on the park site itself.  As long as such "towers" have unobstructed views of the waterfront looking over the park site, value and demand may be enhanced, not diminished by the presence of a park.  This may actually be an opportunity to have our cake and eat it to.

Roads, football stadiums, arenas, schools, fire stations, police facilities, airports, and all other public properties are taken off the tax rolls everyday to provide value that enhances the surrounding community.  It is no different for parks.

[thelakelander]

I'm all for the JEA site eventually incorporating public space and private development.  That would be an opportunity to have our cake and eat it to.

[JeffreyS]

Here were the plans in 2005
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122905/met_20677898.shtml

Published Thursday, December 29, 2005


Developer's picture of the Southbank



By JOE LIGHT
The Times-Union,


A barren, 42-acre stretch of riverfront property on the Southbank will become a mixed-use urban village with condominiums, office and retail space if the developer is able to move forward with its plans to revive the former site of the JEA Southside Generating Station.

Cowford Riverfront LLC, a joint venture of Daniel Corp. and Case Pomeroy Properties, revealed that it plans to construct 2,000 condominiums and townhomes, a 300-room hotel, 215,000 square feet of office space, 350,000 square feet of retail, and a 600-slip marina. The site would also include almost 10 acres of open space.

"You can't compare it to anything in Jacksonville now," said Douglas McNeill, president of Case Pomeroy Properties.
But several stumbling blocks could quash the deal. Most notably, an issue of access has threatened to derail the project. Duval County School Board officials, whose headquarters is adjacent to the site, have not yet agreed to allow the developer to create an access road through School Board property, said Nancy Kilgo, the JEA director of government relations. But both JEA and Cowford officials are hopeful the issue will be resolved soon.

The School Board issue was just the latest setback to plague the riverfront property, which has remained undeveloped for four years since the JEA decommissioned the Southside Generating Station in 2001. A previous deal between the JEA, The St. Joe Co. and Haskell fell through last year. The JEA reopened the site for bidding in March, and Cowford won the right to purchase the property for $40.6 million last May.

The dispute over access first erupted in October. Since that time, Kilgo said that the parties have discussed several options for the access road, including the purchase of the road property.

Because School Board officials were initially concerned about a road splitting their waterfront location, JEA officials have floated the idea of purchasing the property that is cut off from the School Board building and then selling that property to the developer, she said.

"We're looking at several options with them but are still in a review stage of the negotiations," Kilgo said.

She said she hoped to meet with School Board officials early next year to discuss the specifics of a solution.

Retail space: Plans call for 350,000 square feet of retail, which is about a third the size of The Avenues mall. A 600-slip marina also is planned. Rendering provided by Daniel Corp.

"In the very beginning, they hadn't thought too much about it," she said, referring to the School Board's initial refusal to grant access. "This kind of thing was all new to them."

For Cowford to close on its purchase of the property in early May, JEA and School Board officials must resolve the access issue, McNeill said.

Officials from the facilities division of the School Board did not return a message seeking comment left on the division's general voice mail. The division is on vacation until next week. A message left on the cell phone of Karen Kuhlmann, the general director of facilities planning for the School Board, was not returned.

But even if the School Board and JEA work out a deal, the city must also obtain several permits or state designations for development to progress.

The city submitted those applications in the past two weeks, said Ron Barton, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.

Cowford officials also submitted an application to rezone the property as a planned-unit development on Wednesday, said company spokesman Michael Munz. A PUD allows a developer greater flexibility by allowing deviations from the typical design standards required by traditional zoning.

Despite the uncertainty, Cowford officials have moved forward with the planning and design of the development, Munz said.

If the closing takes place in May, construction could begin as early as next summer, Munz said.

The proposed development, tentatively called the San Marco Riverfront District, would contain several condominium towers approaching 20 stories and a townhome neighborhood on the east portion of the property, he said.

Housing: Developers plan to construct 2,000 condominiums and townhomes and the site would include several condominium towers approaching 20 stories. Rendering provided by Daniel Corp.

The Riverwalk would extend through the site's 4 acres of wetlands and circle the development.

The community's architecture would incorporate elements from the San Marco and St. Nicholas neighborhoods, he said.

Officials for Cowford, which is the master developer, are in talks with residential and commercial developers but have not settled on specific developers for the community's various components, Munz said.

Councilwoman Suzanne Jenkins, whose district includes the site, said that she is happy with what she has seen so far.

"It's been a long time coming," she said. "I'm looking forward to receiving community input on their ideas."

Barton said that JEDC officials are scheduled to meet with Cowford representatives next week to discuss the project. The developer has not asked for city incentives, he said.

"They seem anxious to move forward with their development," he said. "I would classify them as highly motivated."

joe.lightjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4689

[thelakelander]

San Marco Riverfront District: The dead JEA property proposal:

[thelakelander]

San Marco Village: The dead Wyndham Hotel property project

[tufsu1]

Imo, the JEA site would be best used for a mix of uses instead of one dominant use.

Lake - You get the gold star. Peyton is dumb as mud, and so are his ideas. 18 months cannot come soon enough. Why would you take a property that can be taxed and turn it into non-taxing status? His intellect is clearly on the demise....

I think he is floating it as a temporary use...until the private market returns

[mtraininjax]

Mtrain, you are failing to take into account that properties bordering public areas like this can become just as valuable or more so as if they were built on the park site itself.  As long as such "towers" have unobstructed views of the waterfront looking over the park site, value and demand may be enhanced, not diminished by the presence of a park.  This may actually be an opportunity to have our cake and eat it to.

Cake and eat it to, that does not occur here and I really don't see it happening here with this property. We can dream, but then again, we have enough dreamers on rail, why not add park space to it as well?

The costs to spend and turn these into ball fields and soccer, while not as much as the 20+ million for the other downtown improvements, would still need to be voted on by the council. With the budget issues coming up, I am amazed Peyton would lobby for things he has no money for. The council controls the fate of the next 18 months. Lobby them for ballfields and soccer, my bet is that they are not willing to waste taxpayer funds right now, and I see this as a waste, for now, without taxable revenue coming in to cover it.

[reednavy]

Bleh, glad the San Marco Village never happened. I'm saddened that the San Marco Riverfront didn't, as Daniel Corp. has a healthy track record, including the still evolving 12th and Midtown in Midtown Atlanta.

[copperfiend]

Bleh, glad the San Marco Village never happened. I'm saddened that the San Marco Riverfront didn't, as Daniel Corp. has a healthy track record, including the still evolving 12th and Midtown in Midtown Atlanta.

Agreed.

[JeffreyS]

That is a site that will see private money someday lets use the public money somewhere else.

[Captain Zissou]

That is a site that will see private money someday lets use the public money somewhere else.

I agree.  The proposal for that site looks wonderful, it's sad it never came to be.  What a waste.  Could a stronger mayor have forced the School Board to cooperate, or does it not work that way??

[JeffreyS]

I am sure we just did not realize how fast the developement projects would come to a hault. The school board should feel real shame for not playing ball on that one.