The Power of Urban Design: A Gas Station Transformed

[CS Foltz]

Be cheaper to hire "Urban Outdoorsmen".........have them hold hands and stand where needed! Need a change in the look............have them turn around!

[Coolyfett]

nice one TUFSU.....linking a mosque and FBC together! very clever!!!haha all the FBC haters just need to move on. The church isnt going anywhere so get over it!

FBC supporter?

[tufsu1]

not me coolyfett.

[Coolyfett]

lol First Baptist attendees are gonna be mad about that. I always see people flooding that lot on Sundays going to church.

let em use the Skyway

[Coolyfett]

lol urbanknight. I personally don't have a problem with FBC other than how they've been allowed to spawn all over downtown. It's beyond me why a city would allow any church to occupy so much space in a downtown area. I don't really think you can talk about downtown and new development without bringing them into the conversation because no matter where you build, some property they own will be nearby. As far as the gas station goes, yeah it would have been nice to have it in another area downtown if possible. Maybe Bay or Forsyth if there was any available lots. The Shell station is what it is. I'm not there to hang out or socialize, so I don't have a problem getting out to get gas or even running inside when I absolutely have to. Maybe you need to practice your 'mean' face fsujax.

Im sure the church got the land when the original owners sold it to them during white flight. Northbank still has plenty of spots the church does not own though.

[videojon]

What's the status of this gas station?

[brainstormer]

Yikes!!! Who else saw this today?  This is terrible.  All of the positive revisions and now this?  Especially after the thread on here that showed all of the urban 7-Eleven pics.  This proposal sounds like all of the urban features have been eliminated for more suburban crap.  This must be stopped!

7-Eleven planned Downtown
12/05/2011

by Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor
The 7-Eleven Inc. chain of convenience stores plans to return to the Jacksonville market in 2012 and one of the first sites confirmed is Downtown.

Margaret Chabris, the Texas-based director of corporate communications, said Friday that the chain planned to open multiple stores in Northeast Florida and that one site is under review at State and Main streets.

“I can confirm that 7-Eleven Inc. is interested in a site in Downtown Jacksonville,” Chabris said in an email.

“We are in the due diligence phase, meaning we are seeking permits, licensing and other approvals,” she said.

The store is shown on site plans filed with the Downtown Development Review Board, which is scheduled to meet Thursday. Plans show a rendering for a 7-Eleven store at 9 E. Union St., where another gas and convenience store has been proposed.

The site is bordered by Union, Main and State streets.

The review board, part of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, is scheduled to consider amendments to the proposed “Bahri Gas and Convenience Store” along Union and Main streets.

The project received final approvals with conditions in August 2010 but has not been built.

On Thursday, the board will hear about the project again. Board documents show the site is under contract for sale to a new owner and amendments to the final plan are requested to meet the requirements of the new owner.

Site plans show a 7-Eleven. The chain has 43,800 convenience stores worldwide and 7,000 in the United States, according to the company.

Chabris, at Dallas headquarters, said in a telephone interview Friday that the chain intends to return to the Jacksonville market with multiple stores, starting next year.

She said one is under construction in Orange Park at Blanding Boulevard and Constitution Avenue.

Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum Co. bought the 28 area 7-Eleven stores in 1990 and converted them to Gate Food Posts. Chabris said the noncompete clause with Gate has expired.

“We just think the timing is right for 7-Eleven particularly,” she said.

Chabris said the chain, which is privately held by a company based in Japan, intended to open 650 stores in 2011 in the U.S. and Canada.

“We have been on an accelerated growth plan,” she said.

The new locations in the Jacksonville area will be announced early next year, she said.

“We have targeted many areas for growth and we believe Jacksonville would be a good place for us to come back to and we see some good opportunities,” she said.

Last year, the chain announced the acquisition of 183 Exxon Mobil Corp. stores in Orlando and South Florida and has been converting those.

Chabris said the investment costs for a 7-Eleven depend on several factors, including whether it is converted or newly built. Each store employs an average of 8-10 people, she said.

Bloomberg News reported a year ago that 7-Eleven planned to spend $250,000 to $500,000 a store to remodel the Exxon locations in Florida over the following two years.

According to the Downtown Development Review Board documents, the new developer proposes to reduce the proposed Bahri structure from a 4,400-square-foot building to 3,000 square feet; eliminate the proposed outside seating facing Union Street; eliminate the canopy connecting the building to the gas pumps while keeping the canopy over the gas pumps; amending the sign package to reflect the brand; and reducing the square footage of the signage from the approved design.

Documents also show the applicant wants approval for multiple signs on the building’s State, Main and Union street sides and it wants to eliminate the entrances on the Main Street and Union Street frontages.

Among other action items, the board also is scheduled to consider final review of the Greyhound Terminal design.

The meeting is scheduled 2 p.m. Thursday at the Police and Fire Pension Fund Building at 1 W. Adams St. Downtown.

kmathis@baileypub.com


http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=535077

[Timkin]

Im trying to picture this location . is this the lot next to the vacant S A Kyle Funeral Home?

[Timkin]

I now see the initial post.  It is .