Huge new development proposed on Fishweir Creek and St. John's Ave

[Dog Walker]

Chase Properties owner Michael Balanky has a rezoning proposal submitted to the City to move the Commander Apartments and the adjacent shopping center from CCG to PUD.  Chase is the current owner of the property.

He wants to tear down the Commander Apartments and the shopping center which have about 150,000 sq ft of floor space and replace it with a single, mixed-use building with 600,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and high density residential space.


http://maps.coj.net/luzap/SearchLandUsePublic.aspx

Click on "Search Land Use" tab on the side and insert PUD number 2013C-010 to see the status and meeting notices.

The PUD designation is necessary as this is in the Riverside/Avondale Zoning Overlay area.

I have a PDF of the full application and can PM it to anyone interested as I do not know how to post a PDF file or a link to one in the forum.  Advice on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.

[ben says]

Commander needs to go. Great news if it pans out.

[tayana42]

Speaking as a home owner on St Johns Avenue two blocks from this planned development, I do not welcome such a massive structure on this two lane residential street; yes, it's commercial directly in front of the development, but immediately north it becomes residential. 

I'd like to see the DOT traffic count on St Johns and see an estimate of the expected increase in traffic.  With a 5 story parking garage, double the current commercial space, and more than double the number of apartments, I think it's reasonable to expect that it's going to have a significant traffic impact. 

[Dog Walker]

Here's an excerpt from the message alerting me to the project:

The public Preview Workshop for the proposed land use amendment for the shopping center will be held downtown on Monday, April 29, 2013, at 4:00 p.m. at the Ed Ball Building at 214 North Hogan Street.  The Preview Workshop is hosted by the City of Jacksonville Planning and Development Department.  Please attend, if possible.  You may ask the applicant questions about the proposed land use amendment and the companion zoning application.

THE COMPANION ZONING APPLICATION REQUESTS A NEW PUD FOR THE PROPERTY (BOTH THE SHOPPING CENTER AND THE COMMANDER APARTMENTS).  UNDER THE NEW PUD, THE SITE WOULD BE RAISED - KA BOOM (DEMOLISHING ALL OF THE CURRENT STRUCTURES) - TO START FROM SCRATCH TO BUILD A NEW HUGE DEVELOPMENT!

The current square footage of the Commander Apartments and the shopping center combined is about 150,000 square feet.  The total square footage of the proposed development will be nearly 600,000 square feet!  The proposed development will be a mixed use project with HDR ("high density residential") zoning, which will integrate office/professional/commercial space into 25% of the total square footage.

[Kaiser Soze]

Commander needs to go. Great news if it pans out.

Its way too intense for that area. 

[Dog Walker]

How does this compare in size/scale with the two mixed use developments going into Brooklyn?  They have a 4 lane road on one side and a 6 lane road on the other.

[thelakelander]

I have a PDF of the full application and can PM it to anyone interested as I do not know how to post a PDF file or a link to one in the forum.  Advice on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.

Here you go:

[Jumpinjack]

Looking at the map. Who knows what the PUD designation in the creek is for? Will the development extend over the creek or will there be a marina or docks?

[thelakelander]

^Those maps are the existing land use categories and zoning districts.  According the graphic, a new PUD is proposed to replace the existing PUD zoning districts on the site.

[Dog Walker]

Thanks for the help, Ennis!

[Trixie]

The proposed development for the Commander Apartments and shopping center combined is being referred to as the "St. Johns Village Center".  The land is outside the Riverside/Avondale historic district, but is inside the 2008 Riverside/Avondale Overlay.  Here's a link to the Riverside/Avondale Zoning Overlay:

http://library.municode.com/HTML/12174/level4/ZOSE_CH656ZOCO_PT3SCDIRE_SPORIAVZOOV.html#TOPTITLE

The Preview Workshop on April 29th concerns the proposed land use amendment regarding the shopping center portion of the property, application number 2013C-010.  The current zoning for the the shopping center is "CGC" (Community/General Commercial) and the applicant seeks to change it to "HDR" (High Density Residential).  Under the HDR zoning, I believe you can build up to 60 units per acre and may develop a mixed use project, provided that the non-residential uses of the property are integrated into the residential uses.  The adjacent Commander Apartments is currently zoned "HDR".  You may contact Kristen Reed at the City Planning Department at (904) 255-7837 for more information.

The "Companion Zoning Application" that goes with the application for the proposed land use amendment for the shopping center is a Planned Unit Development ("PUD") that concerns both the Commander Apartments and the shopping center.  The proposed PUD has not received a PUD number, nor has it been filed on-line yet with the City because the application has not yet been completed to the City's satisfaction.  (Per a City Planner, it is likely the PUD application will be completed in the next couple of weeks.)  The tracking number for the Companion Zoning Application is 353.  You may contact Andy Hetzel at the City Planning Department at (904) 255-7821 for more information.  (The PUD proposed for the redevelopment of this property in 2005 was 2005-1330-E, which was passed by City Council, prior to the enactment of the 2008 Riverside/Avondale Overlay.)

Per my conversation with a City Planner last week, in the new PUD, the applicant seeks to build a mixed use development with 25% of the total square footage to consist of office/professional/commercial uses.  Since the proposed development consists of nearly 600,000 square feet, that means about 150,000 square feet of the proposed development would be for office/professional/commercial uses, as compared to the less than 44,000 square feet of the current shopping center - ack.  (Keep in mind, too, the current shopping center appears to be underutilized and may even have vacancies in this floundering economy, so it's likely not even a true reflection of traffic or activity of a new center of its current size.)  In fact under the new PUD, the square footage for just the new office/professional/commercial uses are more than current combined square footage of the Commander Apartments and the old shopping center!

And, if the proposed development at St. Johns Village Center has a dock or boat launch, that will need to be thoroughly addressed, too, as there is an Army Corps. of Engineer dredging project, to restore a healthy aquatic habitat for Fishweir Creek.  It's called the "Big Fishweir Creek Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project".

As the saga with the proposed land use amendment and Companion Zoning Application for St. Johns Village Center unfolds, please do not get sucked into the "they wanted more, but they compromised, so it's OK" mentality.  Please review what the developer asks for in the proposal for redevelopment and ask whether it is suitable use for the property.  Period.  If they ask for a 10 and eventually get a 6, when the property should only support a 3, then it's not OK!

[Trixie]

And, in response to an earlier post, this is what I can find tonight about the proposed developments in the Brooklyn area, off of Riverside Avenue: 1) the Pope & Land Enterprises, Inc., Project has about 300 apartments (of unknown square footage), with an additional 65,000 feet of retail space, on an 11 acre site (where the apartments face Park Street and the commercial area faces Riverside Avenue, and which is also bounded by Jackson Street and Leila Street), and 2) the 220 Riverside Project has a seven story building with 294 apartments (estimated at just over 250,000 square feet total), with an additional 18,000 square feet of retail space, and a parking garage.  The apartment developer withdrew from the Pope & Land project in March 2013 and I do not know whether a replacement has been found yet.

[thelakelander]

A replacement developer for the residential portion of the Pope & Land project has been found.  That project is anticipated to be under construction by the end of this summer. 

If they ask for a 10 and eventually get a 6, when the property should only support a 3, then it's not OK!

What happens if they ask for a 10 and we find out that the property can support a 15?  How many units will this proposed development have?  Are they 1, 2 or 3, etc. bedrooms? That's probably more important for determining what the property can support than square footage.  Also, is it safe to assume the overall square footage number includes off-street parking for residential and commercial uses?

[MusicMan]

If they build 600,000 sq ft of finished space then HUGE is an appropraite word. Consider the old Barnett Bank Building in dowtown, the one that recently sold to the group financed by Shad Khan, is less than 200,000 sq ft.
So would this be the equivalent of 3 of those buildings on that site? WOW.

[thelakelander]

I wonder where the idea of 600,000 sq ft of finished space came from? Is there a site plan available?