A New Look For Fuqua's Brooklyn Retail Project?

[hightowerlover]

Does anyone have the actual names of the tenants?  Looks like a CVS and maybe a Whole Foods or Fresh Market?

[fsujax]

I do not believe they have been officially announced yet.

[InnerCityPressure]

Yuck

[Overstreet]

Sidewalks probably look small to you cause they don't have a palm tree reducing them to functionally  half size like Riverside.  They are all sidewalk.

I used to work across the street when it was old warehouses and run down offices. This is better than that.

I don't see any stores identified. If a CVS or Walgreens they will take the outparcels near the street if they are big enough.

[JFman00]

Why can't they just move the Organic Grocer to the front sidewalk and put the parking behind as well as the two out parcels? Wouldn't that solve almost everything? Same thing with the pharmacy, bring it all the way front and put the parking in the rear. Heck you could even leave the drive through on the side and it would still work.

Seriously, why do they not want to just rotate everything 180°? My guess is reduced parking if they had to move the loading dock.

[tufsu1]

I think its sadly comical that they are going to spend serious cash dressing up the landscape/hardscape components....and they wouldn't have needed to do that if the overall layout was just more urban

[copperfiend]

so two developments in the same area can be urban in design and this one cant, because the lead tenant wants this layout? what a joke. The city should just tell them to shove it and deny this project, but we know that will not happen because we have no one with a backbone to lead in this city!

This seems to be the case with most everything in Jacksonville

[CityLife]

Why can't they just move the Organic Grocer to the front sidewalk and put the parking behind as well as the two out parcels? Wouldn't that solve almost everything? Same thing with the pharmacy, bring it all the way front and put the parking in the rear. Heck you could even leave the drive through on the side and it would still work.

It appears that they could even design it so that the outparcels be moved to the side of a Riverside fronting building, which would still give them visibility from Riverside and not be totally hidden. What is most frustrating here is that the COJ Comprehensive Plan and/or DDRB guidelines should be heavily encouraging parking in the rear (or at worst side), if not requiring it to happen.

Does anyone know what the DDRB regs or Comp Plan say about parking behind commercial? Sorry, I don't have time to look myself.

[brainstormer]

Ridiculous.  This is the exact site plan of the Markets at Town Center if you stand on the street looking at Toys R Us.  "Chipotle on the left, surrounded by parking lot, big box directly in front of you with lots of parking lot in front, Panda Express on the right surrounded by parking lot, and then a Walgreens on the corner.  LOL.  Welcome to Jacksonville where rubber stamping "approved" is guaranteed.

[mbwright]

Very original design.....

[simms3]

Skeptical:

1) Fuqua is not making any official retail announcements (this is not an SJTC type development where confidentiality is key to marketing and the appeal of the center).  He has pulled these types of shenanigans before and gotten the boot as a result.

2) If Fresh Market is so keen on this exact site plan for this location and this market, then clearly they are considering themselves a commodity grocer that captures "going home" traffic and needs visibility and arterial frontage.  I am skeptical that is the case, because Fresh Market is a unique appeal - it isn't a drive by grocer and they market to their demographic and expect their demographic to reach them in their configuration.

3) Looking at the renderings, it is clear that the expected tenancy of this shopping center is going to be very low brow, including an auto body shop.  Not exactly the desired cotenancy of specialty/high end grocers.


I realize the thing isn't even fully approved yet, but it just seems like the public is being kept out as much as possible and the developer is looking to cut a deal corners with DDRB and city officials and exclude public involvement as much as possible.  That's this guy's style over the years.  I also realize that Jax citizens aren't really as engaged or involved as citizens of other cities, but nonetheless any developer who wants to exclude public involvement and work backroom with corrupt officials and put cheap crap up with no regard for public taste should not be allowed to do business in the city, especially in the urban core.

[Charles Hunter]

Curious, but are they leaving room for the skyway extension? 

Does not look like it - it looks like the "lush" landscaping along Riverside Avenue is in the Skyway/Utility right-of-way.  Can the DDRB even approve a developer proposing to landscape property they don't even own?  And public property at that?  And if they do, when (I'm being optimistic) the Skyway is extended, all that landscaping goes away. 

On the other hand, the patio seating  under the Skyway might be nice - a bit of shade from the sun.

[vicupstate]

The tone for this area was set a long time ago, when existing urban fabric that could have been rehabbed or only selectively replaced with new construction, was completely demolished in favor of a  high traffic 'highway' design for Riverside Ave.

For the same reason the State/Union corridor will not be urban if and when it finaly redevelops. 

Both areas are designed with only auto traffic in mind.  So is it that surprising that the private development fits that mold?

[I-10east]

Hell, look what's still there across the street, with buildings like Haskell, The Florida Times Union, not exactly Midtown Manhattan.

[thelakelander]

^Nope. Even Chattanooga requires something a little more walkabe in its core....

The tone for this area was set a long time ago, when existing urban fabric that could have been rehabbed or only selectively replaced with new construction, was completely demolished in favor of a  high traffic 'highway' design for Riverside Ave.

For the same reason the State/Union corridor will not be urban if and when it finaly redevelops. 

Both areas are designed with only auto traffic in mind.  So is it that surprising that the private development fits that mold?

I still hold high hopes for Brooklyn.  220 Riverside and Brooklyn Riverside soften the blow.  Plus, there's hope that the Skyway extension (if it happens) will at least cover this strip mall's parking lot from the street.  I'd love to see a Skyway station placed dead smack in the center of the two retail buildings along Riverside Avenue.