Downtown property owners could be headed to court after an appeal of a new Downtown Southbank residential tower to the Downtown Development Review Board failed at a special meeting Tuesday.
The board upheld a decision it made last summer allowing Ventures Development Group to move forward with a 13-story apartment building planned on 2.9 acres along Prudential Drive between the Aetna building and the Acosta bridge by approving five zoning code deviations.
GV-IP Jacksonville Owners LLC, which owns the neighboring Aetna building property through IP Capital Partners LLC, is trying to block the project. The Boca Raton-based private equity firm purchased the 6.5 acres of land that includes the Aetna building in 2013
“We plan to take it to court, because legally, you can’t do this,” said Jason Isaacson, president of IP Capital Partners. “This is not the end of it,” he said.
Tuesday was the last time attorneys for GV-IP could argue their case to the city.
Ventures is planning to purchase the project site from South Shore Riverpointe Holdings LLC early next year.
The company requested deviations from the zoning code altering the building’s height from the 60-foot limit; changes to landscaping requirements; a reduction in parking spaces; and alterations to waterfront design and setbacks from Prudential Drive. It claims the changes are necessary to make the development financially feasible.
Isaacson said the tower’s 150-foot height will have a negative effect on his lease rates, because it would block views of the St. Johns River for his tenants. He said the area also can’t handle the new residents Ventures wants to add.
“What I think you could see here is a failed residential project,” Isaacson said.
Ventures’ plans include a 13-story tower with 281 apartments, a 53,000-square foot expansion of the Southbank Riverwalk and other amenities. The first three levels would be parking for 323 vehicles. Another 70 surface-lot spaces are planned, 12 of which would be reserved for public river access.
Attorney Steve Diebenow of Driver, McAfee, Peek & Hawthorne, who is representing Ventures, said the project has undergone further design work. Developers lowered the building’s height from 190 feet to 150 feet 2 inches and reduced the number of units from 300.
Holland & Knight attorney Daniel Bean, representing GV-IP, maintained that even with the lowered height, the construction would diminish potential lease rates in the Aetna building and echoed Isaacson’s claim that the density would clog an already busy intersection.
“That place is already a mess and you’re going to make it worse with a 280-unit development,” Bean told the board.
GV-IP first appealed the DDRB decision to the Downtown Investment Authority in August, but failed to persuade all members except DIA Chair Jim Bailey to change the result. In November, the City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee sent the issue back to the DDRB with specific instructions on how board members should rule on the deviations, this time for good.
Each deviation needed to be reviewed independently, taking into consideration the corresponding statute in the zoning code. The board had to consider how similar deviations have been evaluated against the regulations outlined in the Downtown zoning overlay, and determine whether they met the standard for approval based on that statute.
After nearly five hours of debate, the board voted on the five deviations separately, then as a whole.
Board member Bill Schilling recused himself from the votes because of his business relationship with Baptist Health, which has a growing medical campus nearby and opposes the development.
The rest of the board, Joseph Loretta, Trevor Lee, Rafael Caldera, Craig Davisson, Carol Worsham, Frederick Jones and Christian Harden, unanimously approved the landscaping, waterfront, and setback deviations.
The board voted 6-1 to approve the parking deviation, with Lee voting no, and 5-2 to approve the building height deviation, with Lee and Harden voting no. It then voted 5-2 to approve the overall group of deviations, with Lee and Harden opposed.
After the meeting, Ventures principal Sean Siebert said he understands the concerns of his potential neighbors, but insists the project is appropriate for the area.
“We’re just trying to be good neighbors and deliver a quality product to the marketplace,” said Siebert. He said the project is in line with other residential developments the company has built near medical centers in Texas, “to support the medical employment base there.”
He said Ventures will continue to move forward with this plan, considering the likelihood the project could be stalled, at least temporarily, by an appeal to circuit court.
“We’re going to be prudent and see what happens with that,” he said.
Siebert said he did not have other sites under consideration if this project ultimately fails.
“Right now, we’re just focused on this site, the one we’ve been working on for over a year now.”
Barrique Kitchen & Wine Bar of Avondale, developed in the former Cowford Traders retail store at 3563 St. Johns Ave., scheduled its grand opening Thursday.
Partner Greg Bartolotta said the community has shown a great response since the soft opening a few weeks ago.
Barrique seats 100 diners and features a full bar and more than 200 wines. It is open 3 p.m.-midnight daily with a 3-7 p.m. happy hour Monday-Friday.
Bartolotta said it will start serving daily lunch and weekend brunch in about two weeks. Hours will be 11 a.m.-4 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m.-close for dinner.
The menu features salads, thin-crust stone oven pizza, artisanal cheeses, pressed sandwiches, sides, mini desserts and small plate selections such as braised short ribs, sautéed salmon, octopus, seared tuna and duck confit tacos.
Salad and sandwich prices are $6-12; pizzas are $12-15; sides are $5-10; and small plates range from $10 for goat cheese ravioli to $17 for prime flat iron steak, lamb chops and seafood pasta.
Bartolotta previously described Barrique Kitchen & Wine Bar as a small plate concept with an emphasis on sharing and a global menu with a Mediterranean slant.
The décor is designed to be reminiscent of an Old World winery or wine cellar, with reclaimed wood, brick and stucco. A partner in the project described it as intimate with “Old European charm” similar to the Barrique Kitchen & Wine Bar in Babylon, New York.
Northeast Florida Contracting Inc. was the contractor for the $550,000 project to remodel the 5,030-square-foot space.
The city issued a business license to BMR Dining Group LLC for Barrique of Avondale. Owners Richard Rapp and BMR Dining Group LLC of Ponte Vedra Beach registered the Barrique of Avondale name with the state as of Jan. 3.
Rapp is the agent for BMR Dining, whose members include him, Joseph Murphy of Ponte Vedra Beach and Bartolotta of Wantagh, New York.
The 100 dining seats are a number agreed upon during the zoning process. There also is private catering space available.
The main dining room will accommodate more than 50 customers.
Between two private dining rooms, one will have space for 10-12 seats while another can accommodate 35-40. They can combine for 50 seats.
The space can be used for main dining as needed.
Bartolotta said previously the wine selection will consist of a majority in the $30-$40 range, with most being under $100 a bottle.
It hired a staff of 35-40 employees.
Bartolotta said there will be more than 200 wines, including by-the-glass and half-bottles.
He said Barrique will pour any bottle if the customer commits to two glasses.