The Jacksonville Housing Authority and TVC Development Inc. have teamed up to tear down 1960s-era apartment buildings in Jacksonville Beach and build The Waves, a 127-unit affordable housing project, in their place.
Plans call for the demolition of 26 affordable apartment buildings owned by the public housing agency on eight separate residential blocks east of Jacksonville Beach's golf club and elementary school. They will be replaced with 16 new two-story buildings, which also will be owned by the JHA.
Each building will house eight apartments and have 32 parking spaces. There will be 128 units, but one will be used as a “common area” unit.
The project was designed among eight plans because the buildings will be on eight city blocks. The eight plans were submitted separately to the St. Johns River Water Management District for review.
Most of the plans were submitted in late November. The district has issued permits for four of the eight projects.
The eight sites are along Seventh Street South, Eighth Street South, Ninth Street South, 10th Street South, First Avenue South and Fifth Avenue South, with a few adjacent to each other.
TVC Development President Ryan Hoover said the old buildings aren't in poor condition, but they couldn't be easily renovated or upgraded. TVC Development is the affordable housing division and subsidiary of The Vestcor Companies, a Jacksonville-based developer.
“To bring them up to today's standards, there was no way to do it except to tear them down,” he said, adding that the new buildings will be “much better looking,” which could help increase property values in the area.
Hoover said the Jacksonville Housing Authority will relocate residents in the existing buildings to other public housing. They will be given the first chance to move into the new buildings.
The apartments are in The Hill neighborhood and will be named The Waves at Jacksonville Beach. Amenities will include a clubhouse, a playground, a dog walk area and a library.
Like other public housing units, the apartments will be available to low-income applicants making 60 percent or less than the median income for the Jacksonville region, which is $29,400 annually for a single person. The project is being funded through Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority bonds and tax credits via the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Gary Abbey of Abbey Civil Engineers Inc. of Neptune Beach is listed as the project engineer.
