The Downtown Development Review Board gave unanimous final design approval Thursday for new VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena signs and a housing project in Brooklyn.
VyStar Credit Union was granted the naming rights to the city-owned arena in March, but needed to vet the sign designs with the DDRB.
Four building signs will brand the arena. Interim Downtown Investment Authority CEO Brian Hughes, who also is Mayor Lenny Curry’s chief of staff, reminded the board that the branding deal included the approval of local veterans groups.
VyStar CEO Brian Wolfburg said branding and wayfinding aspects of the arena signs are important to his company.
The branding agreement approved by City Council included illustrations of the signs.
VyStar is paying the city a $525,000 licensing fee the first year, increasing 3% per year to $794,110 in 2033. VyStar also is mandated to match up to $50,000 collected at the arena and deposited into the arena concession veterans’ donation program.
Lofts at Brooklyn
Vestcor Companies is developing a 133-unit mixed-affordable/workforce housing project in Brooklyn and has been working out the details of pedestrian and right-of-way access to adjacent Brooklyn Park and nearby McCoys Creek.
The board approved the overall building design for the $30 million Lofts at Brooklyn and streetscaping on Jackson and Chelsea streets.
In May, Vestcor asked the DDRB to approve limiting sidewalk width at the front of the complex to no less than 8 feet of clearance so developers would not have to alter the building design. DDRB granted the variance Thursday. The zoning code at the time required 12 feet, but Vestcor architects say this presented a design challenge.
The board also approved Vestcor’s request for a parking deviation, allowing 140 on-site plus 16 on-street spots. When the project was submitted, 256 on-site spaces were required.
The project, announced in March, will provide 80 units for residents with up to 60% of the area’s median income — $30,900 for one individual. The complex plans 53 workforce units at 140% of the median, or $72,100 for an individual. The building design includes a ground-level “retail bay” for businesses.
The Lofts project was awarded $17.9 million in tax credits for the project by the Florida Housing Finance Corp.
Vestcor is giving a 4,050-square-foot parcel on the northwest corner of the property to the city, which will give the development unobstructed access to Brooklyn Park.
Left undecided Thursday is how the developer and city will handle the right-of-way closures of the Spruce and Stonewall streets to the northwest and northeast of the development, which would create the continuous access to the park and waterway.
DIA Operations Manager Guy Parola said officials are considering an option to close half of Stonewall Street and move the ballfield dugouts in Brooklyn Park to allow for public parking and pedestrian access.
That also would ensure a clear path for the Emerald Trail and McCoy Creek restoration project underway by the city-U.S. government partnership Groundwork Jacksonville.
“We still need to figure out what it means to close one-half of a road right-of-way because there’s more than one property owner along Stonewall street,” Parola said. “We can have those discussions because you can’t close a right-of-way without legislative action, so there’s further review down the line.”
Vestcor president Ryan Hoover said Wednesday his company has no preference how the city uses the land from the closed right-of-way.
Board member Brenna Durden said she wants DDRB to be able to have a say in the final right-of-way discussions.
“Because of the work of Groundwork Jacksonville and the investment the city of Jacksonville itself is making to that trail, as well as the refurbishment of the creek, I feel like it’s important to this board that those are coordinated efforts and as much public access as is appropriate (is allowed),” she said.
