The Downtown Development Review Board awarded developer Petra conceptual design approval for Ruby Beach Brewing Co.’s planned taproom, beer garden and event space at 228 E. Forsyth St.
The 5-0 board vote July 9 came after Petra Vice President Elias Hionides presented preliminary plans for the brewery’s 440-square-foot outdoor beer garden with facade restoration and enhancements.
Ruby Beach will lease a 5,347-square-foot building from Petra. Built in 1904, The Letter Shop is a contributing structure to Jacksonville’s Downtown National Register District.
Mark Vandeloo, president of Ruby Beach owner Zeta Jax Inc., announced in February the brewery would relocate Downtown from Jacksonville Beach.
The total redevelopment cost for the adaptive reuse project is $445,000, according to documents submitted to the DIA by Zeta Jax and Petra.
Hionides told the board that Petra and Ruby Beach want the facade’s metal decals and artwork from The Letter Shop to remain mostly intact with some modern upgrades.
The Ruby Beach signage facing Forsyth Street in the conceptual renderings will not be the final placement or design, he said.
“We’re going to add some interesting tube lighting and do some painting with some local artists to keep them existing but add some modern character and references to the brewery and that front facade,” Hionides said.
Board member Craig Davisson suggested restoring the original building face underneath the metal facade. Hionides said the metal look is more than 50 years old and is worth preserving.
“The way that we look at it is, that’s an era and time frame that we’re trying to memorialize,” Hionides said.
Ruby Beach is considering converting the westernmost display window into a roll-up window to open up to the sidewalk and bring more fresh air into the taproom, an idea that materialized because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Hionides.
A project review submitted to the Downtown Investment Authority in June shows 1,278 square feet of the first floor used for the brewing facility and 1,278 square feet for the taproom.
The outdoor beer garden would be added to the east side of the building, according to project renderings.
Upstairs, a 2,557-square-foot meeting space will be used for weddings, art shows, pop-up markets and family and corporate events, Ruby Beach owners told the DIA.
Ruby Beach will employ a least 13 people Downtown.
The DDRB members in attendance July 9 liked the overall concept, but agreed with DIA staff that landscape screening is needed for the adjacent surface parking lot when Petra returns for final design approval.
Board members Trevor Lee and Davisson said the streetscape leading from the beer garden to the taproom entrance would be “softened” with additional landscaping. Board member Brenna Durden suggested angling the parking in the surface lot or altering its layout to improve safety.
Hionides said Ruby Beach and Petra are considering placing a retrofitted, movable shipping container in the parking lot facing Forsyth Street for pop-up retail space which could be moved for truck deliveries at night.
That idea is not a final decision, Hionides said.
