TVC Development Inc., part of The Vestcor Companies, has a contract to buy acreage at Philips Highway and St. Augustine Road for development of workforce housing.
TVC President Ryan Hoover said Sept. 17 that it would be a mid- to late 2022 start date.
“We are in the very preliminary stages,” Hoover said by email.
City Council is reviewing legislation to rezone and change the land use on 5.64 acres at 3036 and 3114 Philips Highway and St. Augustine Road. The site is in an Urban Priority Development Area.
Those plans show a four-story apartment community totaling 172 units and 333 parking spaces.
The units comprise 63 one-, 93 two- and 16 three-bedroom units. It would have 7,900 square feet of nonresidential leasing-amenity space.
A written description describes the apartments as affordable housing but does not elaborate.
“Redeveloping the Property from an abandoned motel to a multi-family use will improve the aesthetics of the lot and bring additional business to the area,” says a written description.
Ordinance 2021-0628 shows the land use would change from Community/General Commercial to the same designation but with a site-specific policy that permits residential use on the ground floor of a property on an arterial roadway and single-use residential development on the entire site.
Ordinance 2021-0629 shows rezoning from Commercial Community/General-2 to Planned Unit Development.
Another bill, Ordinance 2021-0627, creates a new future land use element policy to allow for development of affordable housing contingent on funding from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. or the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority on land designated for multifamily residential, commercial or industrial use, subject to conditions.
The property comprises three parcels. Two are owned by 3036 Jax LLC and one by Veerasamy Veeramah and Purnwatie D. Veeramah.
TVC Development is the project developer.
The project agent is law firm Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow. The engineer is Abbey Civil Engineers Inc.
Bryan Croft, manager of 3036 Jax LLC and president and CEO of HCBrands.com at 2021 St. Augustine Road E., said the project represents “investments from known entities in our city.”
Croft is active in the grassroots San Marco East business group.
“I’m super optimistic of our neighborhood’s direction – and proud to be a part of it.”
The project is called 3036 Philips Highway PUD.
The bills were introduced to Council Sept. 14 and are before the Council Land Use & Zoning Committee.