Trevato Development Group agreed to add affordable housing to its proposed apartment community that would replace the Adventure Landing amusement and water park to win support from the Jacksonville Beach City Council.
The City Council voted 6-1 on Oct. 17 to advance the developer’s rezoning request to the Beach Boulevard property after the city planning commission failed in September to approve a recommendation on Trevato’s application.
It voted unanimously to approve a companion land use change for the site at 1944 Beach Blvd.
Planning and Development Department staff said the requested changes were consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan.
Jacksonville Beach City Council will take its second and final vote on the land use and zoning ordinances Nov. 7 to determine if Trevato’s plans for the 427-unit apartment community with about 5,000 square feet of retail and office space can move forward.
Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow partner Steve Diebenow, who represents the developer, agreed to the condition to make 7% of the apartments — about 30 units — available to renters who meet the state’s income qualification for affordable housing.
That was after Trevato’s first offer to reserve 5% of the units for affordable or workforce housing, a response to a request from the planning commission.
Council member Georgette Dumont said the average rental rate for an efficiency apartment in Jacksonville Beach has increased 32% since 2019, with a four-bedroom unit up 25% in the same period.
Council members said adding workforce housing could be the biggest community benefit from the apartment community.
“We realize that people who work here cannot (afford to) live here, and that I think is problematic if we want to actually have a diverse community,” she said.
Dumont voted against the rezoning. Her amendment to reduce the apartment’s density to 399 units failed to gain council support.
She said it would have addressed the community’s biggest concern from the project — increased traffic on and around Beach Boulevard. If the density remains, she is calling for more workforce housing units.
Council member Chet Stokes said he thinks governments should be offering incentives to developers, “not punishing them into doing workforce housing.”
“I can’t support lowering the units and also raising the workforce count. That’s kind of hitting them in the pocket both ways,” Stokes said.
Traffic impact
Before the meeting, Trevato submitted a traffic study promised at the planning commission meeting by engineering firm England, Thims & Miller Inc. on the mixed-use project’s impact on Beach Boulevard and the surrounding arteries.
The report determined that “the project will not significantly impact any of the roadways or intersections in the vicinity of the project and provides a significant reduction (in traffic) when compared to the permitted uses.”
Council member Cory Nichols, a senior project engineer with AE Engineering, said he reviewed the report and agreed with its findings.
Increased strain on Beach Boulevard and Penman Road has been the biggest community concern since Trevato first announced it was replacing Adventure Landing with apartments last year.
Jacksonville Beach resident Ken Marsh said, although he saw the developer as accommodating, he thought a third-party study commissioned by the city would help calm community concerns.
“I can assure you that as I stand here, many in the audience are questioning the results of the study,” Marsh said.
“I can also assure you that some doubts will always remain even if you get a third party, but you will surely change more of the minds of the skeptics if you do proceed this way and surely create more skepticism if you don’t.”
The project
The apartments will take about 36 months to design, permit and build, but Adventure Landing owner Hank Woodburn said the theme park will close at end of the year.
The Trevato project comprises 53.8 acres, but only 10.9 acres will be developed. That’s a 40% reduction in the total land development as permitted by the city of Jacksonville Beach Comprehensive Plan.
The remainder would be conservation land.
Adventure Landing makes up 22.2 acres of the site.
Trevato adjusted its original plans in an effort to gain the rezoning approval. It increased the conservation and recreation areas from 6.83 acres to 19.43 acres while reducing the planned land zoned for Community Commercial and Low Density Residential uses by half the original request.
According to Trevato, 1,800 square feet of the commercial space would be a restaurant or coffee shop open to the public.
The remaining 3,200 square feet includes retail, office, personal service and child care as permitted uses
The developer asked the planning commission in December to defer the rezoning and land use amendment to make the changes.
Diebenow does not expect the average size of the units, 850 square feet, to change. He said at the September planning commission meeting the average monthly rent for the market rate units would likely be $2,250 to $2,400.
The original plan was estimated to cost $80 million. It called for four three-story buildings with 8,000 square feet of leasing, club and fitness space, and a 400-space parking garage.
Diebenow said in September that cost is likely up to $100 million, but he said the developer does not have final projections.
More agreements
In exchange for approval, Trevato also agreed to:
• Build a walkway and viewing platform that extends south from the property and provide easements to the city to create a public access to from the urban trail system the walkway and platform.
• Make a parcel of land available to the city in the northwest corner of the property to accommodate a “Welcome to Jacksonville Beach” sign the would be designed and built by the city.
• Make “commercially reasonable efforts” to protect and preserve the Live Oak trees located on the property.
• Control the effects of lights from automobiles or other sources on the property.
“I think what happened tonight is the City Council implemented their comprehensive plan by voting on a mixed-use development that incorporates many of the conditions and concerns that were shared by the public during the 18-month process,” Diebenow said.
