A proposed land swap deal between the city and Chase Properties Inc. to open 2.37 acres in the Goodbys Creek Preserve for retail development along San Jose Boulevard is headed to City Council for final approval.
Three Council committees voted unanimously May 4 and 5 to advance Ordinance 2020-148 that swaps the land for 52 acres of environmentally sensitive wetland adjacent to Goodbys Creek.
The bill passed the Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee 6-1 on May 5, with Council member Michael Boylan voting no.
The committee also approved two companion bills. Ordinance 2020-092 that amends the property’s land use from conservation to neighborhood commercial for future commercial development passed 6-1 without Boylan’s support.
The committee also voted 5-2 to pass Ordinance 2020-093 that would change zoning from conservation to neighborhood commercial.
Boylan and Committee Chair Danny Becton voted against rezoning the property.
Several residents who live near the development attended the Zoom virtual committee meeting May 5 to object to removing the parcel’s conservation status.
The property is near Boylan’s District 6. He said busy traffic conditions in that area of San Jose Boulevard could be made worse by commercial development on the property.
Becton said he supports the project because the city would net nearly 49 acres of conservation land in the swap with Chase Properties, but he said the parcel should have been rezoned planned unit development, or PUD, requiring the developer to file a site plan and give more clarity to the proposed project.
“I thought with the sensitivity of that parcel, they should have zoned it as a PUD. Given the concerns of the community and the high visibility of the parcel on San Jose (Boulevard), people wanted more certainty on what was gong to happen there and what would be developed,” Becton said. “There are a lot of uses there that some could be more desirable than others.”
Council will vote on all three bills May 12.
The Jacksonville Planning Commission recommended the land use and zoning changes March 5, and the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee signed off on the land swap deal Feb. 10.
The 52 acres Chase Properties will give the city is under contract with private owners Edward and Darla Willmott of Hillard. Chase Properties CEO Mike Balanky said May 5 his company is working toward final closing.
According to Duval County property records, the Willmotts purchased the land in two separate parcels for $200 on Feb. 17, 2009.
“We have some customers we know are going to be interested based on the site location and the market,” Balanky said. “We’ve had brokers reach out to use that have clients who are interested.”
Balanky said Feb. 10 his plans for the San Jose Boulevard property includes a retail concept. In a second interview May 6, the developer said wetland on the parcel will keep development to only a portion of the property’s 2.37-acre site footprint.
Balanky said the building will be a “boutique-type” retail concept. He said full-scale engineering for the project will begin soon after Council approval
An attorney for the city Office of General Counsel told Council Finance Committee members May 5 that Chase Properties will be responsible for lifting the conservation easement on the 2.37 acres before developing the land.
The 52 acres will require a land use amendment to change from low density residential to conservation.
The city acquired the 35.15-acre Goodbys Creek Preserve from The Trust for Public Land in 2002 for $505,000, or $14,367 per acre.
City Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes told the Daily Record on Feb. 10 that Chase Properties has not asked the city for any additional financial incentives for the project.
Daily Record staff writer Scott Sailer contributed to this report.