A Tampa-based developer plans to expand its Springfield portfolio by transforming the former Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida Teen Center into apartments.
GNP Development Partners LLC and Jacksonville-based architect PQH Group Design Inc. filed an application with the city Aug. 31 to rezone the 1.71-acre, four-parcel site at 330 W. Ninth St. to planned unit development.
GNP proposes renovating the main two-story brick building, once used as classrooms, into a multifamily project with efficiency, one- and two-bedroom apartments, according to the application and site plan.
A pair of two-story buildings on Pearl Street would be converted into apartments. The developer is asking the city to reserve the right to continue to use the structures as commercial space “should conversion not be feasible.”
The proposal includes construction of a single-family bungalow on Ninth Street.
In total, the project would comprise 49 apartments and the bungalow, according to the GNP application.
The site is in southwest Springfield, west of North Pearl Street between Eighth and Ninth streets.
It was once home to Beulah Beal Elementary School.
The property is part of the Springfield Historic District and its three buildings are historic contributing structures to the neighborhood, according to the application’s project description.
GNP told the city it would retain the existing exterior of the buildings “to the greatest possible extent” and stay in character with the surrounding neighborhood.
GNP Co-Principal Joshua Pardue said Oct. 8 his company will submit site drawings to the city for its other project in the historic neighborhood, Springfield Lofts.
City Council awarded a $3 million public incentive package to GNP for the project June 23 to transform the former Jacksonville Jewish Center in Springfield into a mixed-use development.
Pardue began work on that project in 2014 and began a relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida around the same time, he said.
Pardue called the property a “nonperforming asset” for the Boys & Girls Clubs that’s become expensive to maintain.
“It’s going dark, so the way to make the property have some value is adaptive reuse and renovation,” he said.
According to the Duval County Property Appraiser, the site’s assessed value is $1.406 million. Pardue said it is too early to comment on GNP’s investment in the project or the overall cost of the development.
He did not immediately respond Oct. 8 to a question if GNP would purchase the project parcels from the Boys & Girls Clubs.
The rezoning application states “selective demolition” and renovation at the site will take one phase of 12 to 24 months.
GNP requested the city allow the option to complete the project in two phases over a five-year period, “in the event that market demands are showing concerns for residential apartments.”
