from staff
The design firm of Ervin Lovett & Miller is marking its fifth anniversary in Jacksonville by doing a lot more of the same. The San Marco urban design, architecture, land planning and landscape architecture firm is working on several projects that partner Steve Lovett says define the success of the milestone anniversary.
“Our goal has always been to provide sustainable design solutions that create efficiency for our clients and improve the quality of places we design,” said Lovett. “Our upcoming projects will have a tremendous positive impact on their environments and are designed to offer a lasting value to those communities.”
An increasingly prominent aspect of Ervin Lovett & Miller’s design practice focuses on urban infill development, such as the redevelopment of the Kings Avenue Station. The firm is finalizing plans for a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in front of the existing multi-level parking garage on Kings Avenue that will fully utilize the garage and the adjacent Jacksonville Transit Authority Skyway leading to Downtown.
This is the first Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in Jacksonville based on a planning philosophy of concentrating development density in proximity to existing urban infrastructure and mass-transit accommodations. According to partner Russ Ervin, revitalizing under-utilized urban sites such as the Kings Avenue Station will add great sustaining value to the community and re-energize the area.
One of the firm’s most significant current projects is the Nocatee Community Park, where Ervin Lovett & Miller has been named the architect, landscape architect and parks and recreation planner. The firm’s plans for the park include the largest aquatic park in northeast Florida, athletics fields, an outdoor common area, a town hall social building and an extensive trail and nature system.
“The design that we are incorporating into Nocatee’s Community Park will serve as one of the defining characteristics for the emerging town,” said Ervin. “The design of the architecture, open space and landscape among the buildings and facilities will have a uniquely distinguished character, creating a true sense of place.”
Ervin Lovett & Miller is also involved in several community projects on the Gulf coast. One community in particular, Pacifico, is an infill project near Siesta Key that is slated to be Sarasota County’s first green community under the Florida Green Building Council. The firm is the community’s master-planner and is in the process of finalizing plans for the clubhouse, fitness center and common areas. Those buildings will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will be designed with the conservation of energy and water resources in mind.
“Green building should not be an anomaly — protection of our natural resources should occur as a matter of course and it is the right thing to do for the community and the environment,” said Lovett. “Part of our firm’s mission is to provide sustainable, viable places for people to coexist with the social and physical environment. In order to achieve that, incorporating green building principles of preservation and conservation is a natural part of our design process.”
Ervin Lovett & Miller has also helped redefine community planning and recreational design in such areas of Northeast Florida as St. Johns Forest, OakLeaf Plantation and Heritage Landing. St. Johns Forest recently won the 2006 Best in American Living Award (BALA) for its amenity center, which was designed by Ervin Lovett & Miller.
Over the past five years, Ervin Lovett & Miller has grown from a team of three partners working in a modest setting to a highly-talented team of 15 professionals working seamlessly in an inspiring office studio in San Marco.