by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
A mixed-use development project that will anchor the north end of Laura Street got a step closer to reality Thursday when the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) approved a development agreement for Laura Street Station, LLC. The developers will construct a single-story restaurant building and a three-story retail and office building on the half-acre unpaved parking lot adjacent to the Rosa Parks/FCCJ Transit Terminal and bordered by Laura, State and Union streets. When complete, the project will include 5,700 square feet of retail space and 6,000 square feet of office space.
Mark Rimmer and his partner Carlton Jones are currently leasing the parcel from JTA but will purchase the property before construction begins. The JEDC’s Downtown Development Review Board granted conceptual approval for the project last August.
The private investment is estimated at $408,000 for land acquisition and $2.4 million for construction and site improvements.
Rimmer said the development is not designed to be a retail destination but rather an amenity for the 18,000 JTA customers who use the Skyway or buses each day.
“It will also serve the needs of FCCJ’s student population with a convenience store and a counter-service restaurant that will serve breakfast and sandwiches,” he added.
Rimmer also pointed out that the terms of the lease involving sales of alcohol will transfer to the purchase agreement and said, “There’s no way we could get a liquor license if we tried. There will never be any alcohol sold on that site.”
The commissioners granted an exception in terms of the number of parking places required in the design. As a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) the majority of people patronizing the retail spaces will arrive and depart via mass transit. In addition, Rimmer said the office space tenants will be service management or financial service companies with no visitor parking requirements. Employees will be encouraged to ride a bus to work or park their cars in peripheral facilities and then ride to the office on the Skyway or Trolley, which will reduce traffic on Downtown streets, particularly during peak traffic periods. While a similar development in the suburbs would be required to provide 55 parking spaces, Laura Street Station will provide 26 spaces.
Bus tickets and passes will be sold in the convenience store as well as at a free-standing kiosk on the property that will also offer bus route information.
Rimmer said the project will take no more than 18 months to complete after all approvals and permits are granted and he’s anxious to get started because, “We already have letters of intent from tenants for 100 percent of the space.”
The JEDC also approved the 2008-09 budget and work program for Downtown Vision, Inc. (DVI), a 501(c)6 that services a 90-block business district and is guided by an 18-member board of community and business leaders. Its primary source of funding is through an additional ad valorem tax assessment contributed by Downtown property owners.
DVI Executive Director Terry Lorince pointed out the budget includes for the first time funding contributed by residential properties in the business district. The residential assessments line lists $37,500 of DVI’s total budget of $1,369,277 with $364,118 contributed by the City of Jacksonville.
Lorince said DVI, through its agreement with Catholic Charities, recently implemented a seven days a week litter collection program and is studying ways to remove graffiti tags faster than the current three to four business days.
“As we’ve grown the organization over the years we’ve reached the point where a lot of what we do is maintenance,” she said.