by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
A new docking option for recreational boaters on the St. Johns River was approved Thursday by the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC).
The Marina at St. Johns Center will be located adjacent to The Strand and The Peninsula, the two riverfront high-rise residential properties on the Southbank east of the Main Street Bridge. The floating dock facility will be built above a 4.65-acre submerged land lease and will include 75 slips for vessels up to 70 feet in length. Dockage will be available for lease by the month and 15 spaces will also be available for the public to temporarily berth pleasure craft.
The marina is designed in such a way to preclude the need for pilings. The dock frame will float secured by cables attached to concrete piers on the riverbed.
“The cables will allow the dock to rise or fall 11 feet to allow for tides, storm surge or wakes from vessels,” said engineer George Register with Northstar Harbor Company, who designed the dock for American Land Ventures, developer of The Strand and The Peninsula.
He also said the marina will meet the State of Florida’s manatee protection requirements, the Florida Clean Marina standards and the more stringent “Blue marina” European standard for environmental impact.
Another part of the development is a parking site on the south side of Riverplace Boulevard. Register said the marina will require 15 parking spaces based on the number of slips. There are enough available spaces in the parking garage at The Peninsula to accommodate 15 marina users, however the developer is required by law to provided “dedicated” spaces for the marina.
The parking site will be constructed on land that has previously been approved for a mixed-use development that has been granted an extension to the redevelopment agreement due to the soft real estate market.
Therefore, a 15-space interim parking site will be constructed. Boaters may use the roundabout at The Peninsula to drop off passengers and gear, then park across the street and access the marina via the courtyard between The Peninsula and The Strand.
The parking site has been designed without a fence or wall to screen it from the street. There will be instead a 15-foot landscape buffer which will be easier to mitigate than a wall or fence when the site is redeveloped.
“The landscaping will result in a complete visual screen of the interim parking site,” said Register.
DDRB chair and landscape architect Chris Flagg suggested that instead of asphalt paving, a pervious surface should be used for the parking site such as compressed gravel or pavers that would allow stormwater to flow into the ground rather than away from the surface. Register agreed and pointed out that type of surface would be more compatible with the interim nature of the parking site.
The DDRB’s next meeting is Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. in the JEDC conference room on the second floor of the Police and Fire Pension Fund Building at 1 W. Adams St. The meeting is open to the public.
356-2466