A revised site plan for the Riverside Park multifamily dwelling development proposed along Park Street in Brooklyn was conceptually approved Thursday by the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Downtown Development Review Board.
The project was brought before the board for conceptual approval March 1 by Atlanta-based Lincoln Property Co. and was deferred for action pending revision of the site plan. The board and the developer participated in a workshop March 15 for the project’s designers to determine how the site plan should be modified to meet the guidelines for projects in the Downtown overly district.
The revised site plan shows 144 one-bedroom apartments, 12 one-bedroom carriage units, 123 two-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom carriage units, for a total of 263 units.
The new plan also includes additional two-story carriage house units, which are intended to improve the streetscape by blocking the view of parking areas from the street. The project is bordered by Park, Leila, Magnolia and Jackson streets.
The developer is seeking a variance from the City requirement of 531 parking spaces, based on the development’s proximity to public transportation. A bicycle storage area is also included in the design.
The design presented Thursday showed 348 surface parking spaces, 40 garage spaces and 22 carport spaces for a total of 410 parking spaces based on one parking space per bedroom.
“In an urban setting, that seems to be about right,” said Jeff Smith, architect for the project.
Another change from the original site plan is improved pedestrian access at the north side of the development in anticipation of future improvements to the McCoy’s Creek area.
The developer is also seeking permission to close portions of Oak and Stonewall streets within the site.
Assistant General Counsel Jason Teal said closing the streets would require legislation approved by City Council. DDRB’s approval of the closure would serve as a recommendation to the Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee, which would review the request before sending it to a vote by the full Council. There also will be a review by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, in addition to public hearings, Teal said.
Another deviation involves the lack of pedestrian access to the buildings along the four bordering streets.
Teal said any building with frontage on a street is required to have pedestrian access, but the requirement is more intended for commercial rather than residential development.
The board voted for conceptual approval based on the developer being granted approval of the deviations prior to the board considering final approval of the project’s design.
At that time, the board will also review architectural design and construction materials for the buildings and streetscape as well as the landscape plan for the project.
The board was also updated on the Downtown segment of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s Bus Rapid Transit system.
JTA expects to have the plans 60 percent completed within two weeks, said Neil Nance, design project manager.
The design includes what he called “super stops,” bus covered stops larger than those already installed Downtown that will provide real time bus schedule information and possibly ticket vending machines, Nance said. An enhanced bus stop near the new Duval County Courthouse is included in the design of the system.
He said construction of the BRT dedicated bus lanes on the Southbank portion of the system would coincide with the Florida Department of Transportation’s overland bridge interchange project on Interstate 95 south of the Fuller Warren Bridge.
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