The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Downtown Development Review Board rejected the design of a parking garage Thursday proposed for the property west of the SunTrust Tower.
The six-level, 600-space garage is intended to provide supplemental parking for SunTrust office condominium owners, tenants and guests, and for the Landing.
The partially paved site currently is used for surface parking.
In addition to the design approval, a deviation is being sought to allow fewer entrances to the garage than are required in new Downtown projects.
Another deviation is requested to authorize that no street-level retail space be included in the design. Deviations to the Downtown landscape standards also are being requested.
In September, the City granted developer Parador Partners LLC $3.5 million in incentives for the development, with the requirement that 200 of the parking spaces be designated for the use of patrons at the Landing. The grant will not be released until the garage is open.
Also included was a “parking validation program grant” from the City to Parador of up to $132,250 per year beginning in the sixth year after the opening of the garage and continuing until March 13, 2031, for a total maximum City grant of $1,587,000 for the parking validation program.
Before Christopher Holmes, architect for the Haskell Co., began his presentation, board chair Andy Sikes offered him the opportunity to defer his presentation, based on an unresolved issue concerning how the state building code could affect the project.
Holmes proceeded with the presentation and said one of the reasons there is no retail space included in the design is that the state building code requires any mixed-use development to have sprinklers as part of the fire safety design.
Holmes said that would add $300,000 to the cost of the garage, which the developers would like to avoid.
He said he is working with City building inspectors and fire department officials to determine if the project can obtain an exemption to the state requirement, but has not received an answer.
Board member John Fischer questioned the developer’s reluctance to design sprinklers for the garage based on economics.
“The City is granting $3.5 million in incentives; $300,000 for sprinklers is not unreasonable,” said Fischer.
As for the design of the structure, Holmes said it “mimics the appearance” of SunTrust Tower, is the same height as the base of the office building and will be constructed of precast concrete.
Board member Chris Flagg said he doesn’t support putting a parking garage in the location. It is between SunTrust Tower, Enterprise Center and the Omni Hotel, one of the few undeveloped parcels on the Northbank. He also questioned the appearance of the proposed garage.
“Whenever a parking garage comes before this board, it’s a hurdle from a Downtown design and Downtown stakeholder perspective,” Flagg said.
He compared the design to a multilevel parking garage in a suburban office park and said the garage should be designed to “make a contribution” to the Downtown landscape.
“The design needs to be like something we’ve never seen. We can do better. It should not look like a garage,” said Flagg.
Sikes said the presented design was “taking a vacant lot and putting a box on it.”
Board member Roland Udenze, an architect at Haskell, recused himself from voting on the application, but did offer comments.
“I’m not as much a fan of retail as a fan of activity. You need to activate the façade,” he said.
At its March 1 meeting, DDRB considered and then rejected the design for an apartment development along Riverside Avenue in Brooklyn. However, the board scheduled a workshop with the developer and designers to look for ways to modify the design so that it could be approved.
The design was changed and the developer was granted conceptual and final approval at the board’s meeting May 3.
Sikes offered Holmes the opportunity for a similar workshop with board members next week.
Holmes agreed and the board deferred action on the project, pending the workshop. The new design and deviation requests are scheduled to be reviewed for conceptual and final approval at the July 12 board meeting.
356-2466