While the Jacksonville Landing continues to be looked at for a possible overhaul, an area just outside its doors could be closer to a major change.
Toney Sleiman, who owns the Landing, said Wednesday the idea to remove the on- and off-ramps from the north side of the Main Street Bridge has progressed.
Sleiman, City Council member Bill Bishop and Downtown Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace met with the Florida Department of Transportation about removing the structures.
And the “good news was the ramps could possibly come down, Sleiman told the Southside Business Men’s Club on Wednesday.
He said the department asked for a traffic study, which was done, and now the state agency needs a public hearing and a letter from the city indicating it wants the ramps removed.
Bishop pitched the idea in December during a public forum seeking input on Landing changes, saying it would allow two-way traffic on Main and Ocean streets.
Removing the ramps would mean opening up more land near the river and the Landing, Sleiman said.
“I think it’s a pretty big deal. I think it’s important” he said.
Bishop said Wednesday he would ask Mayor Alvin Brown to submit the letter to the transportation department asking for the changes.
Sleiman also said he anticipated making some “pretty good announcements” in the next couple of months relating to possible restaurant and retail tenants, but would not elaborate.
A market analysis to determine how many residential and hotel units the Landing could support should be available in the next 60 days, he said.
The push for mixed-use and workforce housing was a major take-away from that December forum and part of the conceptual plan pitched to the Downtown Investment Authority in mid-January. That plan also included opening the venue up to the river and setting the buildings further back.
The conceptual hotel and residential components would be taller towers, but Sleiman said Wednesday there would be no air-rights issues with his neighbors.
“More than anybody, they all want that,” Sleiman said of an improved Landing. “Look at what we have today and what we can change it to … it’s in the benefit of everybody.”
No costs for the Landing revamp have been given. Sleiman has said a price tag would be known once plans are finalized. But, he would seek city incentives for any deal.
@writerchapman
(904) 356-2466