San Marco could start 2020 with another redevelopment near the neighborhood’s central Atlantic Boulevard and Hendricks Avenue intersection.
Corner Lot Development Group CEO Andy Allen and COO George Leone, in partnership with Harbert Realty Services, have a contract to buy the 67-year-old building at 1939 Hendricks Ave. Allen said they plan to close on the purchase about April.
The group intends to demolish the building and redevelop the site with a restaurant and possibly office space.
Allen, whose company is based nearby, called the site “super important.”
“It’s almost adjacent to the Square and on a main corridor close to Downtown,” he said.
The building was used as Club Jacksonville, a men’s club. Descriptions online show an indoor pool, fitness equipment and other amenities.
The city Municipal Code Compliance Division condemned the structure July 26, deeming it unsafe and subject to demolition.
Property options
Allen provided conceptual marketing renderings, but emphasized the drawings and plans could change.
The new structure is shown on those preliminary renderings as The Three Lions, which Allen said is a placeholder name and not a specific project.
Demolition would take place about 90 days after the closing, followed by construction.
Allen didn’t have an investment estimate because it will be new construction and he hadn’t determined whether it would be a single- or two-story building, but he does say it would be a multimillion-dollar project.
“We are exploring options for a high-end restaurant and possibly office use, but we are leaning toward finding a restaurant that would be here long-term,” he said.
Allen said Corner Lot has spoken with a few regional restaurants.
“One of the biggest values we have is parking,” he said, referring to the commodity that redeveloping historic neighborhoods find lacking. His plans show 32 parking spaces on the site.
Allen said his group will carefully consider the tenant and he would like it to operate at least for lunch and dinner. He envisions a concept such as a high-end American grill, but said the opportunities aren’t limited to that.
He also doesn’t want to mimic San Marco staples Matthew’s, Taverna or bb’s.
“We are going to be selective so that it’s a win for all,” Allen said. “But we will talk to whoever comes and talks to us.”
On his LinkedIn social media profile, Allen posted last week to the attention of commercial brokers, agents, restaurateurs and “party people” about the property.
“We have an iconic site for a build to suit, land lease, or joint venture for a restaurant concept right here in San Marco next to the square,” Allen posted.
“Local, regional, national … we are all ears,” Allen posted. “AND, we have onsite Parking!”
He asks readers to contact him for more information, “and spread the word!”
Plans posted on LinkedIn and renderings he provided show a two-story, 8,950-square-foot structure.
“That is more to get the community talking. Conceptually, that is not 100% what we are doing,” he said.
A single-story 5,000- to 6,000-square-foot restaurant is possible, as are a two-story building or a one-story restaurant with a high ceiling.
“It all boils down that it needs to make sense fiscally,” Allen said.
The existing two-story, 10,521-square-foot building was constructed in 1952 and is assessed at $688,402 for tax purposes, according to Duval County property records. It sits on 0.46 acres.
Its property use is listed as club/lodge/union hall.
Records show the property is owned by the estate of Raymond P. Diemer in care of Athletic Ventures of Florida Inc.
Owners applied to the city in February for a permit to make roof repairs, but the permit was returned for corrections and not issued. The application shows the property on “lockdown” and was coded as “unsafe/condemn.”
Allen said the property ownership negotiated and entered into the contract with Bill Ware, vice president of development of Harbert Realty Services.
San Marco “momentum”
Corner Lot Development Group is active in San Marco. It is based at 1611 Atlantic Blvd., the building it bought last summer for its headquarters. It moved from another San Marco address.
It also is working with Harbert to develop Park Place at San Marco, an apartment project proposed on part of the South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church site at 2137 Hendricks Ave.
That site is next to the proposed East San Marco retail center proposed at southeast Hendricks Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard. Publix Super Markets Inc. intends to anchor East San Marco.
“I do think with Publix coming in there is a lot of momentum,” Allen said.
Also in San Marco, hundreds of apartments are coming on line with the San Marco Crossing and San Marco Promenade; the redeveloped Riverplace Boulevard “road diet” now is usable to encourage pedestrians and safety; and more restaurants are opening, such as the planned Florida Cracker Kitchen.
Allen also lives in the San Marco area.
“It’s enjoyable … to be touching development in all different aspects and to see the neighborhood grow in a systematic way,” he said.
