Developer plans residential tower at former River City Brewery site

Related Group returns with a new plan for the site that includes more units.

The RD River City Brewery mixed-use development would include 410 residential units, a 535-space parking garage and a waterfront restaurant. It would sit on the Downtown Southbank between the Acosta Bridge and Friendship Fountain along the St. Johns River.
The RD River City Brewery mixed-use development would include 410 residential units, a 535-space parking garage and a waterfront restaurant. It would sit on the Downtown Southbank between the Acosta Bridge and Friendship Fountain along the St. Johns River.
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The developer that abandoned plans for an apartment building at the former River City Brewery site on the Downtown Southbank is returning to the city with a new plan that includes an approximately 24-story residential tower.

Related Group is seeking Downtown Development Review Board conceptual review for a mixed-use project with 410 residential units, a 535-space parking garage and a waterfront restaurant.

The 3.43-acre site sits east of the Acosta Bridge between the city marina and Friendship Fountain. Access to the development would be from San Marco Boulevard, which would end in a traffic circle.

Plans for the RD River City Brewery project include an approximately 24-story residential tower.

In addition to the residential tower, the development would include an adjoining eight-story residential block along Museum Circle. The site plan shows the parking garage at the center of the residential block, which is wrapped by residential units.

According to a DDRB staff finding, the proposed structure “conveys a modern, art deco vibe. The form is elegant and streamlined, and the design is stylized using the geometry of a wave, both in the tower volume and in the horizontal articulation on the residential block fronting Museum Circle.”

The finding says that “this design promotes visual interest and adds variety to the profile of the Southbank skyline.”

The RD River City development would sit next to the Acosta Bridge and Friendship Fountain along the St. Johns River on the Downtown Southbank.

While the DDRB staff found the building height met city requirements, its setback did not. The building shows a 16-foot-wide Riverwalk when a minimum 25-foot-wide setback is required.

In January, the Downtown Investment Authority canceled a deal with the Miami-based Related, which had planned to build a 326-unit apartment community at the site.

But DIA CEO Lori Boyer said Related was redesigning the project that could include a high-rise residential tower.

The RD River City development would include a tower and an adjoining eight-story residential block along Museum Circle. Residential units would surround a parking garage at the center.

While the city owns the land, the developer bought the remaining 76 years of a 99-year land lease with the city.

For its abandoned apartment plan, Related subsidiary River City Brewing Co. had a $15.69 million incentives deal with the city. 

It would need city approval for a new incentives deal if it seeks one.

The DDRB will meet at 2 p.m. April 13 virtually and in the conference center at the Main Library at 303 N. Laura St.

The site plan for the RD River City mixed-use development planned on the Downtown Southbank at the site of the former River City Brewery.



 

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