Almost three years after plans surfaced, followed by neighborhood complaints, the proposed Chick-fil-A near the entrance to the North Creek subdivision in North Jacksonville landed permits for construction.
The city issued a permit Nov. 21 for W.H. Bass Inc. to build the fast-food restaurant at a project cost of $1.3 million after a site-clearing permit Nov. 11 at $182,000.
The 5,033-square-foot Chick-fil-A with a dual-drive-thru will be developed on 1.39 acres at 705 Duval Station Road.
Site plans show the restaurant will have 92 seats, including outdoor patio dining, two canopies and 63 parking spaces.
Bohler Engineering FL LLC of Boca Raton is the civil engineer. W.H. Bass is based in Johns Creek, Georgia.
The city continues to review three permits at a total estimated $110,000 for the two canopies for meal delivery and order points and for a dumpster enclosure.
That boosts the total construction costs to almost $1.6 million.
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. proposes to build the restaurant at northeast Duval Station and Bradley Cove roads.
Site cleared
According to the site-clearing application, the developer proposed to demolish all of the trees on the site; curb and gutter along Lady Lake Road; the driveway entrance to a JEA lift station; and the sidewalk along Lady Lake Road.
The erosion control plan will include fencing for silt, tree protection and construction; and there will be a construction entrance and inlet protection.
On Nov. 21, the site was cleared and erosion control was in place.
RBSSSS LLC of Jacksonville Beach is the property owner. It intends to lease the property to Chick-fil-A.
Ramzy Bakkar, president of the Bakkar Group in Jacksonville Beach, manages RBSSSS.
The permit applications follow Bohler Engineering’s submission of civil engineering plans to the city Aug. 9, 2024, for the development, which is across Duval Station Road from First Coast High School.
As proposed, it will have two full access driveways on Lady Lake Road east of Bradley Cove Road.
The building is set back on the site, backing up to Duval Station Road, with Bradley Cove Road to the west and Lady Lake Road to the north.
A Daily’s gas station at 711 Duval Station Road is to east. There also is an access road to the Publix Super Markets Inc.-anchored Duval Station Centre shopping center to the east at 731 Duval Station Road.
Duval Station Road connects with Starratt Road at the Publix shopping center entrance.
Bohler Engineering also submitted an application Aug. 9, 2024, to the St. Johns River Water Management District for a minor modification to the property’s environmental resource permit for the project.
Neighborhood opposition
In June 2024, City Council voted 12-7 to approve Ordinance 2023-0856 to rezone the land and change the Planned Unit Development district to accommodate the project. The PUD is called the Northcreek Commercial Outparcel PUD.
The property previously was approved for one drive-thru lane, right-in and right-out access along Duval Station Road and two driveways on Lady Lake Road, with one of those inbound only.
Access to Chick-fil-A off of Lady Lake Road has customers arriving by car entering through the North Creek subdivision entrance on Bradley Cove Road or through the neighboring shopping center parking lot.
The proposed restaurant was the topic of dozens of hours of debate at Council and committee meetings after it emerged in early 2023. Dozens of residents spoke against the project numerous times in Council and community meetings, including in a public hearing before the Council in February 2023.
Project returns
After being put on the back burner amid a first round of opposition by the city, the project re-emerged in December 2023.
Neighbors raised concerns about traffic safety, congestion, crime and a reduction of property values stemming from the restaurant.
They contended that at peak times, traffic from the restaurant would spill over and block access to the North Creek subdivision.
On June 5, 2024, the Council Land Use and Zoning Committee voted 6-1 to recommend passage of the rezoning request after a public hearing on a traffic study for the project that was paid for by Chick-fil-A.
Based on the results of the study, the city is requiring a new traffic light at Bradley Cove and Duval Station roads, which Chick-fil-A is funding, and a continuous right-turn lane into the restaurant.
Several LUZ members noted that a previous Council had approved rezoning in 2015 for a fast-food restaurant with a single drive-thru, and raised concerns that denying Chick-fil-A’s rezoning request could prompt the chain to sue the city.
Reggie Gaffney Jr., whose District 8 includes the restaurant parcel, proposed amendments that included sign restrictions, requirements for trees along a buffer strip and a prohibition on walk-up windows. Council approved the amendments.
The rezoning request was granted to property owner RBSSSS LLC, which applied to rezone the land as a Planned Unit Development.