A rezoning request for a mixed-use veterinary office, dog park and bar in Springfield received Jacksonville City Council approval Nov. 25.
Ordinance 2025-0674, which passed 17-0, will allow for Springfield Animal Hospital to open at 1636 N. Main St. Council members Jimmy Peluso and Ken Amaro were absent for the vote.
Springfield Animal Hospital was granted a rezoning from Commercial Community/General-Springfield (CCG-S) and a Planned Unit Development granted in 2016 to a new PUD.
The former PUD governing a portion of the site, PUD 2016-0476-E, was granted for the Main & Six Brewing Co., a brewery and taproom that closed in 2022. The new PUD permits commercial uses consistent with the CCG-S zoning district and waives distancing requirements.
The city requires a waiver to allow on-premise consumption of alcohol for establishments within certain distances of churches, schools and other locations with a liquor license.
A PUD allows uses, regulations and standards tailored to a property.
Michael Sittner, a land use and real estate attorney who represents the developer, told the Jacksonville Planning Commission that the business plan was similar to the BrewHound Dog Park + Bar in Neptune Beach.
Springfield Animal Hospital also plans to convert part of a parking lot to the dog park and use another section for parking, Sittner said.
The property, which falls within the Springfield Zoning Overlay and Springfield Historic District, is a 3,060-square-foot building constructed in 1959, according to the Planning Department staff report on the PUD request. It received its certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Section in August.
Springfield Animal Hospital also received a $50,000 grant, approved by Council, to fund infrastructure improvements to build the dog park.