Jacksonville-based Corner Lot is a step closer to building a hotel and parking garage next to its Riverside headquarters.
The Jacksonville City Council approved a rezoning request and a land use amendment Oct. 28 to allow the development.
The hotel and parking garage are planned on two parcels that together encompass 1.75 acres at 860 Riverside Ave. and 1000 Riverside Ave. Plans show a 0.15-acre surface parking lot at 1049 May St. as part of the hotel project.
Ordinance 2025-0495, which passed with an 18-0 vote with member Jimmy Peluso away from the dais, changed the land use on the combined 1.9-acre parcels from Residential-Professional-Institutional to Community/General Commercial.
RPI is a mixed-use category primarily for office, institutional and medium-density residential uses. CGC allows retail sales and services, including general merchandise, apparel, food and related items. General commercial uses include offices, highway commercial, entertainment and similar other types of commercial developments, according to the city ordinance code.
Ordinance 2025-0496, which passed 19-0, changed the zoning to Planned Unit Development from a PUD approved in 2017. A PUD is a special zoning district that allows for a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses within a single district.
According to a staff report from the city Planning Department, the new PUD allows for the hotel use and other CGC uses.
The PUD established by the Council vote allows for an 80-foot maximum height of the project, which exceeds the CGC district standard of 60 feet. It also allows for the parking garage to front May Street without an intervening building or landscaped open space, which is required in zoning regulations specific to the Riverside-Avondale neighborhood. A 10-foot landscape buffer and sidewalks a minimum of 8 feet wide will be required along May Street.
In addition, the PUD allows for exceptions to required side and rear setbacks. Reduced setbacks from Riverside Avenue are allowed to facilitate outdoor dining.
A minimum of 255 parking spaces would be required as well as an on-site loading area.
The proposed hotel is at northwest Post and May streets neighboring the Corner Lot headquarters to the west, across a new entrance. The parking garage would be built south of the hotel.
At present, the development uses surface parking. The planned parking garage would increase the amount of parking on-site to accommodate the existing tower and new hotel, plus additional public parking. The lot at 1049 May St. would remain surface parking. It is adjacent to parking for the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and a residential quadplex, offices and apartments.
In 2022, Corner Lot bought the building at 1000 Riverside Ave., which was then the Summit Tower. The 130-foot building was developed in 1963 and features River & Post, which operates a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop lounge. The eight floors in between feature office uses, including Corner Lot’s headquarters.
Commercial real estate attorney Cyndy Trimmer, who represents Corner Lot, said Oct. 9 that a brand that will operate the hotel has not been chosen. Trimmer said Corner Lot wasn’t certain if it would own the property once a brand was selected.
The Daily Record reported in July that the brand would be Marriott or Hilton.
The Planning Department recommended approval with a condition that a traffic study be undertaken following approval of the PUD. The Planning Commission approved the Planning Department’s recommendation with a 6-0 vote, and the Lane Use and Zoning Committee did the same with 5-0 and 6-0 votes.