Developer works on architectural changes amidst opposition to church development – The Resident Community News

Posted on January 1, 2020By EditorSan Jose, San Marco, St. Nicholas, Top Stories

Presbyterian Church elders want to rezone the property where their sanctuary stands into a large PUD that also allows the maximum density allowed 170 residential units as well as retail sale and service of alcoholic beverages for off-premises and on-premises consumption in conjunction with a restaurant, causing worry among San Marco residents that the historic church edifice might eventually be torn down changing forever the north entrance of San Marco Square.

Oppositionto the effort by church elders to rezone property owned by South JacksonvillePresbyterian Church into a Planned Unit Development (PUD) is heating up asleaders of the neighborhood group RightSize San Marco aim to work with Doug Skiles, project engineer for thedevelopment team, the San Marco Preservation Society (SMPS) and independentarchitect William Jaycox, who has been hired by SMPS for advice, to make ParkPlace at San Marco, the residential development planned for the property morepalatable to the neighboring community.

As of press time, SMPS still had not voted on orofficially taken a position on the project, said President Linzee Ott. Theboard does have several concerns about the project and has shared some of thoseconcerns with the development team. The board does feel the architecture asoriginally presented is not appropriate for San Marco, she said, adding thatJaycoxs role is not to design the building or change the site plan but tooffer specific ideas and design characteristics that will help the project lookand feel more San Marco.

As it stands now, Park Place at SanMarco, which is being developed by Harbert Realty Services and Corner LotDevelopment Group, is a mixed-use development comprised of 143 multi-familyresidential units, a three-level, four-story parking garage, and recreationalamenities proposed to be built on approximately three quarters of campus ownedby South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church.

Church officials are petitioning the City of Jacksonvilleto rezone their 2.87 acres of property in the heart of San Marco from CommunityCommercial General 1 (CCG-1) and Community Residential Office (CRO) to a PUD.As it is currently written, the PUD would allow 170 multi-family dwellings aswell as a four-level, three-story parking garage to support residential units,church parking and some public parking, and commercial retail sales and serviceestablishments, restaurants with outside sales and service, the establishmentof facility which includes retail sale and service alcoholic beverages foroff-premises consumption or for on-premises consumption in conjunction with arestaurant.

The proposed PUD also requests adeviation that will allow 1.3 parking spaces be allowed for each unit in theapartment building, as opposed to the Citys normal stipulation of 1.7 spacesper unit for each one bedroom above 500 square feet in size. Parking may alsobe provided on-street, off-street or in the parking garage, with 104 parkingspaces reserved for use by South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church duringservices and other events. Parking will be located in the parking garage orwithin Area A where the existing church sanctuary now resides or on thestreet. Up to 35 spaces may accommodate compact cars, and vehicular access tothe garage will be via Mango Place and Mitchell Avenue, according to the PUDapplication.

The church is also asking for a deviation so that theactive recreation space, be reduced from 150 square feet per unit toapproximately 80 feet per unit. Because of the urban setting of the area, itis impossible to meet the same recreational standards as would be applicable toa suburban site, according to the application.

Design guidelines in the proposed PUD call for a setbacksfrom the apartment building of 7.5 feet from Alford Place and Mango Place rightof ways, a 0-foot setback from the garage and a six-foot setback from Area A,where the church sanctuary will be located, a 43-foot setback from HendricksAvenue right of way, a 0 setback allowance to the parking garage

On the conceptual site plan, theparking garage on the southeastern portion of the property allows for a 20-footsetback from Area A, a 0-foot setback from Mitchell Avenue and Mango Placeright of ways and a 7.5-foot setback from the multi-family units in thebuilding from Mitchell Avenue. The maximum height of the garage will be 40 feetand will not include rooftop mechanical equipment and architectural featuresthat may extend another five feet from the roof line.

In Area A, located on the southwestern portion of theproperty, there is allowed a 0-foot setback from Mitchell Avenue and HendricksAvenue right of ways, a 20-foot setback from the eastern Area A boundary and a0-foot setback from the northern Area A boundary. The maximum height of thebuilding is 45 feet, and this does not include rooftop mechanical equipment andarchitectural features which may extend another five feet above the roofline.

During a Jacksonville City Councilmeeting held Dec. 10 at City Hall, 14 residents addressed the councilconcerning RE#081704 and RE#081712 during the Councils public comment session,with one resident speaking in favor of the project and 13 speaking against. Intheir comments, most residents cited increased density, traffic congestion, thesale of alcohol on the church sanctuary parcel, the possibility of increasedflooding and the large scale of the proposed apartment building and parkinggarage as the reasons they were against the project.

During his comments, Jon Livingston,founder of Right Size San Marco, a group of residents formed to oppose thedevelopment, said his group has grown to more than 500 residents with 350homeowners now sporting yard signs in support of the organization. In hiscomments, he complained about the lack of aesthetics and integration of theapartment building and garage into the neighborhood, the ability to serve andsell alcohol on the Area A parcel, and the requested deviation of 1.3 parkingspaces per unit in the garage, noting that no spaces have been allowed foremployees, guests or future commercial enterprises that might be built in thePUD in the future.

If they ever have a restaurant, they wont have to gothrough rezoning to allow for extra spaces, he said. Were wondering wheretheyre going to park? said Livingston. I asked the developer, and he saidthey are going to tow the people from the apartments on the bottom floor whenthe church wants to come in. Are you going to tow somebody paying $1,700 amonth for a one-bedroom? He said, they will get the point after a couple oftows. My point is, where do they park if they cant park in the parkinggarage?

Morgan Roberts, a River Road resident,spoke in favor of the project. She said she believes San Marco will have toface increased traffic regardless of whether this happens or not. If you lookat the traffic generated by this type of project, it is much less than otherthings that could be put on the property. I think the developer has beenresponsible with the highest part of the building, and they are using expensivematerials that will help keep the San Marco look and feel. As a formerresident of Charlotte, N.C., Roberts said she saw the property values of bungalowsskyrocket once a similar multi-family project such as Park Place at San Marcomoved into the neighborhood. Jacksonville needs to stay competitive withother cities when it comes to supplying suitable housing for employees thatearn six-figure salaries, she said.

Representing the developers, Skiles said he has met several times with representatives from Right Size San Marco and SMPS and is currently working on several changes to the plan, which will have to be approved by the church leadership. We have been meeting with SMPS to better understand the concerns. It is difficult to respond to a general statement of we dont like it, which has led SMPS to consult with local architect Bill Jaycox to provide more detailed feedback. We had our first meeting Dec. 11 with SMPS and Bill to get a sense of where we should go with future revisions. It is my understanding that SMPS will be sharing this feedback with other community members. These conversations will continue so that we can deliver a development to San Marco that will provide a valuable place for new residents to live as well as an enhanced street/sidewalk, additional parking and financial resources for the future success of South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church.

Many San Marco residents openlyoppose the rezoning of the South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church campus becausethe Planned Unit Development will increase the density of the neighborhood and allowthe area where the church sanctuary is located to include the retail sale andservice of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption or for on-premisesconsumption in conjunction with a restaurant.

Also worrisome to manywho are not members of South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, was the terminationof employment of Pastor C.J. Dates, who worked for the church approximately 100days and gave his first sermon in August 2019, after the church membershipvoted in favor of selling and developing the property.

We heard this last weekthat the pastor was let go from the church, and were really worried about thesanctuary, said Jon Livingston, founder of Right Size San Marco, aneighborhood group opposed to the project during a public comment sessionbefore the Jacksonville City Council Dec. 10. Were talking about them keepingthe sanctuary, but unfortunately, the church is going through some difficulttimes. They will not come to the table. They also have an incentive with thedeveloper, who agreed to give them $2 million for the first 100 apartments and$20,000 for every apartment built after that. What this has done is put thechurch in a position to make more money by having a higher density. The densityis already on the edge, and this is a travesty to the neighborhood, he said.

Responding toneighborhood concerns, the church leadership issued a statement to TheResident via email. The dismissal of Pastor C.J. Dates was an employmentissue and was in no way connected the planned development project. In fact, C.J.was a strong advocate for the project and was excited to see the opportunitiesfor both the church and the community as a result of the planned development.

While the proposed usesfor the retained property, outlined in the PUD seek to maximize the potentialuses of the property, our intent, as stated before, is for SJPC to have apresence on the corner of Hendricks for the next 100 years. However, the churchtrustees and elders have a fiduciary responsibility to not limit prospectiveuses and thus value. The broader descriptions outlined in the PUD will enhancethe propertys value in the unlikely event that the church decides for anyreason that it is in its best interest to sell.

Our contract withHerbert Realty does provide the church with certain approval rights. Our rightsregarding the density of the property are intended to limit, rather thanincrease, the density of the project. Our congregation was concerned aboutselling to a developer that would maximize the property for the developersbenefit but leave the neighborhood and the church feeling claustrophobic andcongested. We believe that the current plans strike a balance between providingthe developer with a reasonable financial return yet remaining well below themaximum allowable density.

By Marcia HodgsonResident Community News

Corner Lot Development Group, Harbert Realty Services, Park Place, Right Size San Marco, San Marco Preservation Society, South Jacksonville Presbyterian

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Developer works on architectural changes amidst opposition to church development - The Resident Community News