Proposed downtown Jacksonville parking garage in trouble

A developers planned construction of a 600-space parking garage in downtown Jacksonville has run into opposition because the original concept featured no ground-floor retail space.

Parador Partners of Atlanta wants to start construction this year of the parking garage, which would be next to the SunTrust Tower and across the street from The Jacksonville Landing.

But the Downtown Development Review Board, responsible for enforcing compliance with downtowns zoning requirement, balked at the garages design because it had no ground-floor space for shops or restaurants.

A downtown overlay approved in 2003 requires parking garages built in the core to have such space. The regulation is aimed at preventing parking garages from being dead zones with no sidewalk-level activities for people walking through downtown.

Parador Partners is weighing its options, said John Norris, a project director for the Haskell Co., which is the architect representing Parador.

He said Parador has not decided whether it will submit a revised concept that has first-floor retail space.

Ashish Bahl, a Parador principal, did not return calls for comment.

The city last year agreed to earmark $3.5 million to help Parador finance construction of the garage in exchange for the garage setting aside 200 weekday spaces and 375 weekend slots for public use.

The Downtown Development Review Board deferred voting June 7 on a conceptual plan for the parking garage. Board members then met last Thursday with Haskell representatives.

Board member Timothy Miller said the presentation by Haskell appeared to satisfy concerns by showing ground-floor retail. He said expects that will be in the revised plan submitted to the city, and he is not in favor of waiving the requirement.

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Proposed downtown Jacksonville parking garage in trouble