A HISTORY OF CONENTIOUS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS

The Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods have produced a series of contentious development proposals over the last 5 years. The area’s development is governed by a special zoning overlay enacted in 2008 that presents both incentives and challenges to preserving and/or redeveloping properties within the overlay’s boundaries. The neighborhood-based non-profit Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP) has acted as the main tastemaker for nearly all zoning requests within Riverside/Avondale, and as such have been both celebrated and despised during rezoning attempts. Here is a brief summary of some of the major controversies since 2010.

Mojo No 4

In 2011, Jacksonville-based Mojo Barbecue opened its fourth location along the Shoppes of Avondale in a former furniture store. The zoning overlay applying to structures within the Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods that was adopted in 2008 seeks to encourage the re-use and preservation of historic building stock by reducing the amount of required parking in commercial and office areas. As Mojo’s building was considered a historically contributing structure, the Riverside Avondale Zoning Overlay did not require the developer to construct any additional on-site parking.

While the 170-seat Mojo No 4 did not require a parking deviation, the opening of the restaurant signaled the beginning of a contentious period of development within the Riverside Avondale Historic District.

Black Sheep

In 2010, the owners of popular Avondale mainstay Restaurant Orsay proposed to redevelop an oddly-shaped triangular lot in Riverside’s 5 Points commercial district that housed a dilapidated structure. Plans called for the construction of a 3-story, 45 foot-high building that would feature a ground-floor restaurant, two floors of office space and an iconic rooftop bar. After the developer applied for a rezoning request through the use of a Planned Unit Development (PUD), RAP worked collaboratively with the developer on efforts to modify the terms of the PUD. RAP’s concerns centered around the building’s scale and parking requirements - seeking to address several architectural elements, setting the building back 5 feet from the sidewalk (which would have had a significant effect on the building’s square footage) and requiring additional on-site parking. In the end, Black Sheep moved forward with the construction of the building with modifications to various architectural elements initially proposed. No changes to parking nor building setback were required, as the building met code with a 1-foot setback and also supplied 11 more parking spaces than the minimum required by code.

Kickbacks

The commercial district along Riverside’s King Street had long been an unsafe area once the sun went down. That began to change when Kickbacks Gastropub opened nearly a decade ago. In 2012, the popular restaurant sought a rezoning request through the use of an Administrative Deviation (AD) in order to build a 249 seat expansion and shared kitchen space to be called Goozlepipe and Guttyworks. A firestorm of controversy erupted centered (at least legally) on an exemption that sought to waive the number of on-site parking spots from 19 to zero as part of this expansion effort. RAP’s position was that the restaurant should provide 33 on-site parking spaces under current zoning laws and opposed efforts to reduce any parking requirements.

Ultimately, a settlement was reached that required the restaurant to purchase an off-site, commercially-zoned vacant lot (a lot once proposed to be used for residential infill in a neighborhood where housing demand is out-stripping supply, leading to a large appreciation in housing prices that outpaces the county-wide average) to house 30 parking spaces as well as constructing a handicap-accessible parking space in the right-of-way in front and two employee parking spaces in an alleyway behind the new restaurant.

Property once positioned to host new housing construction was instead turned into a surface parking lot in order to meet zoning code as a result of redeveloping nearby commercial property.

Five Points Village

In June 2012, a 21,000 square foot, L-shaped and dilapidated 1970’s era strip mall called Five Points Village owned by Peter Sleiman’s Retail Properties, Inc was partially destroyed by fire.

When plans were submitted to redevelop the shell of a structure that remained in the wake of that June blaze into a new, smaller 17,000 square foot strip center that eliminated the portion of the previous L-shaped structure and also included additional surface parking, RAP proposed an alternative site plan. That alternative called for a new structure to be constructed along Margaret Street, eliminating existing on-street parking. Surface parking would be located between the new and old structure, with additional parking in the rear of the existing structure.

Although a new structure that would embrace the walkable form of the surrounding Five Points commercial district would have been ideal, RAP never produced a case that rents could increase as a result of their alternative site plan to warrant the developer taking on such cost. In the end, the economic reality of completely demolishing a viable retail structure and replacing it with a relocated structure proved to be too much of a financial burden for the developer to consider, especially considering that relocating the building was not required per the City’s zoning code.

Currently, the rebuilt strip center is fully leased with a tenant mix that includes Community First Credit Union and M Shack, among others

Mellow Mushroom

In 2012, plans were submitted to construct a Mellow Mushroom franchise in the Shoppes of Avondale commercial district - the first commercial construction infill project in Avondale to break ground in decades.

The developer sought to replace a vacant and derelict gas station with a new, modern structure including a covered patio that would be attached to an existing, adjacent commercial structure that would be rehabilitated and the construction of a 19-space parking lot located behind the newly built structure. An AD was sought that would reduce the number of on-site parking spaces associated with the proposed 206 seat restaurant with an additional 72 outside seats as well as to allow for the outdoor sale and service of food and alcohol . The demolition of the blighted gas station would return the site to a physical characteristic that was more consistent with historic footprint of the block that was once lined with storefront facades that were positioned up to the sidewalk.

RAP’s position was that the restaurant’s seating capacity be no greater than 176 (a figure that would include outdoor seating), an enclosure of the proposed patio area, breaking up the look of the 100 foot structure to appear as though there are three separate building facades, no amplified sounds after 9pm as well as several architectural provisions.

In the end, the AD was granted with a requirement to cap indoor seating capacity at 204 and outdoor capacity at 40 seats along with an exception to allow for outdoor sale/service. Conditions were placed upon the approval including providing 22 parking spaces on site (seven on-street parking spaces were also credited to the applicant due to the site’s previous use), enclosing the previously proposed ‘patio space’ as well as certain restrictions on amplified noise and granting most of the architectural elements sought by RAP.

Roost

In 2015, developers Ted Stein and JC Demetree sought a PUD in order to redevelop a long-vacant laundromat and dry cleaning facility along a former streetcar corridor near the Five Points commercial district. Plans called for a 150-seat diner and coffee bar that would also include a full bar, adjacent to a gym previously redeveloped along Oak Street-one block away from the Riverside Publix grocery-anchored commercial development. As the property also included an adjacent empty lot with a CRO zoning, plans called for the construction of an on-site parking lot with 35 spaces.

RAP opposed the PUD application and sought to reduce the restaurant’s capacity to 60 seats (which would be below the threshold required to operate a full bar), not allow for outdoor seating and restrict operating hours past 10pm.

In May 2016, the PUD was approved to allow for a 150-seat restaurant with outdoor seating, the construction of 35 parking spaces on-site and an additional six on-street parking spaces. As a condition of this approval, outdoor sale/service would cease at 5pm, no live entertainment would be permitted after 10pm and no televisions will be allowed either inside or outside the restaurant. The approved zoning application is now facing an appeal, and the redevelopment of the property cannot begin until the appeal is formally heard and ruled upon.

Article by Mike Field