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Did anyone read that section in the master plan and the zoning overlay about setbacks? How can these guys get away with having a front yard? I don't remember the section about front yards in the master plan.
Does this look urban to anyone? If so, what about it makes it urban. Is it the trees that stand between the road and the sidewalk, like those in a gated, master planned community? Or, is it the fence that separates the sidewalk from their garden? This structure will now be adjacent to the riverwalk and Forest St, which by the way will be the new gateway to downtown when the I-10/95 interchange is completed - not exactly a signature building to serve as the entry to our downtown.
In other DRC happenings, they also approved the renovations to the Winn-Dixie on North Market St. Not exactly an earth shattering improvement. The parking lot is still the focal point of the site, and the building turns its back to the sidewalk on the north, east, and south. With that said, I guess it is a bit of an improvement over the current site.
It is also interesting to note that the loading dock side (the east elevation) was not included in the presentation that was made to the DRC (at least it was not part of the presentation that was given to Metro Jacksonville). Interesting that the loading dock side was strangely missing from the presentation, despite the fact that all building elevations are to be in the presentation, according to the city:
Downtown Development Design Review
This building is proposed for the corner of W Adams and N Jefferson, where the old garage that housed Jaguar Ugly is. While it will add activity during the business day to a fairly prominent corner in our downtown, we're doing a hell of a job putting up a ton of one story office buildings in what was once a great neighborhood, LaVilla.
Finally the DRC approved the design for the new headquarters for the Dalton Agency at 140 W Monroe St, at the former home of the Boomtown Supperclub. While the design is not exactly awe-inspiring, of the three office projects mentioned, it's the only one that actually has ground level retail (Subway will remain). However, don't expect Subway to extend their hours from their 5 days a week, closed at 6pm schedule that they operate now.
This time last year, JCCI was in the process of studying whether or not we need higher design standards for downtown. After reviewing these projects, the answer seems to be no - we don't need higher design standards for downtown; we just need to enforce the ones that we have on the books now.
The DuPont design violates a number of them, particulary with regards to building setbacks. What good would creating new standards do - give the appointed members of the DRC more rules to throw away?
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jbm32206
July 31, 2007, 09:21:37 AMAlthough it doesn't look like a building you'd see in any major city's downtown, I have to say it does look nice...but agree that it just doesn't fit a downtown setting.
tufsu1
July 31, 2007, 09:25:14 AMI have a better idea for Winn Dixie....since they only had $3 million and that would never have paid for the urban store you all are looking for......perhaps the money would be better spent on a store in the suburbs....surely that would help downtown more!
alohameisha
July 31, 2007, 09:36:39 AMI am interested to see how that Dupont bulding unfolds. It will be a weird contrast to the Everbank building. It will be mostly hidden from the street by the Everbank building. I just hope they don't close off access to the Riverwalk. I am working in the Everbank building (which really only occupies 2 of the thirteen floors) and they have the construction zone fenced so you must walk over to the St. Joe or the main Fidelity Building to access the Riverwalk. I hope whatever they construct it will have a nice path and outdoor tables to the Riverwalk. I'll keep a birds eye view and take some pics once is something going on in the dirt over there.
thelakelander
July 31, 2007, 09:42:06 AMtufsu1 has a point, regarding the Winn-Dixie store. $3 million doesn't stretch that far. However, it would be interesting to know the stage these plans are in when they come up before the DRC. From looking at many of the renderings posted in this article, it appears these projects are well into CDs when they are being presented. Something as simple as possibly laying out the new deli expansion area to potentially partially face the sidewalk/with outdoor cafe-style seating can be difficult to achieve when the plans are already drawn up and ready to go in for permitting.
In essence, the DRC's hands may be tied by evaluating projects too late in the design process. Imo, something that may help the situation would be having Architects/applicants bring their concepts in for review during the beginning of the Design Development stage, as well as the city being a little more strict with the zoning overlay. If people know they can't get away so easy with variances, from the beginning, they would be more inclined to design according to the zoning overlay's standards.
thelakelander
July 31, 2007, 09:46:20 AMThere will be a sidewalk going down to the riverwalk, but it's only about 5 to 10 feet wide. There won't be any outdoor tables, etc. Those things will be located in Everbank's pocket park (at the corner of Forest & Riverside).