St. Johns Village Project Poised To Move Forward?

January 9, 2014 33 comments Open printer friendly version of this article Print Article

The City's Council's Land Use & Zoning Committee meeting this evening may be the last day for the public to comment on the proposed St. Johns Village redevelopment project in Riverside/Avondale. If all goes well for the mixed-use project's development team, final Council approval could be granted early next week.




Aerial of existing St. Johns Village site.

LUZ Hearing Scheduled for this Thursday, 5 p.m.

The City's Council's Land Use & Zoning Committee will hear testimony this Thursday, January 9th, regarding the Commander Apartments/St. Johns Village rezoning request filed by Chase Properties last year. The hearing will begin at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers, 1st floor, City Hall. Both the developer and interested neighborhood groups will make presentations about the project, and public comment will be solicited.

Following the hearing, the LUZ Committee will vote to approve, approve with conditions or modifications, recommend denial of the project, or recommend a deferral. In its November 13th hearing, the Planning Commission recommended the project be approved with conditions.

If there is not a deferral, the PUD application will then advance to the City Council for a final vote on Tuesday, January 14th. The City Council will meet that day at 5 p.m.



Aerial of proposed St. Johns Village site.


Latest changes to the PUD application and Site Plan

Although the Site Plan and PUD application are still under negotiation, the most recent proposal Chase Properties filed with the City is to build a 260-unit apartment development with 10,600 s.f. of commercial space. The proposed development includes four buildings spread over the 5.86 acre lot, two integrated parking garages, and surface parking. The most recent iteration of the PUD can be reviewed here.


Have something to say about this project? Now's the time to say it.

If you would like to voice your concerns or comments about the proposed development, make plans to attend the meeting this Thursday, and be sure to fill out a green Public Comment card when you enter Council Chambers. (The ordinance numbers for the development are 2013-341 & 2013-342.) When the floor is opened for public comment, the names of those who wish to speak will be called in the order the cards were received; each individual can speak for up to three minutes per each ordinance.

Ordinance 2013-341 is the proposed land use amendment for the shopping center lot (seeking a change from Community General Commercial to High Density Residential) for which a withdrawal request has been made by the developer. Ordinance 2013-342 concerns the rezoning request from the 2005/2006 PUD to the proposed new PUD (for both the shopping center and the Commander Apartments parcels.)

If you do not wish to speak, but would like to register your approval or disapproval of the proposed project, mark the appropriate box on the green Public Comment card and turn it in to the LUZ members at the hearing.

It is also encouraged to e-mail your comments directly to LUZ committee members. Their contact information can be found here.

Source: Email to Metro Jacksonville from Arden Neighborhood, LLC.


Next Page: Before & After St. Johns Village Renderings


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