River South: Another project for the Southbank?

[thelakelander]

Under consideration by Capstone Companies, River South could be a 300-unit multifamily project proposed for a 4.06-acre site adjacent to a flood prone creek and neighborhood near Downtown Jacksonville's Southbank.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/river-south-another-project-for-the-southbank/

[marcuscnelson]

Seems like a rather odd project. The way it's being presented is strange, almost premature. Also somewhat concerning that it's being proposed in an area that could be undergoing managed retreat. According to this picture, the property (next to the T-shaped building) is pretty squarely in the flood zone:



I don't see why something like this wouldn't just be part of RiversEdge instead of on this site, especially if one would need to build an access road to reach it anyway, which would very likely be at risk of flooding.

[Jagsdrew]

It's odd for sure, it needs some more investment in design/aesthetics. Also, why isn't this building rotated 180 degrees so the rooftop balcony/amenities face the river and not the 14 lanes of a concrete jungle?

Sidenote: Why can't this be built on the corner of Hendricks and Prudential in place of the proposed (AWFUL) storage facility?

[jcjohnpaint]

Thank god it is sitting on the parking structure. Totally going to be underwater in a hurricane. The design looks terrible.

[Jax_Developer]

I believe the offering is 100% conceptual. Likely will change significantly when they go for site approval.

Also in regards to the flood zone aspect, that likely won't affect the property with it being 300-ish units. The foundation, pier and mitigation cost will be ate up really quick. Technically speaking most of the Riverfront has similar soils to this site so it really shouldn't make this different. The environmental aspect is more of a question to me. The area is just super odd with half of the parcels being bought out while others stay.. having LDR right there is really weird.

[thelakelander]

I believe the offering is 100% conceptual. Likely will change significantly when they go for site approval.

Yes, there is no design at this point. That's just a massing model as the development team does their due diligence on the site.

[marcuscnelson]

I believe the offering is 100% conceptual. Likely will change significantly when they go for site approval.

Yes, there is no design at this point. That's just a massing model as the development team does their due diligence on the site.

Right, saw that in the article, it just seems strange to have a window into what is apparently this early in the process.

Still just seems odd to know that this is sitting right in a floodplain bad enough to make managed retreat a reasonable option but still suggest building apartments on it.

[thelakelander]

^I agree. That's what really sticks out. The design or massing isn't the real story. That entire area is about as wet as it gets in the urban core.

It will be very interesting to see what happens if it proceeds past where things are today.

[Jax_Developer]

COJ &/or FEMA should commit to a complete buyout of the area. The half in half out outcome we have now doesn't help much. Either commit to allowing the wetlands to return, or eminent domain the whole area and master plan the redevelopment with significant water retention.

Having this area as it is now is a huge negative for the surrounding area and home prices.

[scbennett67@gmail.com]

You could install a thousand retention ponds but when the river rises they will all over flow.

[Jax_Developer]

There are dozens of cities with worse conditions than JAX that fair pretty well. In fact.. you can design places to flood. JAX has the triple whammy of lack of flooding infrastructure, lack of central flood planning, and a community that fears flooding. The last point likely being valid bc of the two former... nonetheless.. that land needs to have a purpose. It doesn't now. Given it's location, I would so much rather have this area be utilized and walk back wetland development elsewhere on the river. This area is CCBD... not RLD.

[thelakelander]

In reality, it should be a wetland. Nature has already decided its highest and best use.

[marcuscnelson]

There are dozens of cities with worse conditions than JAX that fair pretty well. In fact.. you can design places to flood. JAX has the triple whammy of lack of flooding infrastructure, lack of central flood planning, and a community that fears flooding. The last point likely being valid bc of the two former... nonetheless.. that land needs to have a purpose. It doesn't now. Given it's location, I would so much rather have this area be utilized and walk back wetland development elsewhere on the river. This area is CCBD... not RLD.

Seems like if you can clearly articulate that this city has failed to develop the infrastructure or plan needed to mitigate flood risks, maybe it's not ideal to let that problem get worse based on the idea that a particular parcel "needs to have a purpose."

If we already might need to spend millions to mitigate our past mistakes in permitting development in flood zones, the last thing we should want to do is restart that kind of decision-making just because it's near other parcels of land. Nature doesn't care about zoning.

[Jax_Developer]

Well aware it’s a flood zone. So is all of Miami. Both are missing my point, either actually do the buyout instead of this half-effort to do wetland restoration, or allow for it to be developed.. with flooding.. happens ALL the time ALL over the world.

Doesn’t take an expert to understand how critically behind Jax is for flooding. There are several articles that speak about it better than I can.

[thelakelander]

It sounds like the developer is doing their due diligence at this point.  That likely includes getting a feel if this would even be allowed on this site. I haven't seen anything to date suggesting that COJ wants development here.