New dermatology center to come to Brooklyn neighborhood

New dermatology center to come to Brooklyn neighborhood
A front rendering of the new First Coast Mohs Skin Center

The Brooklyn neighborhood got another boost thanks to a dermatologist’s intention to build a new medical center in a revitalization zone near the corner of Rosselle and Park Street. Dr. Scott Warren of First Coast Mohs Skin Center purchased the properties at 600 and 616 Park Street for $1.3 million through 600 Park Street LLC in December and January. Warren intends to build a two-story 12,164-square-foot medical office building on the site, said project architect Jeff M. Lane of Lane Architecture in Riverside.

The property signifies an expansion of Warren’s dermatology practice, which is headquartered at 6890 Belfort Road, said Ortega’s Jeff Thompson of Jeff Thompson Construction. First Coast Mohs Skin Center also has locations in Mandarin and at the Beach, he said.

The first floor of the building will house the skin center, which will offer “Mohs” treatment, a technique that removes cancerous tissue with minimal effects to healthy tissue, according to a Feb. 23 letter submitted by Lane to the DDRB staff. Also on that floor will be a small retail area where Warren intends to sell skin care products, Lane said.

The second floor will comprise professional office space, which will be leased, he said.

In a phone interview, Lane said conceptual design has been completed, but the building’s interior details are still on the drawing board. A Mediterranean-style building with a stone or stone/stucco veneer is planned, with a mansard roof, which will conceal a flat roof where the mechanical system will be located, according to Lane’s letter to the DDRB. “The client’s other buildings have a Spanish character to them,” Lane said in a telephone interview. “He wants to continue that theme.”

“Riverside Avondale Preservation has been following our design with a lot of interest,” Lane said, noting that the property rests within the Downtown overlay. “Architecturally, we are going to try to blend in as sympathetically as we can,” he said.

In the conceptual design, two code deviations were requested – one for parking and the other for streetscape. Both were granted, Lane said. Included in the plan is a parking lot in the rear of the building with 57 spaces, up from 18 required in the overlay. The skin center also plans to take advantage of six on-street parking spaces, bringing the total amount of parking to 63 spaces.

The total cost of the project has yet to be determined, and, so far, no timeline has been established for its completion, Lane said.. In choosing the location, Warren received no tax or other kind of incentives from the city, Thompson said, noting he expects the project to be completed sometime in 2017.

The city issued demolition permits to Thompson in early March, and already the two parcels have been cleared. The site was formerly home to a McDonald’s restaurant, the wallpaper division of Brinton’s Paint Company, and later served as a storage facility for a bank. “The building will be wonderful once it is done,” said Thompson.

Although he did not want to speak for Warren, who was unavailable for comment, Thompson said the property is attractive because it is on Riverside’s doorstep. With the CubeSmart storage facility at 645 Park Street, the area has already proven to be ripe for revitalization, he said. Also, First Coast Mohs Skin Center will be just a few doors down from the new Gate station, with easy access to the Forest Street exit of Route 95. “From that exit you will be able to reach his place in less than two minutes,” Thompson said.

The dermatology practice is just one of several new developments planned for the area adjacent to the historic Riverside area. A Gate gas station is planned for the corner of Park Street and Forest Avenue where Two Doors Down was formerly located, and a Jimmy Johns restaurant, which was recently renovated, is located next to Warren’s property.

“We see new development everywhere. The whole Brooklyn area is blossoming and has so much potential,” said Lane.    

New dermatology center to come to Brooklyn neighborhood

A side rendering of the new First Coast Mohs Skin Center


By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...