Changes made to The District’s master plan
Although significant changes have been made to the master plan for The District – Life Well Lived, the new Southbank community will still retain its emphasis on healthy living, said developer Peter Rummell.
“The revised master plan continues to build on the health, wellness and multi-generations theme while focusing heavily on a variety of housing opportunities with a strong emphasis on river access and activation,” said Rummell.
In a new renderings released in late June, Rummell and his partner, Michael Munz, have rearranged elements from previous plans, while including a large cinema and townhomes on the southern edge of the 30- acre property.
The new drawings show a 16-story riverfront hotel, a 12-story office building, several apartment buildings, and 11-story/ seven-story luxury condominiums. Retail space includes a 25,800-foot cinema and at least five dining facilities, including two riverfront restaurants situated on either side of a riverfront public park.
“The idea of bookending each end of the four-acre riverfront park with restaurants as opposed to having them all along the riverfront opens up the public space and makes the action on each end exciting,” explained Munz.
Also changed is the location of the office tower, which had been situated away from the river, to Riverside Drive, a new street, which separates the park from the buildings. In the new plan the office tower will sit adjacent to two apartment buildings, which previously had been centered on the property. Prudential Drive will extend the length of the development, separating the loftier residential buildings from the townhomes and the cinema. Saunter Lane, a pedestrian walkway, now divides the two apartment buildings, where a road had been designated on previous renderings.
Also included will be a 57-slip marina, a kayak/canoe rental and a riverfront club.
Rummell’s development group intends to purchase the property for more than $17 million, but has yet to close on the land. JEA extended the due diligence period to Nov. 30, 2016 with closing by the end of December, said JEA spokesperson Gerri Boyce.
In December 2015, Equity Resources LLC of Birmingham, Alabama, announced plans to develop a high-end luxury apartment community within The District, but dropped out of the project a few months ago, said Munz. “We are working with our new development partners but are not ready to announce that yet,” he said.
Munz also said Rummell’s group has had “preliminary conversations but nothing concrete” with the Duval County School Board about acquiring its riverfront building adjacent to The District.
The new master plan calls for approximately 1,100 residential units. Retail establishments wrap around the ground floors of most structures. Parking garages are incorporated within the lower and mid-levels of most buildings. The two-story townhouses, deemed “City Homes,” by the developers, will number between 45 and 65, each with its own garage, said Munz
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
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