Hair salon approved for repurposing as animal hospital
For almost 30 years the Craftsman Style bungalow at 1502 Dancy Street was a favorite place for women to get their coiffures done and to socialize.
Built 1924 on the corner of Park and Dancy, the one-story, 1,200-square-foot converted residence was the home of Tania’s Hair Studio. A victim of domestic violence in July 2016, Tania Badal Woodrum was a fixture in the Avondale business community for 45 years. Her clientele hailed not only from Riverside, Avondale and Ortega but also from the other side of the river as well as Fernandina, Orange Park, and the Beaches.
Now the quaint cottage has found a new purpose as an animal hospital. Woodrum’s daughter, Missy Hager Riley, sold the property in April for $299,000 to Wilson-November Properties, LLC, a new company as of January 2019.
As the 95-year-old property is a contributing structure in the Riverside Avondale Historic District, Wilson-November Properties applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) to convert the former hair salon to a veterinary called Park Street Animal Hospital. Drs. Matthew Wilson and Jordan November are veterinarians at Monument Road Animal Hospital. November’s husband, Steven, will be the primary veterinarian at the new hospital.
Plans were approved June 26 by the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission for Avondale Animal Hospital, which will include a 680-square-foot addition at the rear of the structure, an ADA ramp along the Park Street side, 4-foot fencing on the Eloise Street side, parking improvements and sidewalks. The proposed plan includes hexagon sidewalks to provide better connectivity for pedestrians along Park and Dancy Streets and to the intersection, according to the application. [Editor’s note: Subsequent to publication of the newspaper, Dr. Wilson corrected the name of the veterinary hospital. It was originally planned to be named Park Street Animal Hospital.]
The preservation commission also suggested landscaping along the Park Street right-of-way and in front of the ramp, and locating the sidewalk in the public right-of-way on Dancy Street. Since the applicant requested reduced landscaping buffer adjacent to the resident on Eloise Street, the commission also recommended an 8-foot fence to provide separation between the residential and the commercial uses of the adjoining properties.
The design of the addition was done by Lane Architecture PA, of Riverside, who will manage the project. Contractors for construction and landscaping have not yet been selected. The veterinarians hope to open for business in in first quarter 2020.
By Kate A. Hallock
Resident Community News
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