An application for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) was filed for 2216 Oak Street, reviving speculations surrounding an incoming restaurant at the defunct and condemned Deluxe Laundry and Dry Cleaners and Deluxe Launderette buildings in Riverside.
The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission approved COA-25-32909 at its Jan. 28 meeting with conditions. According to the application, this was a resubmission of a previous COA (23-28602) that had since expired.
Architectural drawings titled “Tenant Improvements for The Roost” were submitted with this new COA application.
Martin E. Stein of Roost Restaurants, LLC, Jason Canning of Jason Canning Architect, Inc. and property owner Anthony Saleeba were listed on the expired application. Though Stein’s name does not appear on the one approved by the JHPC in January, several sources told Resident News it is their understanding the same investors – Ted Stein and J.C. Demetree – remain behind this project.
The COA seeks to install an awning, pave the parking lot adjacent to the building, replace existing windows and a skylight, and build masonry walls among other renovations, which the commission approved with conditions pertaining to materials and other factors.
While the commission initially stipulated that brick pavers be installed in the incoming parking lot to retain the property’s historic and aesthetic charm, Canning warned that frequent traffic from delivery trucks would likely cause pavers to crack, commissioners amended that conditions to allow asphalt everywhere except for the parking spaces themselves, which would be bricked.
The building’s historic and distinctive blue signage will be addressed under a separate COA application.
The restaurant was originally proposed in 2015 as The Roost before being rebranded in 2023 into The Local’s next location. The Local currently operates three other restaurants in Miramar, Neptune Beach, and Ponte Vedra.
First constructed in 1923, the building housed Deluxe Laundry and Dry Cleaners for decades until it closed in 2006. The structure deteriorated and was condemned by the city in February 2019.
Snap Fitness has been a tenant in the building on the other end of the small commercial strip since 2012. Under the proposed restaurant project, the gym would gain an additional 2,000 square feet of floor space from the back portion of 2224 Oak St., the middle building in the strip.
Snap Fitness owner Judy Peek told Resident News she is looking forward to the transformation the new restaurant will bring.
“The renovation and parking improvements will be a big boost for the street, and we’re excited about the opportunity to expand our gym space as part of the plans,” said Peek.
Resident News reached out repeatedly to both Stein and Demetree for comment regarding the incoming project but did not receive a response by press time.
