The San Marco Merchants Association (SMMA) hosted its first general meeting of the new year on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Aspire Church San Marco, during which guest speakers Joe Kantor from The Haskell Company and District 5 City Councilmember Joe Carlucci shared significant updates pertinent to the San Marco community.
Intersection Closure Ahead
Representatives from Haskell shared updates on the Lasalle Street pump station. Kantor, director of project development for The Haskell Company, informed merchants of the eventual closure of the intersection at San Marco Boulevard and Lasalle Street as part of the second phase of construction for the pump station. Phase II involves drainage improvements for the Lasalle stormwater collection system, including the construction of new inlets and pipes.
The intersection closure will allow crews to install a 72-by-48-inch pipe underground. Complicating that installation is the presence of an AT&T duct bank carrying fiberoptic communications running diagonally across that intersection, Kantor said, which will require crews to work with caution and in coordination with AT&T to ensure the pipe is properly threaded beneath that duct bank.
“It’s going to be quite the dance to get that to go under there,” Kantor said at the meeting.
Though timelines are fluid, Haskell is targeting the intersection to close in April for “more than a month” though Kantor said crews plan to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week to whittle that time down as much as possible.
Additional closures and detours are expected along area side streets for continued Phase II construction. Restoration and resurfacing along Naldo Avenue was underway as of the Jan. 29 meeting with crews already moving to work along a portion of Belmonte Avenue. Construction and associated detours are also expected along other residential streets including Larue Avenue and Riviera, Colombo and Laverne streets.
Residents within these designated work areas will be notified well ahead of the commencement of any construction, Kantor said. Additionally, Haskell hosts drop-in meetings open to the community at its on-site office at 1604 San Marco Boulevard every third Friday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for anyone interested in learning the most up-to-date information on the project. The projected completion date for the entire project is March 2026.
More information on the project can be found at www.jacksonville.gov/lasallestreetdrainagefaq.
Scottish Inns Updates
At the January meeting, Carlucci informed merchants that early conversations are underway regarding possibly demolishing the Scottish Inns on Philips Highway and replacing it with an AC Hotel by Marriott, or similar.
Before that can happen, Carlucci said the city is looking into closing John Street – the side street separating the Scottish Inns and its neighboring, vacant lot – from Philips Highway to Mark Avenue. The Scottish Inns owner also owns that 0.93-acre lot and would see both lots combined to make way for the new hotel.
“We’re in the very beginning stages of it but right now what I’m trying to do is gage community interest,” Carlucci said after the January merchants meeting.
A traffic study of John Street revealed it sees minimal traffic and area residents would still have ingress and egress via other roads to their neighborhood.
“That’s what the teaser, so to speak, was today that ‘Hey, this could be coming,’” Carlucci said of the meeting update. “I know we’ve all talked about it but the owner is on board, he’s putting money towards it, now the City is looking at closing that street and that’s the first step of many to get it lined up.”
Carlucci added that a town hall meeting will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
