Corner Lot Development is one step closer to building a new hotel in Riverside following Jacksonville City Council’s unanimous approval at its Oct. 28 meeting of land use changes and an amended rezoning request that would allow a hotel to be built at 1000 Riverside Avenue.
Current zoning and land uses for the parcels at 860 and 1000 Riverside Avenue and 1049 May Street, between Lomax and Post Streets don’t include a hotel, so Corner Lot Development is pursuing the changes to construct a 125-room hotel on the west side of the property with a parking garage on the south end. The parcel at 860 would remain a surface parking lot in the current plans. The developer and its representatives have been meeting with the public these last six months to find out what the community would like to see from the project.
“Corner Lot has committed to working with the (City of Jacksonville) Historic Preservation planning staff regarding ongoing design and elevations for this project,” said Shannon Blankinship, executive director of Riverside Avondale Preservation (RAP). “The RAP Board of Directors have high expectations that the final design will bridge the gap between financial viability and architecturally significant design.”
Cyndy Trimmer, of Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne and Diebenow, represented Corner Lot at the Land Use and Zoning (LUZ) Committee meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and at public meetings for the last six months.
“The Corner Lot owners have hotels in Brooklyn and close association with others. Those hotels are outperforming the projections for average daily rates and occupancy, and there is truly a need for another hotel in that area,” said Trimmer. “When we had the community meetings, there was a lot of positive reception to the concept of a hotel. Everybody hated the architecture, but they loved the concept.”
Corner Lot owns the Home2 Suites by Hilton Jacksonville at 600 Park Street. The developer has not revealed what brand the proposed hotel could be, only describing the property as a “boutique” hotel that would be more likely to have a café than a restaurant and more suited to travelers on vacation, not business travelers.
The land use ordinance, 2025-0496, was submitted to the LUZ Committee with an amendment that included a revised written description and revised site plan from the developer, and the Committee approved it with a condition that a traffic study will be conducted by the developer upon PUD approval. The Committee also approved accompanying rezoning ordinance, 2025-0495.
Some revisions of the written description were a result of negotiations with the community and include details pertaining to sidewalks and other improvements along May Street and reduced side and rear setbacks – as well as reduced setbacks along Riverside Avenue – among others.
