The Green Cove Springs City Council has unanimously approved a site plan and developer’s agreement for a new mixed-use development.
The 1.2-acre property is located at 310 S. Orange Avenue. The developer is proposing a retail, restaurant, and residential building.
The ground floor would house retail and the first floor of a two-story restaurant. The dining area for the 5,000-square-foot restaurant will take up more than half the space. Plans also show a rooftop seating area and one parking space for each residential unit on the second floor. The third and fourth floors would be dedicated to 38, 1 and 2-bedroom rental apartments.
Parking was the prominent issue mentioned by council members.
Based on the size and use of the building, the developer was required to create 150 parking spaces. However, they could only come up with 111 spaces in addition to parking for 14 golf carts.
Last June, “the additional mitigation that would be required for the parking was waived by the council,” said Development Services Director Michael Daniels.
Looking to the future, “parking is going to continue to be an issue for us,” said councilman Edward Gaw. “We have a parking issue that is staring us in the face.”
Kelly Hartwig with Cypress Management and Design spoke to the council on behalf of the property owners. Regarding parking arrangements, “It’s what drove our cost up so high. It just made the project real close to tough,” he said.
Councilman Steven Kelly commented that the city will have less flexibility in the future. “Fast forward 10 to 20 years, I think we’re going to have to be even more critical and restrictive in that sense,” he said. “We’re already technically approving a development that is 20-30 spaces deficient, which means it puts the onus on the city…to make parking more efficient.”
No word on when construction will begin, but the city’s planning director says the development should be complete in 2024.
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