Trevato Development Group’s proposed 427-unit, market-rate apartment community will be a “fresh and modern” replacement for Adventure Landing, real estate attorney Steve Diebenow said June 28.
The bankrupt Jacksonville Beach entertainment and water park at 1944 Beach Blvd. must close by Oct. 31, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents.
Diebenow, a partner with the Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow law firm, said after a Jacksonville Beach City Council workshop that it was Trevato’s first effort to formally inform officials and the community about the estimated $80 million development.
“The owner acknowledges that this is a very high-profile piece of property,” Diebenow told the Council.
“It will literally be the first thing you see when you come over the Intracoastal … when you’re driving to the east into Jacksonville Beach,” he said.
Trevato manager Len Allen “appreciates the importance of the architecture and the look of the property.”
Diebenow showed plans at the workshop for four three-story buildings with 8,000 square feet of leasing, club and fitness space.
The units will average 850 square feet of heated area.
Plans call for 854 parking spaces comprising a four-level, 400-space garage and 454 surface spaces.
The 53.8-acre site includes the 22.2-acre property where Adventure Landing has operated for 26 years.
Diebenow said Trevato hopes to file a land use and zoning amendment with the city of Jacksonville Beach in the next 30 days.
He said rezoning and permitting could take six to nine months depending on how quickly Trevato moves through the process and how the project is received by the community.
Jacksonville Beach Director of Planning and Development Heather Ireland told the Council that the land use changes and rezoning could take about three months.
The apartments will be clustered among about 15 acres along Beach Boulevard, which preserves property behind it, keeping the project out of the Coastal High Hazard Area.
First reactions
Diebenow said a “working number” for the estimated cost of the apartments is $80 million.
He expects the rents would be comparable to the BluWater Apartments on Beach at 711 Beach Blvd. The BluWater website shows that rent for a one-bedroom, 620-square-foot apartment starts at $2,025 per month.
At-Large Council member Fernando Meza said June 28 that the project should fit the community.
“However this goes, whether it’s the plans you propose or if the owner decides to change them, I do hope you can integrate what we’re trying to do with our vision, which is the beach life,” he said.
Diebenow said that excluding beachfront condominiums, “this would be, by far, the most high-end, luxurious multifamily project east of the Intracoastal.”
He said after the workshop that the project has not been named.
Trevato Development Group, managed by Allen, paid $7.87 million for the Adventure Landing property Feb. 24 through JB Fair Park MF LLC. Diebenow said the group recently purchased the other acreage involved in the plans.
Diebenow told Jacksonville Beach Mayor Christine Hoffman at the meeting that Driver McAfee is not representing Adventure Landing and has no firsthand knowledge of the theme park’s financial ability to operate or relocate elsewhere in the area.
Hoffman asked if single-family housing was feasible under the existing zoning on the nearly 39 acres planned for preservation under Trevato’s proposal.
Diebenow told Hoffman that an existing conservation easement and its location in the Coastal High Hazard Area would make development on that land challenging.
‘Saddened’ to see Adventure Landing go
A Jacksonville Beach resident who spoke at the meeting said she was “saddened to see Adventure Landing go.”
She told the Council during public comment June 28 that she appreciates the wetland conservation in the proposal and asked that the developer consider including a public recreation pool in the design to replace what Jacksonville Beach is losing with Adventure Landing.
“While I feel housing is important to the community, we also need to support what makes living in this area desirable,” she said.
“So, I know we need to balance the economic needs but was also need to balance that with the community’s needs, especially for children and for families.”
Diebenow said Trevato’s team will consider the feasibility of public suggestions, but he did not commit to adding public amenities to the plans.
He said Trevato has engaged residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the site as well as leaders at the nearby Church of Our Savior.
Diebenow said he shared Trevato’s plans and offered to schedule community meetings for public input.
There also will be a chance for Jacksonville Beach residents to speak at the property rezoning hearings.
Diebenow told the Council he wouldn’t speak for the area residents but acknowledged “everyone has a great deal of nostalgia for Adventure Landing.”
The attorney added his own memories of taking his children to the park every summer for 15 years.
Diebenow said reaction has been both concern for Adventure Landing’s end and interest in what could replace it.
“I think everyone acknowledges something happening is better than nothing,” Diebenow said.
Editor Karen Brune Mathis contributed to this report.
