Ten single-family home sites and a small marina or a public waterway park and welcome center with a kayak launch, boat ramp, fishing pier and cafe?
Those two options for Johnston Island — eight acres of dredge spoil in the Intracoastal Waterway underneath the Atlantic Boulevard bridge — were presented Wednesday to the Jacksonville Waterways Commission.
“The owner is at a fork in the road,” said Rogers Towers land use attorney T.R. Hainline.
The property is owned by Bridge Tenders LLC, which has secured zoning from the City of Atlantic Beach and a permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District for the residential development.
Years ago, before the drawbridge along Atlantic Boulevard was replaced with the existing span, the bridge tender’s house was on the island.
Development of the site’s 3.5 acres of uplands, including roadway access from Atlantic Boulevard, has been under consideration for 30 years.
Landscape architect Brian Burke, president of Burke Design, said he’s been working with the property owner for about a year and suggested the alternate use of the island.
“I kind of hijacked this project,” he said.
The waterway park would improve public access to the Intracoastal Waterway and the adjacent protected marshland and also provide a site for a welcome center for boaters.
Shown on the site plan are amenities such as a boat ramp, kayak launch, fishing pier, picnic areas, restrooms and a cafe or concessions area. Space also could be devoted to environmental education, he said.
Other considerations for the possible change in direction from residential to public access are the limited access to waterways and anticipated increases in population and tourism, which will increase the demand for access to waterways.
“The highest and best use is public use,” Burke said.
The reason behind the presentation to the commission was to seek support — and even funding — from city and/or state governments for the park project.
Burke said the property is on the market for $3.6 million. He estimated the cost to build the park facilities presented could make the completed project come in at nearly $8 million.
Commission member Ralph Hodges made a motion for a resolution in support of the park and welcome center if the city or state could allocate funding for the project.
Lacking a second, the motion failed.
Commission Chair John Crescimbeni said he’d much rather see a park than 10 single-family lots on the site and that he’s always interested in adding more park inventory.
“But that’s a steep price,” he said.
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