Jacksonville Beach Restaurants Succumb to Multi Level Housing Boom
By admin at 15 November, 2009, 6:13 pm
over a month after the First Street Grill’s final New Years Eve bash, another popular eatery on the Intracoastal Waterway closes its doors for the last time on February 3rd. The Lighthouse Grill, located at the San Pablo River bridge on Beach Blvd. has been sold to a developer whose plan is to offer multifamily housing with Intracoastal access on the 2.4 acre waterfront site.
After denying a proposal to construct an 80’ high, 94 unit condominium on the property four years ago, the city of Jacksonville Beach approved this project as the buildings fall under the cities 35 foot height limit, a restriction passed overwhelmingly by voters in the 2004 election that has until now been never enforced.
The new development will consist of 37 townhouses designed in a West Indies tradition, & will sell from $650,000 to 1.5 million. Residents will also have the opportunity to own a boat slip on the property.
The trend in Jacksonville Beach has been for developers to buy up large parcels of land, tear down the existing structures, & put up 7 to 10 story condominiums. As a result, lots of of the popular restaurants & night spots that helped define the character of Jacksonville Beach have disappeared.
The most recent casualty was the First Street Grille, an oceanfront eatery & gathering place at 7th Ave. North. First Street Grille closed on January 1st after hosting a large new year’s party attended by lots of local patrons of the establishment. First Street Grille will be fondly remembered for its excellent Florida cuisine, it’s popular happy hours, & for the dancing behind the dunes to the tunes of live oldies bands.
A circuit judge ruled in October that the developer who owned the property had vested rights in the parcel because his decision to purchase the land was based on the government’s position about the properties present & future status. A similar case was decided on January 9th, allowing another developer the go ahead for a 10 story condominium at 10th Ave & 1st Street. Several other property rights cases are currently pending in the courts.
Arising from the dust of the First Street Grille will be a five story oceanfront condominium. The same developer also owns the property across the street on which the Dolphin Depot is located. According to the same judge that ruled on the First Street Grille property, the rights for this parcel are not vested. Nevertheless, four could safely assume that the Dolphin Depots days are also numbered.
High rise construction & development in general has by no means slowed in Jacksonville Beach since the vote. Five to ten story condominiums are presently being erected from 3rd to 1st Streets as investors continue to win their vested property rights in the courts.
In early 2004, a proposal to create the public marina across the street from the Lighthouse Grill in to a 550 unit condominium resort & private yacht club was soundly defeated by city council. As a result spawned the group Beaches Watch, a collection of Jacksonville Beach citizens that began the citizen’s initiative, a referendum requiring a city wide height limit of 35 feet on all new construction. The city council proposed a similar amendment, but would permit high rise construction on the oceanfront only. In November, the citizens initiative won by an overwhelming majority of over 70%.
While Jacksonville Beach is quickly becoming a world class location, lots of of the locals will have to find alternative places to meet & hang out, perhaps going north out of the city to Atlantic & Neptune Beach where the casual ambience & beaches lifestyle does not seem to be threatened.
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