ARTICLE COMMENTS AND REPLIES HERE
Revised Vestcor concept
Selected in August by the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) to develop eight city-owned parcels into for-sale townhomes in LaVilla, Vestcor has modified original criticized architectural concepts to pay homage to LaVilla’s traditional character and sense of place.
Seeking December 2019 conceptual approval from the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB), the developer’s latest plans reveal an 88 unit townhome project featuring gabled roofs similar to the rows of shotgun housing that used to dominate the area prior to a failed 1990s urban renewal project.
Original Vestcor concept
An earlier rendition of the proposed project featured 70 multifamily units with an architectural style mimicking previous nearby infill affordable housing developments built in recent years by the developer.
Johnson Commons proposal
That proposal was in stark contrast to a competing, denser, mixed-use proposal called Johnson Commons that embraced the stylization of LaVilla’s historic rowhouse development pattern into consideration of its designs.
A 1970s photograph of the type of multi-family housing style that dominated LaVilla historically. (City of Jacksonville)
Here is a graphic look at the 3.4 acre development bounded by West Adams, Lee, West Forsyth and Stuart Streets.
Revised Vestcor concept
ARTICLE COMMENTS AND REPLIES HERE
Next Page: LaVilla Townhomes December 12, 2019 DDRB Presentation