Developer offers downtown upgrades in exchange for building height

New ownership of an acre of prime downtown property rezoned for development in 2018 was back before the City Commission on Monday, seeking amendments to proffers made six years ago by previous ownership.

Representatives of Fourth and Trail Development, the contract purchaser of the six-parcel site, were seeking to raise building height to 10 stories, the maximum permitted in the Downtown Core Zone District, on some parcels of an as-yet unproposed project in exchange for street-level enhancements and the inclusion of affordable housing units. 

At the request of the new owner and representatives of land planning consultant Kimley-Horn, commissioners unanimously voted to send the rezoning request back to the Planning Board for further review.

The site includes four parcels along Fourth Street and two fronting Fruitville Road, partially enveloping the low-rise Encore condominiums. The proffer changes occurred after the rezoning was recommended by the Planning Board to be denied by a 4-1 vote at its Feb. 14, 2024 meeting.

The applicant and property owner at the time of the 2018 rezoning approval included proffers to limit the height of the development to three and five stories. Fourth and Trail requested to remove those proffers, allowing future development on the site up to the maximum height allowed in the DTC. 

Following the Planning Board’s recommendation to deny, the applicant amended its original application, which included input from meetings with Rosemary District leadership and resident representatives of the Encore condominiums. 

Rather than remove the two proffered conditions limiting the height of future development, the applicant proposed one new proffered condition, which would allow development on the subject property to be built to the maximum height permitted by the zoning code only if the following certain conditions are met: 

• Provide 25 public parking spaces with an additional five public spaces specifically for residents and guests of the adjacent Encore condominiums.
• Provide a sidewalk system with a minimum 8-foot pedestrian zone and 6-foot amenity zone where fronting Fruitville Road, and a sidewalk zone with a minimum 22-foot pedestrian zone fronting on Fourth Street.
• If the development contains residential units, provide 15% of those units exceeding the maximum base density to be attainable units pursuant to the downtown attainable housing density bonus.
• All street trees will be canopy trees with spacing closer than is required by code.

Broader approach

Since the February Planning Board appearance, Kimley-Horn Senior Planner Bill Waddill joined the project, taking a more holistic approach regarding the development, setting the tone for improvements throughout the Rosemary District and surrounding area. 

The firm is working with multiple developers in that area of downtown, and Waddill said he has met with others as well in the interest of creating higher street-level standards throughout the district.

“We have determined that all of the neighbors would like an improved pedestrian area of 18- to 22-foot pedestrian zones that include wider sidewalks and meaningful tree verges of 8 to 10 feet or more to plant canopy trees that will actually grow,” said Waddill, who returned to Kimley-Horn eight months ago after serving as COO of the Bay Park Conservancy.

“We have one shot at this for the next 75 years to get this right, and anything we can do to get these applicants to utilize the incentives in place for attainable housing, public parking, better sidewalks, better shade trees, and, oh by the way, maximize the revenue in The Bay Park Improvement District, we ought to be doing. 

“We're working closely with all of them.”

Philip DiMaria, also of Kimley-Horn said the amended proffers would provide, “A once in a 75-year opportunity for a win-win-win."

While that may be, Allison Christie, the city’s manager of development services, told commissioners that staff cannot make an affirmative recommendation on the proffered proffer changes.

"Staff does feel the decision to amend previously proffered conditions is a policy decision that should be made by the Planning Board and City Commission,” she said.

Mayor Liz Alpert asked DiMaria and Kimley-Horn colleague Waddill if their client would consider making another run at a Planning Board endorsement with proposed amended proffers in hand, which prompted a brief recess for that discussion to ensue.

Upon returning to the dais, DiMaria said, “Mayor with your permission and the Commission's permission, we'd like the opportunity to go back before the Planning Board to discuss the revised proffer statement and our community conversations.”

Prior to the vote, Alpert said, “I think it makes a lot of sense, because there are a lot of moving parts here, that it would be better if it were vetted that way and you should get it right for the next 75 years.”