JTA leases 2 sites for workforce housing development

More workforce housing is coming to Downtown Jacksonville after the Jacksonville Transportation Authority authorized two long-term leases near Skyway stations.

And with the Skyway planned to be converted into autonomous-vehicle Ultimate Urban Circulator routes, those workforce housing residents will have easier access to jobs in Downtown and Riverside, JTA says.

The developments will help "make Downtown Jacksonville more walkable with better access to jobs, housing and public transportation for people of all ages and incomes," JTA CEO Nat Ford said in a news release.

One is a 1-acre parcel at Montana Avenue and Manning Street, just a few blocks from the JTA's Kings Avenue Parking Garage and Skyway station. The other 1.47-acre site is on the eastern side of the JTA's Rosa Parks Transit Station Downtown.

The two transit-oriented developments by Corner Lot Development will be leased for 99 years, with substantial completion targeted over the next 36 months. The Rosa Parks development will use a portion of the adjacent parking garage owned by Gateway Jax on Hogan Street.

"A few years ago, the JTA declared it was ready to transform its lazy assets into placemaking opportunities for our riders and the private sector," JTA Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Cleveland Ferguson III said. "We are pleased that the developer community sees the value of public transportation and is using our U2C TOD planning studies and forming partnerships to create sustainable housing and pedestrian-centric amenities."

Forty percent of the 186-unit development at Montana Avenue will be workforce housing, offered to those who make up to 80% of area median income. Fifteen percent of the Rosa Parks 250-unit project, being done with Gateway Jax as well, will be workforce housing at 120% of AMI. Gateway is developing more than 20 blocks of Downtown.

The Skyway conversion's first of three phases will consist of 14 autonomous electric vans carrying people between the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts area and EverBank Stadium and facilities nearby. Construction will begin soon to modify the first 3.2-mile stretch of Bay Street with 12 bus stops for the autonomous vans, set to begin service in 2025. The JTA is also building an Autonomous Innovation Center at Bay and Jefferson streets to monitor the entire $65 million system.

The second of the three phases will start with converting the existing 2.5-mile Skyway system in parts of Downtown and San Marco into an elevated roadway for autonomous vehicles. Ramps will allow the autonomous vehicles to travel from Bay Street to the overhead roadways all the way to a stop at the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla. The U2C vehicles also will eventually cross the Acosta Bridge to the Southbank and become a 10-mile system.