JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Councilman Joe Carlucci said a local developer has walked away from a plan to turn an abandoned YMCA campus into an affordable housing complex.
In an email to constituents on Tuesday, Carlucci said that Alex Sifakis, President of JWB Real Estate Companies, said the company no longer plans to pursue the project in the San Jose neighborhood.
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“Mr. Sifakis advised that the numbers do not work for affordable housing, apartments, or even townhomes -- so they decided to not pursue this purchase anymore,” Carlucci wrote.
It comes after people who live near the proposed project spoke out in force, citing concerns over traffic and a potential increase in crime.
Now, Carlucci said he is exploring turning the campus into a public space.
“As soon as I heard this I reached out to our Parks Department and asked them to re-engage with the YMCA. As I stated in the Town Hall, I would love to have this parcel be a public space, in whole or in part,” Carlucci wrote in an email. “That being said, the YMCA still wants to sell this parcel. The current zoning is PBF-2 (Public Buildings and Facilities-2) which is very restrictive. So the YMCA still wants to rezone the property to [Residential Medium Density]. Which the Planning Department (not me) recommended approval for.”
The YMCA of Florida’s First Coast board of directors and senior leadership decided to sell the duPont YMCA at 7373 Old Kings Road S. to offset financial losses related to COVID-19 in 2020, according to the Daily Record.
The campus has sat mostly vacant for years.
Carlucci said he’s still planning to hold public hearings about the property.
“I am asking the Parks Department to evaluate what level of interest there is for COJ to get to the table. But until then, it still remains on the same timeline as before, just without any immediate plans for development,” he said.