JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UPDATE: During a meeting Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council approved the development of affordable housing on the Southbank, including the addition of retail stores and storage units.
The development was approved by a vote of 11 to 8.
Tuesday marked the third time they sought the City Council's approval for the changes.
The building would be located at the intersection of Prudential Drive and Hendricks Avenue.
The proposed development was rejected by the council before after neighbors in nearby San Marco said they didn't want to see storage units close to the historic district.
In 2023, the San Marco Preservation Society said storage units located on the Southbank are "neither compatible within itself nor within the external uses."
The Southbank is less than a 10-minute drive from Downtown, and the Downtown Investment Authority also opposed building storage units there.
"Everybody wants affordable housing but they [developers] didn't do that first two times," Councilman Matt Carlucci said.
The councilman said the Southbank has an overlay and it is codified. Voting against the overlay, Carlucci said, would be ignoring what constituents are asking.
Carlucci said residents want affordable housing and more local businesses, not storage units.
"Now they're [developers] doing it because it's another way to sweeten the pie. To get people to take their eyes off what is really happening which is overriding the community, he said.