'Go Back to the Drawing Board': Fernandina HDC Rejects Amelia River Wharf Design
- Mike Lednovich
- Jun 19
- 5 min read
By Mike Lednovich/Editor
FERNANDINA BEACH - The city's Historic District Council (HDC) Thursday rejected the proposed conceptual design of a massive 28,000 square foot waterfront restaurant/retail shopping complex because the building's roof would exceed the allowable height restriction and the width of the structure obstructed mandated view corridors to the river.
"I don't think this board's ready to approve that much of a violation of the height limit. We're asking you to go back to the drawing board and find a way to minimize the amount you're going over the height limit," HDC Vice Chairman Jim Pozzetta told project representative Ron Flick. "We don't have an open purview to just say, 'Oh, sure. 6-feet above the height limit, the whole entire length of the building. No problem."
The HDC voted unanimously to continue a decision on whether to approve the project's conceptual drawings to its August 20th meeting in order for developer The Compass Group to make revisions to the design to adhere to the HDC's requirements.
Amelia River Wharf is proposed for the North Front Street property immediately north of Brett's Waterway Cafe and within the city's Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) waterfront district. The application was seeking conceptual approval from the Historic District Council before moving into more detailed engineering and site-plan review.
Flick's Compass Group Development is acting on behalf of property owner Osteen Company LLP, in proposing approximately 28,000 square feet of covered commercial space elevated above flood levels and designed to accommodate multiple restaurants, specialty retail shops and marina-related businesses.
The development would include a large waterfront restaurant, a second-story restaurant, six retail spaces, outdoor dining areas, public observation decks and a continuation of the riverfront boardwalk along the property. Site plans also show parking along Front Street and future gangway access to a marina extending into the Amelia River. Those gangways would later be cited by board members as blocking view corridors.
HDC Member Veronica Byrnes said Amelia Island Wharf would be a 'landmark' project on the city's waterfront in noting the designed height of the structure.
"This building really is going to define what's happening in future development in the upward waterfront. And so, it's going to be significant. And it's going to be and it's important," she said. "But when I start looking at the dimensions and the scale, it actually concerns me that this is massive. And I understand conceptually why you're doing what you're doing with the roof and how you're concealing the mechanical units and all of that...but the reality is that this building is going to appear massive where everyone in this community is used to looking at an open grassy field and water. And now we're looking at something that's I think is 54 feet above what's existing now."
Byrnes said the project's scale raised concerns not only about height, but also about how dramatically it would alter one of the last largely open stretches of the city's waterfront.
"This building really is going to define what's happening in future development in the upper waterfront. And so, it's going to be significant. And it's important," she said. "But when I start looking at the dimensions and the scale, it actually concerns me that this is massive."
Board members repeatedly returned to two issues: the building's overall height and whether proposed marina gangways would intrude into required waterfront view corridors.
Under Community Redevelopment Area design standards, building heights are generally limited to 30 feet. While architectural features and screening for mechanical equipment may exceed that height under certain circumstances, members questioned a roof design that extended approximately six feet above the height limit across much of the structure. Staff had also noted concerns that the proposed parapet enclosing rooftop mechanical equipment appeared to exceed allowable limits.
Flick argued the additional height was necessary to conceal restaurant exhaust systems, air-conditioning equipment, fresh-air systems and elevator shafts while maintaining an attractive roofline.
"It's just a mansard," Flick told the board. "It gives you the artificial appeal that you think it's a full ridged roof, but really behind it, it's a cavitated area to be able to place mechanical exhaust systems and vents."
But Pozzetta said the board lacked sufficient information to justify such a large departure from the height restriction.
Board members also questioned proposed marina gangways shown within the project's required 15-foot side view corridors. Although city staff concluded the development technically met the corridor requirements, members expressed concern that elevated gangways could obstruct public views of the Amelia River.
"Those gangways are 100 percent within that view corridor," Pozzetta said during board discussion. "In an ideal world, those gangways would not encroach into that view corridor."
Member Tammi Kosack cited The Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) design guidelines requires waterfront developments to preserve public views of the Amelia River by maintaining designated view corridors between buildings. Along waterfront parcels, developers must provide a minimum 15-foot-wide view corridor on each side of a property to ensure pedestrians and motorists can continue to see the river from Front Street and adjacent public areas.
The guidelines are intended to prevent large structures from creating a continuous wall along the waterfront that blocks visual access to the water. During its review of the Amelia River Wharf proposal, Historic District Council members expressed concern that while the building itself met the required side-yard view corridors, proposed marina gangways and access structures could partially obstruct those protected sight lines.
The board acknowledged a tradeoff between preserving unobstructed views and providing public access to future marina facilities. Flick argued the gangways would allow the public to access waterfront walkways and marina amenities, making them an important component of the project's design.
The proposed Amelia River Wharf development would include a large ground-floor restaurant capable of seating 250 to 300 patrons, a second-story restaurant overlooking the river, six retail spaces, public observation areas, a waterfront boardwalk, and plans for a future 30- to 40-slip marina. The development team is also pursuing discussions with the State of Florida to reestablish a Florida Marine Welcome Station on the site, which Flick said would commemorate Fernandina Beach's historic role as the location of the state's first marine welcome station in 1963.
Flick also highlighted the project's commitment to extending the city's planned waterfront resiliency wall northward at the developer's expense and connecting future segments of the public riverfront boardwalk.
Despite the concerns, board members praised several aspects of the proposal, including its maritime architectural theme, public access features and potential economic impact.
"I think it's an exciting project," Byrnes said. "I think it's going to be a landmark."
However, HDC members ultimately concluded that revisions were needed before they could endorse the conceptual design.
The unanimous continuance gives Compass Group roughly two months to revise the plans and return with a proposal that reduces the visual mass of the structure, better addresses rooftop screening, and resolves concerns about view corridor encroachments.
When the project returns Aug. 20, the HDC will again consider whether the design is appropriate for one of the most prominent undeveloped waterfront parcels in Fernandina Beach.
"This is the first major development on the waterfront that we're seeing. It's going to be a massive change to what people are used to seeing down there," Kosack said.
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