I.
Will there be enough parking on site for a Trader Joes store, or can we expect Trader Joes
customers to park in front of our homes on 27th and 28th Avenues?
There will be 89 spaces in the project. This is a ratio of 5.7 spaces per 1000 s.f of retail area.
The applicable zoning only requires 3.3 spaces per 1000 sf, so we will be providing an
additional 30+ spaces beyond zoning requirements. Based on its experience in other cities,
Trader Joes seeks more parking than required by code, both to meet its needs and to avoid
conflicts with neighbors. As a frame of reference, our ratio of 5.7 spaces per 1000 s.f.
compares with a ratio of 3.9 spaces at the Fresh Market on 4th Street. That store is twice as
big as Trader Joes will be and has less overall parking spaces (85).
We have anticipated the need for parking and this store will also have more parking than
the other nearby Trader Joe’s stores. Many have visited the Trader Joes store in Sarasota
and remarked that its parking lot is always busy. In Sarasota, there are only 79 spaces and
that store is nearly 50% larger in square footage than ours (17,900 s.f. vs. 12,500 s.f.). In
Tampa, the Trader Joes (same size) will have only 70 spaces compared to our 89. Sarasota is
also the only store serving the central Gulf Coast region right now and is attracting regular
customers from throughout the greater Tampa Bay region (4 counties). By the time our
store opens, there will be three Trader Joes in the area (Sarasota, Tampa and St. Pete) and
each is expected to serve a more localized market.
We are aware that parking demand can be very high following opening of new Trader Joes
stores. As a result, we are already pursuing opportunities to lease both the Fifth Third Bank
lot and the Bank United lot during evenings and weekends for overflow parking during the
first few months. We would like neighborhood assistance to request cooperation from the
branch banks. We will also endeavor to find nearby off -site parking for employees during
the first 30-60 days. Trader Joes tells us that the initial groundswell of curiosity typically
retreats about 7-10 days after opening, and further levels off to normal patterns 1-2 months
after grand opening.
We’ve already met once with the CHNA Board and nearby neighbors and are trying to find
ways to protect residents of 27th and 28th Avenues from the risk of parking in front of their
homes. We have presented a few options to consider ranging from a residential parking
permit program to directional curbs which would prohibit turns from Willey Street
westbound into the Crescent Heights neighborhood. Each has advantages and
disadvantages and we look forward to discussing these further with residents on Monday
night.
II.
What is the status of the project? Is the developer requesting a rezoning or variances?
We are proceeding to permit the property based on the zoning already in place, which
permits a grocery store and small retail shops. We do not require any re-zonings or
variances.
III.
Will our neighborhood be nicer with the existing small independent businesses than a new
grocery store?
The small businesses currently operating on the site all have short term leases; many have
been operating on month-to-month leases for the past several years. Any one of them could
have made their own decision to relocate on short notice. The current owner of the
property realized that these buildings were approaching the end of their useful lives and
decided to accept our offer to sell for redevelopment. The property is zoned commercial
(CCT-1) and can be redeveloped for a wide array of commercial uses, ranging from
restaurants, bars, fast food, general retail and office buildings (as high as 48’ or four stories).
Since the current owner terminated the leases and provided notice of the pending sale,
nearly all of these businesses have entered into leases to relocate to other locations in St.
Petersburg and are making concrete plans to move. We are pleased that they will continue
to be able to operate in St. Pete and are working with the final two businesses to help them
find affordable new locations.
IV.
Will buildings and homes need to be demolished for this project?
All of the existing commercial structures along 4th Street between 27th and 28th will be
demolished and redeveloped. Exactly three homes will be demolished—two with front yards
on Willey Street (which is ostensibly the alley running north south behind the commercial
businesses fronting 4th Street) and one fronting 27th Avenue North. All three were rental
properties and two included more than one rental unit. The land under those homes can be
used for parking to support this project by virtue of a Special Exception parking lot approval
for those lots obtained by the current owner this past summer. Those residential lots can
only be used for parking or for residential redevelopment and can never be developed
with commercial buildings (as they were not rezoned). Additionally, the one lot fronting
27th Avenue is across the street from the parking lot of Fifth Third Bank so the line
between commercial parking and residential on 27th Avenue will not move further west
than it already is.
V.
Will the project create or increase traffic congestion on 4th Street and in the neighborhood?
Trader Joes will be only 12,500 s.f. There will be an additional 3,000 s.f. retail shop in the
project for a total of 15,500 s.f. This compares with the 23,000 s.f. Fresh Market store at 29th
Avenue and 16,057 s.f. already on these lots (in a total of 10 structures). Therefore, the
amount of proposed building area is actually less than what is currently there and is much
less than the Fresh Market.
The proposed plan has entrances from 27th and 28th Avenues at Willey Street and also
directly from 4th Street. There are currently three entrances to businesses from 4th Street in
the block, which will be reduced to one. By comparison, all traffic is directed to enter the
Fresh Market parking lot from only two entrances, along 30th and 29th Avenues. We expect
one third to one half of the traffic to enter and exit this project directly from 4th Street,
which will reduce the amount of traffic on the avenues. While Fresh Market has the benefit
of a traffic light at 30th Avenue North, there is generally no problem exiting that store to 4th
Street at either the light on 30th or the non-signalized intersection at 29th.
Furthermore, the Ringside Café, currently on the property, is a bar/restaurant and operates
until 2AM. Trader Joes will close at 9 PM. Semi-tractor trailers and refrigerated trucks
currently bring deliveries to the Ringside and park on 28th Avenue to make their deliveries.
The largest have to circulate through the neighborhood in order to maneuver to the
restaurant (as there is no loading dock or truck turnaround). The proposed plan includes an
off-street loading dock and the plan is designed to enable the delivery trucks to back into
the dock from Willey Street (interior to the project) and to avoid circulating through the
neighborhood and blocking the streets.
As mentioned above, there are also options for restricting traffic exiting our project from
circulating west on 27th and 28th Avenues. We have already discussed some concepts with
nearby residents and would like to discuss this further on Monday night. If there is
consensus on one or more of these options, which is also acceptable to City traffic
engineers, we will work with the neighborhood to implement sensible traffic management
precautions.
VI.
Will any of the existing trees on the property be saved and what type of landscaping can we
expect to buffer the project from adjacent homes?
We have tried very hard to preserve as many of the existing large trees as feasible. On 27th
Avenue, all three of the existing large pine trees and the large live oak will be preserved.
Essentially, the foliage and tree canopy fronting 27th Avenue will be unchanged. We have
also incorporated into the plan preservation of three existing oak trees in the parking areas,
including the very large grand tree directly behind the Casita Taqueria.
The parking area closest to adjacent homes will be screened by a fence and or wall and
planted with a combination of new live oaks and a dense Areca palm hedge. We lobbied the
City to allow us to plan the Areca palm hedge because these trees grow rapidly and will form
a visual screen as high as 20’ in a relatively short time.
I personally have an interest in landscaping and we have tried to select trees that comply
with the City’s landscaping code but also that will grow fast and rapidly recreate the tree
canopy that exists today. Our landscape plan includes more planting than is required by City
code to create a lush environment, compatible with a mature neighborhood and with the
tropical theme and history of Trader Joes.
VII.
Will the store look like a typical suburban strip center?
The applicable zoning is Commercial Corridor Traditional, which requires that parking be
screened from view from 4th Street, consistent with the traditional pattern on this part of 4th
Street. We have designed our project to meet that standard and the two buildings will be
located in the front of the site abutting 4th on each corner. We have tried very hard to
choose colors and materials which reflect Florida and St. Petersburg and we look forward to
presenting our plans to you on Monday.