College makes third appearance before HARB

Former St Augustine Mayor George Gardner has been following the progress of Flagler College in their efforts to demolish an existing building located at the intersection of Cordova and Cuna Streets; making way for a five building communications facility.

Tomorrow, at 2:00 p.m. in the Alcazar Room on the first floor of the west wing of City Hall, located at 75 King Street in St Augustine, the college will go before the Historic Architectural Review Board for the third time.

The St Augustine City Commissioners found that in the original review and opinion of appropriateness by the Board, the members did not include a required streetscape relationship with surrounding buildings in their approval process.

Gardner wrote in The St Augustine Report, “the commission doesn’t like to override lower boards”; however, we have seen before that vocal neighbors who are present at commission meetings have the power to influence the commission’s actions.

In this case, of the five units that will replace the parking lot and single building once occupied by Florida Power and Light Co, three of the buildings are proposed to be two stories high; according to the college’s Planned Unit Development.

If the Historic Architectural Review Board approves the project, again, and issues the college an “opinion of appropriateness”, the application will return to the City Commission, again, for a “certificate of appropriateness”.

Among issues that have been addressed during the approval of the proposed 20,000 square-foot complex were the height and shape of the roof pitch and general character of the commercial building in the historic district.