Neptune Beach's Old Kmart Plan Now Hinges on Water Pressure, Not Height

"This is going to happen very quick."

Community Development Board member Tony Mazzola told that to a packed room at Neptune House in Jarboe Park on Sept. 29, when Tribridge came to explain its plans for 500 Atlantic Blvd., according to the Beach Gazette. The site is the old Kmart, empty since the store closed in 2016. He was talking about the calendar. The board was scheduled to hear Tribridge's presentation on Wednesday, Oct. 21. City Council has its first reading on Nov. 2 and a final public hearing on Nov. 16.

Anyone who remembers 2018 will notice a shift in the debate. That year the argument was about how many apartments the site could hold, and the plan lost. The 2026 plan is a hotel with retail and office space, and the city's own staff says it meets the basic standards on paper. What's left to settle mostly runs through pipes. It covers how wastewater gets to the treatment plant, where fire-sprinkler pressure comes from, and whether the green water tank behind Cherry Street stays, goes, or gets a twin.

The Argument That Sank the Last Plan Is Mostly Settled

Tribridge has tried this site before. Its first proposal, in November 2017, called for 313 apartments. Residents objected to the density, and later versions brought the count down, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. In August 2018, Neptune Beach City Council unanimously denied the apartments-and-hotel application after dozens of residents spoke against it, First Coast News reported.

The current version came out of what the Council said last time. At the September meeting, Tribridge attorney Steve Diebenow said the team weighed three options: another big-box store, a hotel with townhomes, or an all-residential project. "We said we want to hear back from the City Council, what they liked, what they hated. We did not want to get into a protracted legal battle," he said, according to the Beach Gazette.

Neighbors still have concerns about the building itself. In the plan Tribridge submitted on Aug. 27, the hotel sits on the south side of the property, which backs up to the Neptune by the Sea subdivision. The two-story retail plaza goes on the north side. At the community meeting, people asked about light from third-floor rooms reaching nearby homes and whether fewer rooms would make the hotel a better neighbor. Diebenow answered that "there is a point at which if you don't have enough units, you don't have a viable product." Tribridge has also applied for two variances, one for frontage requirements and one for a building larger than 60,000 square feet.

Still, the city's starting view differs a lot from 2018. At a Council workshop on Aug. 31, Community Development Director Heather Whitmore said the application "complies with the basic land development standards. Basic setback, lot coverage, density, height, floor area ratio, everything appears to be there," the Beach Gazette reported. She also said the application had only "a very rudimentary utility plan" and was missing a lighting plan, "which is something I take kind of seriously in proximity to residential."

That utility plan is where the open questions are now.

The Sewer Has the Capacity. It Doesn't Have a Route Yet.

According to Diebenow, the city's wastewater treatment plant can handle 88,000 gallons a day, and the project would generate 44,000. "So half as much, but how it gets there is still under conversation," he said. He added that the existing lift station connection may not be enough.

Tribridge is also asking the city for a service availability letter covering water, sewer, stormwater and traffic concurrency, Whitmore told Council. So the plant has room for the hotel's flow. The open question is how that flow gets there, and that answer is supposed to come during the same weeks the Council votes.

The Tank Behind Cherry Street Could Come Down, or Get a Twin

Water pressure gets even more attention, because people living near the site can see the issue from their yards.

The developer of the old Kmart plaza put up the tall green tank in December 2022 to supply sprinkler pressure for the smaller Publix there. In February 2023, News4Jax reported that nearby residents called it an eyesore and objected that they had not been told it was coming. The developer, TLM, said water-flow tests showed the shopping center could not meet code without more water supply. That station put the tank at 30 feet tall. The Beach Gazette now says 29. The Publix at 580 Atlantic Blvd. opened in May 2023, according to Action News Jax.

A hotel needs fire-suppression pressure too, and Tribridge has three possible sources. The first is Atlantic Beach. Diebenow said the team asked that city for a shared connection to its water supply for fire suppression only, and the request was denied. Tribridge plans to ask again once Neptune Beach approves the project. "We'd love for you to come with us," he told the room. The second is Neptune Beach's own system, if it can provide the pressure state standards require. If neither works out, the third is another tank, though Diebenow said nothing is final.

Steve Broome, managing partner of Tribridge, described a possible outcome that would please the neighbors on Cherry Street:

"There is a path toward getting rid of the green monster. If water pressure becomes available, [the city of Neptune Beach] has to tap in and get rid of the green monster."

For the homes along that block, the water outcome could matter more than the hotel itself. One path ends with no tank, the current situation leaves one, and the fallback could mean two.

The Name Points Across Third Street, and So Does the Parking Math

Tribridge calls the project "Town Center West" because the idea is to send hotel guests to the shops and restaurants of Beaches Town Center, Diebenow said. Broome named Sage Hospitality Group as the hotel operator. Sage also runs Dune House in Atlantic Beach, the 193-room oceanfront hotel at 1 Ocean Boulevard. It replaced the former One Ocean Resort & Spa and opened in March 2026. Business Wire's September announcement of the finished project lists a full-service spa, pool and beach access, and four dining concepts. That means the company proposed for the Kmart site already runs a newly reopened hotel in the neighboring beach town.

The connection to Town Center also shows up in the parking dispute. City staff says the site needs 463 spaces. With the existing shared-parking agreement with Publix, it comes up about 63 short. Whitmore laid out the numbers: 148 spaces on the north side and 138 on the south, "which is basically 300 total," plus about 100 from Publix, for roughly 400. According to the Beach Gazette's report on the meeting, city code allows shared off-site parking and valet parking, and the paper pointed to similar setups at The Local and other restaurants that rely on off-site parking.

Diebenow disputes the count. "We submitted our parking analysis that shows 105 spots available above and beyond what is required," he said. "If you compare apples to apples, we have more spaces pro rata than the other side of Third. Let's see if the council agrees with us." Several residents asked about a future parking garage, and Broome said the project doesn't create enough demand to need one.

The two sides are about 170 spaces apart. Each one points to the Town Center side of Third Street to support its number.

The Dates Still Ahead

Diebenow said Tribridge hopes to "get this done by the end of November." Here is the public calendar:

1. Community Development Board, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6 p.m. This was Tribridge's scheduled presentation. The city's meeting listing has the official date and time.
2. City Council first reading, Monday, Nov. 2.
3. City Council final public hearing, Monday, Nov. 16.

None of this is approved. The sewer route, the source of fire-suppression water, the lighting plan and the parking count were all still open in the most recent reporting. Agendas and meeting materials are posted on the city's Minutes and Agendas page before each meeting.

If you own a home near Atlantic Boulevard and want to talk through how a project like Town Center West could fit into your plans to stay, sell or buy, the Stephen Williams Edgewater Home Team follows these Neptune Beach hearings closely, and we're glad to go over the details with you. Schedule a Consultation.