St. Johns County seeks to buy $2 million Crescent Beach property for parking
St. Johns County plans to expand parking at Crescent Beach Park by purchasing adjacent land for $2 million at a former restaurant site.
St. Johns County commissioners recently approved the expense, but the county is still finalizing the purchase, county spokeswoman Lorena Inclan said.
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The property, owned by Coquina Beach Holdings in Ponte Vedra Beach, is the former South Beach Grill restaurant site, and the restaurant building is still there.
"This property is ideal for creating additional off-beach parking, as this location is adjacent to Crescent Beach Park, which will allow the county to utilize the existing restrooms, pavilion and beach access, reducing the cost of development," according to the resolution adopted by commissioners.
The county has 112 parking spaces in Crescent Beach, a popular spot for residents and visitors, according to Inclan. The Crescent Beach Park lot often meets capacity.
In the summer, more people tend to park on the street in the area, said Andrew Brownett, a Surf Station employee. The store is near Crescent Beach Park and has several parking spaces for customers and employees.
"We luckily have signs (saying Surf Station parking only) and people most of time listen to it, but when it gets into like the heat of summer people will be parking right on the street right in front of our shop … (sometimes) it does get pretty chaotic," he said.
He voiced support for the county's plan.
"I'm sure that will help the parking situation a ton, just as long as no one has to pay (for) parking or anything like that," he said.
The county doesn't charge for parking at its off-beach parking facilities, and the County Commission has not given staff direction on whether to charge for off-beach parking in Crescent Beach, according to Inclan.
The county plans to quickly use existing spaces west of the restaurant building once the sale is final ― that's about 10 spaces, she wrote in an email to The Record.
"When the restaurant was operational, a large number of spaces in the public parking lot were taken up by South Beach Grill staff and patrons which should permanently free up those spaces with this acquisition," according to Inclan. "There are plans to raze the building and add additional spaces and potentially reconfigure the existing public parking lot pending design, permitting and funding."
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Crescent Beach parking could expand in St. Johns County
