Lifestyle Fitness Center backs away from its plans

The plunk of golf balls and the crack of baseball bats will continue at Mandarin Mill Family Golf, at least for a while, after Lifestyle Family Fitness dropped plans to build a two-story, 32,000-square-foot fitness center on the site.

The decision by the St. Petersburg-based fitness company not to develop the wooded site at 10910 San Jose Blvd. wasn't based on previous neighborhood opposition to the traffic it would bring. But company attorney Wayne Hanewitz would only say his company and the property owner "decided mutually and amicably not to pursue things," although he wouldn't elaborate.

News of Lifestyle's departure surprised Ann Pace Sutton, one of many opponents in the neighborhoods off Halcyon Lane, Plummers Cove Road and Scott Mill Lane behind the site. She hopes the conditions mandated when the City Council passed its rezoning, like mandatory traffic calming, get done.

But who might buy the site now?

"The primary concern is that we hope there will be continued execution of traffic calming, regardless of this change of plans, or going forward if another business goes in there. Something else will probably go in there," Sutton said. " In the end, I felt Lifestyle would be a pretty good corporate neighbor. At least we knew who was coming in."

City Councilman Jack Webb said he was told the company backed out because the price tag to build it was higher than estimates. But he assures residents that whoever buys and develops that land next will have to live by the conditions.

"The property will continue to run in its existing use," Webb said. "The PUD [rezoning] was passed so if any new purchaser takes it, it is subject to the existing zoning passed by the council. If the new purchaser wanted a new use, they would have to come before the council."

Mandarin Mill has been open for more than 16 years, its putt-style golf and batting cages operated by Fred Schramm. Lifestyle Family Fitness operates 50 facilities in the U.S., including one in East Arlington and another in Orange Park.

Hanewitz said the company is always looking at new sites to expand to, but won't say if any are in Jacksonville.

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