There are more than a dozen projects in the works for Downtown Jacksonville. Some are under construction, while others are moving through the approval and planning process. Here’s where those projects stand now.
TVC Development Inc., a division of The Vestcor Companies, is building a 130-unit apartment project near the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Framing on the fifth floor will be completed this month, with construction wrapping up this year. Vestcor said the project is more than
30 percent pre-leased.
The Molasky Group and SouthEast Development Group plan to turn the Laura Street Trio property into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, bodega, café, restaurant, rooftop bar and retail space. They’re seeking a $9.8 million incentives package, which was introduced to City Council. If approved, they have 60 months to complete the project, along with the Barnett Bank building.
Nearly $1 million in construction permits are pending for the project. When completed, the former Barnett Bank building will house about 100 market-rate apartments, a ground-floor bank and retail space. Developers The Molasky Group and SouthEast Development Group are seeking $9.8 million in city incentives to complete the restoration as part of the larger restoration of buildings on Laura Street.
Construction on the TVC Development Inc. project will begin in August in La Villa. Plans call for a five-story, 108-unit affordable housing complex marketed to people making $29,000 a year or less. Ryan Hoover, TVC president, said the project will cost about $20 million and should take at least a year to build.
Construction of the Intercity Bus Terminal — the first phase of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s Regional Transportation Center — is underway in LaVilla and scheduled to be complete in January. Construction of the second phase, a terminal for fixed routes and the First Coast Flyer bus rapid transit system and administrative offices, will begin Tuesday. It is scheduled to open in November 2019. The combined budget for the project is $57.3 million.
Developer Mike Balanky wants to turn a Downtown Cathedral District block into a mixed-use project, featuring 115 to 120 apartments, and retail space at the former Community Connections, Inc. building. Legislation to designate a section of the building as a historic landmark is in City Council.
A rooftop pool and beer garden highlight Bristol Development Group and NAI Hallmark Partners’ 10-story residential project in Brooklyn. Vista will include 14,000 square feet of retail space, 308 apartments and an eight-story parking garage. With Downtown Development Review Board approval, Vista Brooklyn will head into the permitting phase with the city.
Iconic Real Estate Investments LLC plans to transform a vacant industrial building at Forsyth Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard into an entertainment complex called The Doro District. It received approval from the Downtown Development Authority and is in permitting with the city. Phase one will include a bowling alley and retail and office space.
Elena Flats, one of just three remaining Downtown apartment buildings that were constructed in the 20 years after the Great Fire of 1901, is being restored to its original historic state. The project that began in October is on schedule to be complete in December, said JoAnn Tredennick. She and her husband, Downtown Investment Authority Vice Chair Jack Meeks, are investing about $1 million to add four 1,700-square-foot market-rate rental residences to the inventory in the urban core.
The Downtown Review Board approved a 13-story residential tower for up to 300 apartments on the Southbank. Ventures Residential Development also will expand the Southbank Riverwalk. The project will seek approval from City Council for a Riverwalk easement.
Florida State College at Jacksonville hopes to open a 90-seat ground-floor culinary café and 20 suites of student housing on the upper five floors of the six-story Lerner Building at 20 W. Adams St. Downtown as soon as possible. The café will be open to the public.
Alliance Realty Partners LLC expects to complete construction of the 263-apartment Broadstone River House at 1655 Prudential Drive on the Southbank in summer 2018. The riverfront project is designed as two buildings and a parking deck, along with public Southbank Riverwalk access.
Construction continues at the Cowford Chophouse at Bay and Ocean streets. Property owner Foodonics Equities, part of the Forking Amazing Restaurants group, wants to open the upscale steak and seafood restaurant this year. The restaurant will seat about 300 on the first and second floors and on the rooftop bar. Danis Construction is the contractor.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s $500 million plan for 70-acres of riverfront property received approval from the Downtown Investment Authority in April. Jaguars President Mark Lamping said negotiations on a development agreement with the city are “going well.” It is designed to feature a mix of housing, hotel, retail and office space and public park land.