LB Jax. Development L.L.C. will restore a Jacksonville landmark, the Barnett Bank building, to its original elegance but with a big twist: a mixed-use project that includes retail, 75 luxury lofts, and an 80 room boutique hotel that will be ready to accommodate Super Bowl XXXIX guests in February 2005.
The Barnett Bank building at 50 N. Laura St, built in 1926 to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, was the largest bank in Florida and ranked among the top 25 banks in the United States and it was also the tallest building in Jacksonville until 1954.
LB Jax. hopes to offer ground floor retail such as a five-star restaurant and a prominent local bank, 75 lofts that feature gourmet kitchens, fine moldings, and spectacular views; and an 80-room boutique hotel.
According to Mike Langton, Managing Partner of LB Jax., “The significance of this project is Jacksonville’s downtown reaches a point of critical mass with The Barnett, the final large historic landmark being brought back to life.
“From a development perspective, its dynamic and exciting because we are integrating three elements: retail, housing and hotel, which is congruent with current development trends and timely with Jacksonville as the host of Super Bowl XXXIX.”