Horizontal development is in review for another block of Gateway Jax’s Pearl Square district Downtown.
The city is reviewing a permit to start horizontal development of Block N8 at 440 W. Beaver St.
Gateway Jax proposes a minimum 21-story building with at least 508 residential units and about 30,000 square feet of ground-floor leasable retail space along with 167 parking spaces on the second and third levels.
The block is bounded clockwise by Beaver, Pearl, Ashley and Clay streets.
Through 606 Pearl Street LLC, Gateway Jax owns the property. Site clearing is for 2.4 acres.
The site-clearing permit shows an estimated cost of $1,500. England-Thims & Miller Inc. of Jacksonville is the civil engineer.
Horizontal work includes removing concrete, asphalt, sidewalks, bollards, brick and retaining walls and other elements.
Plans show four ground-floor retail spaces along with a fitness center and lobby, along with a reception center for the apartments.
One retail space is at the building corner at Clay and Beaver streets and the other three are at Pearl, Ashley and Clay streets. The fitness center is at Beaver and Pearl streets.
Block N8 is immediately south of Block N4 at 441 W. Beaver St., bounded by Union, Pearl Beaver and Clay streets.
The city also has been reviewing a permit to start horizontal development on Block N4, which is designed to comprise a seven-story building to include at least 281 residential units and about 19,000 square feet of leasable retail and commercial space. It also has a parking garage.
The permit reviews follow Gateway Jax’s groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 29 for Block N11, the first phase of its development in Downtown Jacksonville.
The Gateway Jax development is a partnership between lead developer CEO Bryan Moll, DLP Capital LLC and JWB Real Estate Capital. They have been working toward the $400 million-plus first phase of Pearl Square.
The partners said previously the full project could grow to 22 acres and more than 20 blocks with a more than $2 billion investment over the next decade, and the Gateway Jax district has since extended further.
Moll said in February that plans for the initial Pearl Square project had grown from five blocks to 10.
He said then that partners plan to start construction of the next building in April, followed by another start in the summer of 2025.
The Pearl Square blocks
In August 2024, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $98.58 million incentive package for the Pearl Square district, which at the time comprised:
• Block N4: A $14.1 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant and $6.84 million completion grant.
The city is reviewing an application for the horizontal development of the 1.92-acre Block N4 site at a project cost of $1,500.
• Block N5: A $2.57 million REV grant and $1.9 million completion grant for redesign and redevelopment of the 800-space former First Baptist Church lighthouse garage at 721 N. Pearl St., bounded by Union, Julia, Beaver and Pearl streets.
The city is reviewing a permit application for Avant Construction Group of Jacksonville to work on retail shell space on the ground floor of the five-story parking garage at an estimated project cost of $10.52 million.
The property is bounded clockwise by Union, Julia, Beaver and Pearl streets. The project in review consists of an adaptive reuse to add shell space for future commercial uses, such as restaurant and retail space.
Plans show 15,277 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor facing Beaver Street to the south.
The existing parking garage function will remain in the other areas.
• Block N8: A $33.88 million REV grant and $25.55 million completion grant for the minimum 21-story building with at least 508 residential units and about 30,000 square feet of ground floor leasable retail space.
The block is bounded by Beaver, Pearl, Ashley and Clay streets. The horizontal permit is the latest in review.
• Block N11: A $9.06 million REV grant and $4.63 million completion grant. The block is bounded by Ashley, Pearl and Church streets and the Porter Mansion property.
The city issued a construction permit Oct. 15 for Block N11, which includes a seven-story building comprising 205 apartment units and 24,086 square feet of retail, commercial and storage space.
Completion of the $45 million building at 515 N. Pearl St. is expected in mid-2026.
• Block N9: Moll announced Feb. 26 that Gateway Jax is designing a five-story “boutique” office and retail building on the site of a warehouse.
He said Gateway Jax was planning 60,000 square feet of office space over 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at 331 W. Ashley St., which is across Ashley Street from Block N11.
He said the building could include a corner restaurant at Ashley and Pearl streets that would include rooftop dining.
It was not among the projects on four blocks of the district for which the city approved incentives in August 2024.
Gateway Jax on Pearl Square
GatewayJax.com promotes Pearl Square as arriving 2026.
It describes Pearl Square as a seven-block development in Downtown Jacksonville's North Core neighborhood.
"Pearl Square includes 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use development and will feature a careful curation of world-class architecture, inviting greenspaces, and a lively collection of neighborhood amenities, including up-market grocery offerings, a full-service gym, and signature restaurants," the site says.
"The development will feature more than 1,250 new residential units, designed by world-class architects Morris Adjmi, SK+I, and Elkus Manfredi; a boutique hotel; approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space; and more than an acre of vibrant new public spaces, including parks, widened sidewalks, and a signature curbless festival street," it says.
It says the project reflects a $750 million capital investment in Downtown Jacksonville.
Gateway Jax says its overall proposed more than $2 billion development pipeline "spans 25 city blocks of high quality, mixed-use development in the Urban Core of Downtown Jacksonville and includes over 5,000 multifamily units and 500,000 square feet of commercial and retail space."