Ari Jolly led the JAX Chamber as its volunteer chair through 2025, during which the business membership organization announced that 12 economic-development projects pledged to create 2,404 jobs and a capital investment of $922.7 million in the group’s seven counties in Northeast Florida.
During the year, 11 of those companies decided to move or expand in Duval County and a data center chose a Flagler County site.
Jolly is expert counsel for Florida Blue, which she joined in 1993.
She was a 2024 member of the Florida Council on Economic Education First Coast Business Hall of Fame.
Jolly also has been serving on boards, including two terms on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
Before joining Florida Blue, Jolly was an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1983-90.
As JAX Chamber Chair, Jolly leads and participates in economic development prospect trips, including to London when the Jacksonville Jaguars play there.
Rurmell McGee, founder of Lake City-based Blackwater Development LLC, made a splash April 9 when he and partners paid $19.1 million for the bulk of the largely vacant and deteriorating Regency Square Mall.
They renamed it The Nexus at Regency and pledged to redevelop the prominent property with multifamily communities, financial institutions and nationally recognized retail brands.
The 58-year-old mall anchors Arlington at 9501 Arlington Expressway, at northwest Atlantic Boulevard and Monument Road. Blackwater Development bought 960,162 square feet of commercial space, while three large structures – Impact Church, Dillard’s Clearance Center and the closed Sears department store – remain separately owned and are not part of the redevelopment.
McGee closed the mall interior May 31 and launched the first phase of redevelopment of the 77-acre property in September with civil engineering plans that show initial work will include new roads and infrastructure providing access to future outparcels; the installation of water, sewer and electric systems to service the outparcels; development of a new roundabout at the main entrance; and a landscaping plan.
“We can begin unlocking the front 11 acres and creating opportunities for new tenants to join this transformational project,” McGee said.
Outparcel retailers have emerged to include Chase Bank, Dutch Bros Coffee, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and possibly Circle K.
“The Regency Square Mall is the front door to Arlington, and we believe a reimagined site will serve as a catalyst for future revitalization in the community for years to come,” McGee said upon the purchase.
For a second consecutive year, Gateway Jax principal Bryan Moll spent 2025 offering a counterpoint to the idea that the decades-long effort to revitalize Downtown Jacksonville will never reach realization.
After spearheading the launch of the development partnership’s first building in 2024, Moll followed up in 2025 with the groundbreaking for the group’s second construction project and announcement of a deal to add a full-service Publix to its proposed mixed-use tower on the site of the First Baptist Church’s main auditorium.
Working with partners JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital, Moll also orchestrated the purchase of the Downtown block that includes the vacant historic Ambassador Hotel and Central National Bank building.
Entering 2026, some Jacksonville City Council members are questioning whether the city should consider providing completion grants to such projects as opposed to providing tax rebates known as Recapture Enhanced Value Grants. Unlike completion grants, REV Grants do not require payouts from the city’s general fund reserves.
In a statement, Moll said: “Securing Publix as Pearl Square’s grocery anchor, advancing design on the Ambassador Hotel, and breaking ground across multiple parcels are all paving the way to welcome our first residents and retailers in 2026.
“While there has been conversation regarding REV and completion grants in the news lately, these public-private partnerships are essential for moving projects forward right now. They protect the investment of both taxpayers and the city, ensuring a clear return on investment and allowing more projects to proceed and strengthen Jacksonville’s urban core. We look forward to the continued growth Downtown and across Jacksonville – next year and beyond.”