Bryan Moll says he lived in 17 houses growing up in Colorado, which he attributes to having parents who “started flipping houses before flipping houses was cool.”
Moll, the CEO of Gateway Jax, never left his neighborhood or changed schools during the family’s moves. Staying grounded while experiencing life in different homes shaped him into the real estate developer he is today.
“What I learned out of that was what creative design can do to a space. I learned about hard work, because my parents did most of the work themselves. And I learned about real estate,” he said.
With Gateway Jax, Moll is leading a project that if fully built would encompass more than a $2 billion investment in Downtown Jacksonville. Construction is underway on the first two buildings of Pearl Square, the $750 million mixed-use development that marks the initial phase of the overall project.
Asked if he sees himself as a trailblazer, Moll answered yes and no.
He has led other major developments, including in Tampa and Washington D.C., and therefore isn’t breaking new ground in Jacksonville in obtaining properties, designing buildings and so forth. He says he also is surrounded by an experienced team that includes partners JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital.
But he says spearheading a potential multibillion-dollar investment in the core of Downtown Jacksonville, where numerous vacant buildings can be found despite a decades-long revitalization effort, is “not for the faint of heart.”
“There are a lot of developers and capital partners out there who wouldn’t normally want to be sort of the first mover or even a second mover,” he said. “So from that standpoint I think I am a little bit of a trailblazer.”
With Gateway Jax and other developments, Moll says his goal is the same.
“For me, when I can tell that people are happy and content in the built environment we’ve created, that for me defines success.”