Plans for a mixed-use development that will include a full-service Publix in Gateway Jax’s Pearl Square moved forward Oct. 9 when the Downtown Development Review Board approved a design deviation for the project.
On a 7-0 vote, the DDRB approved the exception for Gateway’s proposed Block N7 redevelopment of the former First Baptist Church main auditorium at 119 W. Beaver St. The board then granted final design approval of the project, also by a 7-0 vote.
Board member Joana Berling was not present, and board chair Linzee Ott abstained. Gateway is a financial supporter of Ott’s employer, the nonprofit Build Up Downtown.
The final design of the project differed from the conceptual version approved by the DDRB in August.
The exception pertained to requirements within Downtown’s zoning overlay and design standards for ground-floor transparency. The standards call for “at least 50 percent of each new or re-constructed building facade, between the height of 2 feet and 10 feet above the sidewalk or Riverwalk grade shall be transparent.”
The window space in the revised Publix design takes up less than 50% of the exterior facade.
However, exceptions are allowed for buildings where the space is unique to Downtown properties, there is a security concern or the space must be protected from light, or “the design of the exterior facade incorporates living walls, murals or other facade treatments that would engage the pedestrian in the space where transparency would be required.”
In seeking the exception, Gateway Jax cited a need to account for “distinct food health and safety guidelines, strict temperature regulation requirements, and extensive operational needs.”
Board members praised the redesign, which includes such elements as a glass “cutout” in the southwest corner ground-floor space that Publix will fill, and a mural wall along Laura Street.
“I really liked the concept design back in August, and the few changes we’ve seen today only seem to improve the design,” said member Peter Deiuliis, an architect.
In a play on Publix’s slogan, DDRB member Carl Dawson Jr. said, “I think this is a project where shopping and living will be a pleasure.”
Gateway plans to replace the auditorium with a 15-story apartment tower with about 250 units, six levels of parking, a 32,000-square-foot Publix and 7,000 square feet of other retail space. In September, Gateway and Publix announced that the grocer had signed a lease to anchor the building with a 31,000-square-foot store.
Pearl Square is Gateway’s $750 million multiproperty development in the NorthCore area of Downtown. Plans call for 1,250 new residential units; about 200,000 square feet of retail tenants including restaurants and fitness operations; and the revitalization of the historic Ambassador Hotel. Also planned are new public spaces with widened and shaded sidewalks, public park spaces and a curbless festival street.
In December 2024, the Downtown Investment Authority board approved a $2.1 million incentive package aimed at incorporating a grocery store into the Block N7 project. The vote came on a resolution comprising a $1.36 million Retail Enhancement Program grant and a $741,000 Recapture Enhanced Value Grant. The DIA’s vote constituted final action on the incentives, with Jacksonville City Council approval not required.
Gateway Jax began construction on its first two Pearl Square buildings, 515 Pearl Street and 425 Beaver Street, in late 2024 and spring 2025.
The Gateway Jax partnership of CEO Bryan Moll, JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital LLC said the development could grow to more than 20 blocks with a more than $2 billion investment.