A Jacksonville motel located near Interstate 95 off Busch Drive could be slated for conversion to market-rate studio apartments, pending approval of a zoning exception by Jacksonville’s Planning Commission.
JDH Developers, an Atlanta-based company that converts hotels and motels into apartment buildings, wants to convert a Noble Suites motel complex at 10885 Harts Road into 133 studio apartments, according to an application under consideration by the Planning Department.
On its website, JDH already lists the Harts Road property as one of its studio apartment rental properties, though it notes the property “is positioned for conversion into studio-style apartment units or continued extended stay operation depending on buyer strategy.”
The property is located just under 1 mile from the Anheuser-Busch brewery off Main Street.
“With recent renovations completed in 2023, the property offers a strong starting point for a studio apartment conversion. The existing exterior corridor layout supports efficient operations while allowing the asset to be repositioned toward residential or extended stay use,” the company’s website says.
Josh Cockrell, a lobbyist representing the developer, told the Daily Record in a text that the apartments would be 300-square-foot studio units, with monthly rents ranging from $1,000 to $1,200.
Following approval from the city, Cockrell said, the developer would take six to eight months to renovate and build-out the units, which would include rebranding the property. The JDH website lists the property as “Monarch Studios at Jacksonville.”
Cockrell wrote the property is still under operation as a Noble Suites motel, and that he expected recommended approval from the Planning Department.
The property would be JDH’s first apartment complex in Florida, though the developer also has apartment properties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee, according to its website.
Cockrell said the exception is set to appear Sept. 3 before the Planning Commission after a public meeting with nearby residents and City Council district representative Reggie Gaffney Jr. The commission serves as the final vote on non-alcohol-related zoning exceptions, unless the commission’s decision is appealed to Council.