The city issued a permit June 8 for Gateway Jax to start selective interior demolition of the historic Ambassador Hotel in Downtown Jacksonville in preparation to renovate it as a Marriott brand hotel.
Jacksonville-based Avant Construction Group is the contractor for the $221,000 project to remove unusable interior construction materials in the building at 420 N. Julia St. in Gateway Jax’s Pearl Square area of Downtown’s North Core.
No site work is being performed under the permit.
Campo Architecture & Interior Design of New Orleans is the architect and interior designer of record for the project. Universal Engineering Sciences in Jacksonville provided private plan review.
The project description says the hotel was constructed in 1924.
It says the six-story building is composed of ribbed cast-in-place concrete slabs with interior and perimeter cast-in-place columns.
The scope of work says drawings with the permit application describe building envelope and select interior demolition.
It says existing interior elements will be removed. Exterior facade materials will be repaired and cleaned, windows will be installed and roofing will be replaced to “core and shell” condition. The stairs and vacant elevator shaft will be undisturbed.
There will be additional demolition required in later phases for structural slab work.
The contractor will coordinate the demolition of heating, ventilation and air conditioning units to maintain the interior temperature and humidity conditions suitable for existing and new building materials.
Gateway Jax bought the 102-year-old hotel and surrounding property in February 2025 for $17 million with plans to restore the Ambassador, raze and replace the adjacent Central National Bank building and construct a parking garage to the west of the hotel.
The 1.48-acre property comprises the block of Duval, Julia, Church and Pearl streets.
Gateway Jax is a partnership of CEO Bryan Moll, JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital.
The development group announced April 9 that it had signed an agreement with Marriott International and The Indigo Road Hospitality Group to revitalize the building as Hotel Merrydelle, a 109-key Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel.
The news release said a $50 million renovation of the hotel would begin this spring.
According to the release, Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio brand “represents a collection of independent boutique hotels that showcase unique design, create spaces and experiences that connect guests to the surrounding community, and focus on unmatched, sincere service.”
Gateway Jax said The Indigo Road Hospitality Group will manage the hotel and its culinary program.
Indigo’s Steve Palmer will expand his Atlanta restaurant, Colletta, to the property. According to the release, the Italian restaurant will seat 120 with a menu that includes wood-fired pizzas, housemade pasta and antipasti.
In renaming the Ambassador, the developers honored Merrydelle Hoyt, a founder of the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society. That group’s efforts led to what is now the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Among other plans for Hotel Merrydelle, Gateway Jax will relocate the main entrance of the building from Julia Street to its original Church Street location.
The Ambassador Hotel, which has been vacant and exposed to the elements for years, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Gateway Jax plans to invest at least $750 million in Pearl Square, which includes nine properties north and west of City Hall. It is part of a larger development that encompasses 25 properties and, if fully built, would involve an investment of more than $2 billion.