A proposed hotel on the Baptist Health campus, the purchase of the Laura Street Trio and the Jacksonville Jaguars' move into their new headquarters building were among the headlines from Downtown Jacksonville in recent months.
Here is an update on the Downtown revitalization effort.
Hub Brooklyn
The Hub Brooklyn opened in late January, offering three levels of dining with an emphasis on alfresco seating.
The three-level establishment at 400 Riverside Ave. comprises three restaurants: a Southern Grounds coffee shop; a Mediterranean-themed full-service restaurant called Alder & Oak; and Zorba’s Bar, a rooftop bar with appetizers and views of the city’s skyline and the St. Johns River.
As much as 95% of seating at The Hub is outdoors, owner Mark Janasik said. He chose the emphasis on alfresco dining to reduce interior space, which saves utility costs, and to inspire social activity, he said, adding that heaters, fans and landscaping would allow diners to eat during inclement weather.
The Greenleaf
JWB Real Estate Capital moved its headquarters into The Greenleaf building Feb. 2, relocating the company’s 120 employees Downtown from Southside.
JWB spent $17 million to renovate the 12-story historic structure, previously known as the Greenleaf & Crosby Building. JWB paid $7 million for the building in 2022.
The Downtown Investment Authority approved a $4.97 million forgivable loan package in August 2023 for the project.
Museum of Science & History
The city issued a permit Feb. 16 to demolish the closed Museum of Science & History at 1025 Museum Circle on the Southbank.
The Downtown Investment Authority board voted Jan. 21 to approve a $875,000 budget transfer to demolish the 58-year-old museum. MOSH said the building needed extensive updates of its plumbing, wiring and mechanical workings, and DIA CEO Colin Tarbert said staff determined it was not salvageable for redevelopment.
MOSH plans to build a new museum on the Northbank near Bay Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard.
Southbank Residences
Miami-based The Related Group’s South Bank Residences project is in city permitting review at an estimated project cost of $150 million.
The company aims to build two residential towers, one at 25 stories, the other at eight, with an attached parking garage at 835 Museum Circle on the Downtown Jacksonville Southbank where the River City Brewing Co. restaurant closed five years ago and was demolished.
The project cost is lower than the more than $200 million projected in 2024 when Jacksonville City Council approved incentives, but the construction estimate does not include all of the costs involved and estimates typically are adjusted as reviews progress.
The project is designed for about 395 units on 3.02 acres between the Acosta Bridge and St. Johns River Park and Friendship Fountain.
Baptist Health hotel
Baptist Health plans to build a Marriott-branded, 15-story hotel on its Downtown Southbank campus.
Under plans presented to the DIA and city, Baptist plans the $110 million project at 1051 Palm Ave.
It would comprise a 134-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio boutique hotel and a 92-room Element by Westin extended stay hotel.
On Jan. 21, the DIA board approved resolutions that would offer a $12.9 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant and an $8 million completion grant for the hotel. Both grants would apply to both hotels.
Under the city’s governance structure, the DIA vote on the REV Grant constituted final action. The proposed completion grant advances to Jacksonville City Council, which has final authority on whether to approve, deny or alter it because it would involve a payout from the city’s operating fund.
Southbank Medical Pavilion
Southbank Medical Pavilion, the Downtown Jacksonville office tower anchored by One Call, is on the market.
The availability of the 7.9-acre property at 841 Prudential Drive, adjacent to Baptist Medical Center’s Southbank campus, was announced Feb. 12. A price was not listed.
Built in 1955, the 22-story tower on the property was once the tallest building in the Southeastern United States.
The property, which also has been known as Eight Forty One and the One Call building, includes a 1,024-space parking garage and two development outparcels in addition to the 493,000-square-foot office tower.
Atlanta-based ShareMD, a medical office building owner and operator, paid $67 million for Eight Forty One in 2020. According to the Duval County Property Appraiser, that was the last time the property sold.
Laura Street Trio
On Feb. 2, Indiana-based Becovic Management Group took over the mortgage on the historic Laura Street Trio, gaining leverage toward a potential acquisition of the three historic buildings at northeast Laura and Forsyth streets.
The owner is Laura Trio LLC, associated with SouthEast Development Group. That group’s principal is Steve Atkins, the Trio’s longtime owner.
Becovic made the move after purchasing the Barnett National Bank Building, across Laura Street from the Trio, in December.
Before Becovic purchased the Barnett building, the company announced it also planned to purchase and renovate the Trio with an adaptive reuse of all three buildings and new construction on the site.
Gateway Jax
Lofts at Southbank
A mixed-use development that includes self-storage on the Downtown Southbank is in permitting review, more than a year after receiving design and rezoning approvals over opposition from residents.
The 10-story Lofts at Southbank is planned at southwest Prudential Drive and Hendricks Avenue on the footprint of what is now a defunct restaurant.
The project cost was listed at $38.8 million in September 2024 when the Downtown Development Review Board signed off on its final design.
In April 2024, a divided City Council gave final approval to a rezoning request and a $6 million interest-only loan to develop affordable housing as part of the development.
Residents near the site said the project was out of character in the neighborhood and that self-storage was not permitted in the zoning overlay that covers the Southbank and extends throughout Downtown.
Starbucks Downtown
The city issued a permit Dec. 26 for build-out of a Starbucks Coffee Co. cafe in the Bank of America Tower at 50 N. Laura St.
The permit was for 2,225 square feet of space previously leased to a gift shop and most recently an art gallery, The Creative Exchange. The project cost is listed at $469,050.
In October 2025, the DIA board approved $133,200 in two grants for the Starbucks, which will operate as a licensed property as opposed to being owned by the Seattle-based corporation.
Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences
The city issued build-out permits Dec. 15 for three penthouses at the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences, which will be homes for Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan, his daughter, Shanna, and son, Tony.
At $14 million, the city issued permits for three of the four penthouses in the property at 1406 E. Bay St. from almost $2.9 million to $7.9 million each.
Shad Khan’s development company, Iguana Investments, is building the Four Seasons and adjacent One Tower Court office building that is the Jaguars’ corporate headquarters.
Shanna Khan is chief design officer of the Four Seasons Private Residences.
Tony Khan is chief football strategy officer for the Jaguars and, with his father, is an owner of Fulham Football Club of the English Premier League. Tony Khan was named Fulham’s vice chairman and director of football operations in February 2017.
The JacksonvillePrivateResidences.com site says the 26 luxury residences start for sale at $4.72 million. Build-out increases that cost.
The 170-room hotel and the 26 residences are in separate wings of the angled building, which is targeted for completion June 30, 2027.
Asado Life & The Huguenot
On Feb. 18, the DIA board approved a $403,590 grant for Asado Life Jax Sports District, an Argentinian-inspired restaurant at the marina near the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, and a $75,140 grant for The Huguenot, a wine bar near San Marco on the Southbank.
Asado Life, which started in St. Augustine and will remain open there, plans its second location near the Four Seasons.
DIA documents list total build-out costs at $1.1 million for the restaurant, which would comprise 90 interior seats and 50 covered patio seats.
The Huguenot is a wine, cheese and charcuterie bar concept planned in the former Reddi-Arts building at 1039 Hendricks Ave. That building is being redeveloped into four retail spaces, and the bar would occupy the southernmost.
DIA documents list the estimated build-out cost at $365,162.
Duval County Public Schools
A deal to sell the Duval County Public Schools headquarters on the Downtown Southbank to a private developer and relocate the district offices fell apart after the buyer terminated its agreement.
Chase Properties announced in a Feb. 12 news release that it had pulled out of the deal after discovering a $6 million to $8 million encumbrance on the property. Shortly after, DCPS announced it had dropped its related deal on an office building at 8928 Prominence Parkway in Baymeadows.
Chase said it had intended to demolish the building and build a high-rise with 300 condominiums, 300 apartments and 200,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
In November 2025, the school board voted to accept Chase’s offer to purchase the district’s riverfront headquarters at 1701 Prudential Drive for $17.2 million. During the same meeting, the board approved a $13.65 million purchase of an office building owned by Dream Finders Homes on Prominence Parkway off Baymeadows Road.
In early March, the district announced it was putting the headquarters back on the market.
Mag's Cafe
In November 2025, the DIA board approved $3.5 million in forgivable and deferred loans to transform the former Mag’s Cafe building and a neighboring structure at southeast Laura and Monroe streets into a connected mixed-use development.
Jacksonville-based Avant Construction Group plans to renovate the two-story Mag’s Cafe building into a mixed-use development with two one-bedroom apartments and about 1,880 square feet of space for rental to a local restaurateur.
Incentives for the attached building at 44 W. Monroe St. were awarded to Rafael and Carmen Godwin, owners of Historic Urban Core LLC. According to DIA documents, the Godwins and Avant plan to restore the building into four one-bedroom apartments and 2,700 square feet of retail and cafe space.
The documents say Avant and the Godwins have had conversations with a restaurateur about creating a passageway through the first-floor walls of the buildings to combine the restaurant space.