The city issued a permit Sept. 6 for Skyline Construction Inc. to build-out the Zero Latency a virtual reality entertainment venue in Baymeadows Junction in Jacksonville.
Skyline will renovate 5,030 square feet of space for Zero Latency at 8206 Philips Highway, No. 27, at a cost of $175,850.
Baymeadows Junction is a 150,665-square-foot retail center at southeast Philips Highway and Baymeadows Road. It is owned by Ash Properties.
The Jacksonville venue will have a 1,680-square-foot arena. Plans show a game lounge, conference room and other uses at the location.
Thomas Duke Architect is the architect.
The company website is zerolatencyvr.com.
The free-roam virtual reality experience allows participants “the freedom to explore” by moving within a room up to the size of a tennis court without cables or wires. Up to eight people can play together.
“We chose Jacksonville because it made the top 15 for largest cities in the US ranked by population,” Stephanie Colon, the operator of the Jacksonville location, said May 20 by email.
She said Zero Latency is an eight-player free-roam virtual reality gaming arena.
“It is unique in the aspect that it is completely wireless.”
The family ownership comprises siblings Stephanie and Alexander Colon and their parents, Hope and Alberto Colon.
Alberto Colon is a 22-year U.S. Army veteran and Hope Colon served four years.
Zero Latency is based in Melbourne, Australia, and operates internationally.
In the U.S., the website shows it has 14 venues in 10 states: Arizona, California, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin.
The Scottsdale, Arizona, venue offers game packages at $45 a player for a 45-minute session.
The featured games include Undead Arena, Outbreak Origins, Singularity, Sol Raiders Double, Zombie Survival Double and Far Cry VR Dive Into Insanity.
The website says the virtual space appears larger than the physical game space because of “some nifty tricks we have developed.”
In a June 2021 news release, Zero Latency VR said each location “is working to provide the best environment possible for staff and customers based on local guidance to ensure a safe, enjoyable experience.”
The company said it opened the world’s first free-roam VR entertainment venue in 2015 and has grown into the largest free-roam virtual reality entertainment network.
On its website, Zero Latency VR shows 61 venues in 25 countries.
