Gateway Jax expects to begin construction of the largest of three multiuse buildings, a 22-story structure with retail space and residential units, in the Downtown North Core in the third quarter of 2024.
Construction on the other two buildings could begin in early 2025.
The $500 million Pearl Street District is the first phase of the 20-block Gateway Jax development project.
The first building will be on the block bordered by Beaver, Pearl, Ashley and Clay streets.
The Downtown Development Review Board awarded final design approval for the apartment and retail project Dec. 14.
The Downtown Investment Authority has approved $98 million in two incentive packages: a $59.628 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant and $38.946 million in completion grants.
The deal still needs Jacksonville City Council approval.
Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said he expects Council approval of DIA grants and loans by March or April.
The legislative timeline is in sync with Gateway Jax’s design progress.
“We are about midway through our design process. We’ll get to the point now where we’re starting to get into the meat of design, where we’re turning a lot of these projects into construction documents,” Moll said.
The first building will have 530 residential units, retail space on the first floor and a parking garage.
Moll said the smaller buildings should be completed about the time the tower is completed in late 2026 or early 2027.
The second phase will be constructed a few blocks from the Pearl Street District. Design work will be taking place in 2024 with phase two being completed 18 to 20 months after phase one.
“(Phase two) would likely be adjacent but not in a spot that’s going to cause any sort of construction nuisance to the first phase,” Moll said.
“If you go to Pearl Street or Pearl Square after the first phase is complete, you’re not going to feel like you’re in a construction zone. It will feel like it’s a fully complete, open, vibrant place.”
Gateway Jax wants to expand the project even more. Moll said the group is discussions to enter into a long-term ground lease with the JTA to build on a vacant lot adjacent to the former Rosa L. Parks bus transfer station on West Union Street.
“We propose to construct a building with at least 250 units. It would have ground-floor retail,” he said.
There will be some new parking but residents will also be parking in spaces created for phase one.
Nearly every building in the Gateway Jax project has space for first-floor retail. However, a Downtown stroll finds many retail establishments closed and even boarded.
The new Downtown residents will spark a need for retail, a grocery store, full-service gym and restaurants, Moll said.
Gateway Jax is working with companies to create interest in the project. Moll said it is working.
Of Place, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate development company specializing in creating interactive retail and public spaces, is talking to retailers around the country. Colliers Urban Division is sending out information and meeting with national companies.
“Retail groups have seen the story play out in a lot of other downtowns. You’ve had a Downtown that was just missing a handful of the ingredients to make it truly successful,” Moll said.
“We have had a lot of interest so far and that’s before anything is coming out of the ground.”