After a delay brought on by Hurricane Milton, the Gateway Jax development team is again seeking final approval from the Downtown Development Review Board on a building in the $400 million first phase of the project.
Following the storm-related cancellation of the board’s Oct. 10 meeting, when the DDRB was initially scheduled to conduct a final review of designs for Gateway Jax’s N5 building, the review has been placed on the board’s Nov. 14 agenda.
The structure at 721 N. Pearl St. is known as the “lighthouse garage” due to the light tower design feature on its northwest corner. The garage previously was owned by the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
The new design of the five-story parking garage would add storefronts along the Beaver Street frontage and on the corners of Pearl and Julia streets.
Staff recommends approval of the design on the condition that the developer continues to work with staff members to make the project comply with design standards that are specific to Downtown’s NorthCore District, where the property is located. Those standards apply to ourdoor furnishings, landscaping and hardscaping.
The DDRB granted conceptual approval to Block N5 in July.
JWB Real Estate Capital, a partner in the Gateway Jax project, bought the garage in 2022 from First Baptist Church of Jacksonville for $5.924 million.
On Aug. 13, Jacksonville City Council granted final approval to a $98.58 million package of city incentives for the Pearl Street District, now known as Pearl Square.
The DDRB is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. in the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St.
