The “lighthouse” parking garage in Downtown Jacksonville is on track to be reimagined as part of the Gateway Jax development after action by the Downtown Development Review Board.
On Nov. 14, the DDRB voted 6-0, with one abstention, to grant final design approval for the redevelopment of the property at 721 N. Pearl St., which constitutes Block N5 of the Gateway Jax project. The new design of the five-story parking garage adds retail storefronts along the Beaver Street frontage and on the corners of Pearl and Julia streets.
The approval came on the condition that the developer continue working with DDRB staff to make the project comply with Downtown district-specific design standards for outdoor furnishings and fixtures, landscaping and streetscape decorations, color combinations and other elements.
“It seems like an exciting new space,” board member Peter Deiuliis said. “It seems like a place where I would go and take my family, and I wouldn’t be too worried about finding parking.”
Board chair Linzee Ott abstained from the vote, citing a professional connection to the developer. Members Kevin Craig and Fred Jones were not present.
Under the Downtown project approval structure, DDRB’s vote constitutes final action on the design. A City Council review is not needed.
The DDRB granted conceptual approval to Block N5 in June. The designs submitted for final approval included few changes from the conceptual versions.
The garage, formerly owned by the First Baptist Church, gets its unofficial name from the lighthouse design feature on its northwest corner. The lighthouse will remain part of the structure under the redevelopment design.
Cyndy Trimmer, partner with Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow, represented the project applicant and presented details of the design. Justin Gravatt and Nicole Renner from Gateway Jax’s development team also took part in the presentation.
Design features include building materials similar to those of the older structures surrounding it in Downtown’s NorthCore district, exterior lighting conducive to the goal of Gateway Jax to be what Trimmer called an “18-hour community,” and a terrace space that could be used for rooftop drinking and dining.
Trimmer said the north and east sides of the building, which do not include retail bays, would be freshened but would remain largely unchanged.
Deiuliis suggested doing something more with those exteriors.
“If it’s just pressure-washed and the backsides still seem drab and dreary, it seems like a lost opportunity,” he said.
The property is part of the $400 million-plus first phase of Gateway Jax, known as Pearl Square.
Renderings show an addition of a brick-and-glass line of retail shops along Beaver Street, signage on the southwest and southeast corners of the garage, and a geometric painting design on the lighthouse feature, plus new trees and other landscaping.
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.
In August 2023, Council approved a $98.58 million incentive package for four blocks of Pearl Square.
For Block N5, the package comprised a $2.57 million REV grant and $1.9 million completion grant. The repurposed garage would include 15,000 square feet of leasable space.
The Gateway Jax project is a partnership of lead developer Bryan Moll, JWB and DLP Capital, who have acquired 28 acres of Downtown property spanning 24 blocks. Fully built-out, the project would involve an investment of more than $2 billion and include 1,160 apartments, office space, 120,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail space and parking over the next decade.
The developers broke ground on the first building of the project in October 2024. That seven-story structure, Block N11, is at 515 N. Pearl St. and is designed to comprise 205 apartment units and 24,086 square feet of retail, commercial and storage space. It is targeted for completion in mid-2026.