It’s a $50 million to $100 million investment and will create 100 jobs at the surf park alone.
Two organizers of the proposed Jacksonville Surf Park shared those facts – and more – Oct. 3, two days after announcing the project Oct. 1.
By the end of 2027, organizers hope to open the park in eTown to feature a Wavegarden Cove lagoon along with restaurants and retail space, a surf academy, wellness studio, conference rooms and more uses.
The PARC Group of Jacksonville, which is developing eTown along Florida 9B in South Jacksonville, and Aventuur, a surf park developer with offices in Australia and Los Angeles, announced the plans.
The master plan for the 55.27-acre project also allows for entertainment, retail, multifamily residential and green spaces in the future.
Pending approvals, construction is expected to start in 2026 and the park would be open to the public in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The partnership would buy the land from the Davis family.
Aventuur co-founder and CEO Nicholas Edelman said in the announcement that his group met the Jacksonville partners in March 2022.
PARC said the Jacksonville general partnership consists of “respected, highly qualified multi-generational developers, engineers and contractors who are passionate about the Jacksonville community, and surfing.”
Edelman anticipates 100 full-time employees being required for the Jacksonville Surf Park and, although it’s three years out, suggests hours could be 6 a.m to 10 p.m., subject to permitting,
Edelman and Jacksonville partner J. Bradford Davis shared insights into the plans Oct. 3.
Partnership Managing Director Lockwood Holmes Jr. further spoke Oct. 7.
“It was providential that the deal was able to get done,” he said.
The Jacksonville partners
The Jacksonville general partnership – which they call The Jacksonville GPs – includes Holmes and his father, Lockwood Holmes Sr., and brother, Austin Holmes; Riley Skinner; Hawley Smith III; Robert Carlton; Morgan Phillips; and Marshall Brown.
In brief:
• Davis is the Jacksonville-based senior vice president of the Southeast Region for the Prosser Prime AE engineering, land development, architecture and construction company.
• Holmes Equity as well as Chairman Lockwood Holmes Sr. and managing partners Austin and Lockwood Jr. are investors individually and as the equity group. Lockwood Sr. is the son and the others the grandsons of the late Rogers “Tiger” Holmes, a swimming champion from the University of Florida and founder of Holmes Lumber Co. in West Jacksonville. Holmes. Jr. is managing director of The Jax GPs.
• Skinner is vice president of Skinner Bros. Realty in Jacksonville. Skinner Bros. Realty has worked in partnership with The PARC Group, serving as a development manager and leasing agent.
• Carlton is president of St. Augustine-based Capital Concrete & Masonry.
• Smith is a real estate developer and principal with Jacksonville-based H Smith Inc., founded by his father, Hawley Smith.
• Phillips also is associated with Holmes Equity as well as with Holmes Jr. in Vincimus Capital, where Holmes is CEO and Phillips is COO.
• Brown is a Northeast Florida entrepreneur and investor.
About Aventuur and Wavegarden
Aventuur CEO Edelman grew up in Australia and lives in Los Angeles.
Aventuur also plans to open Wavegarden Cove surf parks in Perth, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand, in 2027.
According to Wavegarden.com, its patented Wavegarden Cove technology offers up to 1,000 perfect waves an hour. It can produce 20 wave types across four surfing zones “to offer a personalized surfing experience adapted to the level of each person.”
The Wavegarden.com site shows developers have opened seven Wavegarden Coves in Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and a research and development and demonstration facility in Spain.
It says that more will be opening in 2024-25 in Scotland, UK and in the U.S. in Palm Desert, California, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The standard Wavegarden Cove has two Reef zones and two Bays. Each surfing zone offers waves of different heights, shapes and speeds.
The Jacksonville Wavegarden Cove lagoon would be powered by 56 modules that contain levers that move panels to push out waves. The modular technology is driven by an electro-mechanical system.
While the Atlantic Ocean surf in Northeast Florida is different from the Pacific Ocean waves on the California coast, Edelman said the Wavegarden provides 20 wave settings for beginners through professionals.
“The Wavegarden will be a complement and not in competition with the ocean,” Edelman said.
“We believe Mother Nature is No. 1, but the Wavegarden can be a training tool,” he said.
Also, the Wavegarden allows for surfing at night under the lights.
“So when Mother Nature’s asleep, you can surf in the Wavegarden.”
Making contact
Edelman said Aventuur started to turn its focus to the U.S. in 2022
“We looked at the top markets in the U.S. and where we believed would be fantastic locations for surf parks, and Jacksonville was at the top of that list for a number of reasons.”
Edelman said one of its investors introduced the Aventuur group to Lockwood Holmes Jr. in March 2022. Holmes is a fifth-generation Northeast Florida native who lives in California.
Holmes is the grandson of the late Rogers “Tiger” Holmes, a swimming champion from the University of Florida, an award winner from the International Swimming Hall of Fame and founder of Holmes Lumber Co. in West Jacksonville.
“I met Lockwood for breakfast and we started sharing our visions for what a surf park in Jacksonville could be. And then we put together the team throughout that process. That was the introduction to it all,” Edelman said.
Choosing eTown
Edelman said Aventuur analyzed the market.
“We looked at all the different demographics, drive times and locations where we could put the surf park and eTown was at the top of our list,” he said.
The general partnership had connections, “and we started the relationship with The PARC Group. From our analysis, that was the perfect site.”
Davis said the Aventuur and the general partnership “identified the site that we currently have under contract.”
“They looked at some other ones along the way, but the eTown site really shined,” he said, because of its proximity to St. Johns Town Center and the Beaches and the rest of Northeast Florida.
The eTown community is south of St. Johns Town Center and west of the Beaches.
Davis said The PARC Group had positioned the project and “all the access was in place.”
Davis said utilities surround the property, the soils are good and the St. Johns River Water Management District and the wetland determinations “had already been taken care of.”
“It was a site that was shovel-ready and met all the requirements of the partnership,” he said.
Assembling the partnership
Davis said Holmes attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, along with Skinner, Smith and Phillips, among others.
“These guys have known each other since they were young children and Lockwood went away to college and ended up at Pepperdine University in Malibu.”
Holmes earned an MBA from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in Los Angeles.
“That area kind of stole his heart, so he just stayed out there. Lockwood is a surfer and a waterman by trade, and just always outside. He knew that he wanted to bring a surf park to Jacksonville, his hometown,” Davis said.
“The rest of the general partnership shares that love of surfing. And the reason I’m involved is the rest of the partnership are my clients at Prosser, so I’ve taken them on surf trips to other wave pools around the country.”
Davis said he took group members to Waco Surf, with PerfectSwell technology, in Texas and Kelly Slater Surf Ranch, powered by Kelly Slater Wave Co., in Lemoore in central California.
He said the group had a love for surf “and this unbelievable stoke that comes from being together in the water in a controlled environment like this.”
“We had dreamed and talked about bringing one of these to town for nearly a decade,” he said.
With Holmes’ relationship with Edelman, “it really just put together the two parties. It was fortuitous. It was meant to be.”
Davis said the general partnership has the development expertise with real estate, engineering, contracting, development, “the love of surf and more than any of those things, the love of Jacksonville.”
Edelman said a joint entity of Aventuur and the partnership will own the land.
He said it is under contract, but “the terms of that contract are confidential."
The investment
While Edelman said the structure is confidential, the investment will be substantial.
“The total development cost for projects of this size in other locations has been between $50 million and $100 million,” Edelman said.
“It’s a wide range.”
Edelman said while the Wavegarden Cove is the centerpiece, the investment structure depends on the mixed-use elements and their phasing.
He said that for some pieces of the project, “we will consider partnering with other developers,” such as the multifamily development.
The surf park is expected to be delivered by late 2027, but he thinks the full master plan will be realized over time after the Jacksonville Surf Park opens.
Davis said there is no regulatory or contractual obligation for the build-out time frame of the master plan.
“It’ll just be based on relationships and partnerships,” Davis said.
The entire project could need more investment.
In March 2023, the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Venture Realty Group announced they closed on a $335 million mixed-used development on the former site of the Virginia Beach Dome. Atlantic Park, to open in 2025, will offer restaurants, retail, experiential retail, residential, offices, a state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor entertainment venue anchored by a 2.67-acre Wavegarden Cove surf lagoon, the first in the U.S., which generates waves as big as 6 feet for experienced surfers and as small as 1 foot for beginners.
The deal comprises $210 million of private investment and $125 million of public investment for two parking decks, an entertainment venue and public infrastructure improvements.
In late August, builders celebrated a “bottoming out” ceremony to lay the final pieces of the foundation for the wave pool at the center of the development.
The WAVY.com news site said Atlantic Park was a more than $350 million mixed-use entertainment district project.
Permitting
Davis said the partnership has done its due diligence and the team has completed other projects.
“From a regulatory standpoint, we’ll definitely be working with the Water Management District to modify the existing environmental resource permit that The PARC Group has today, which is a big step,” Davis said.
He said the property is part of a master stormwater and wetland plan, “so this will just be the final construction version of a big permit.”
“I wouldn’t say that’s easy, but that’s a big step in the right direction. We won’t be having to negotiate or mitigate what’s already been taken care of.”
The city of Jacksonville zoning for the property is CCG-1, “which we believe allows the park.”
The city is reviewing the sketch plan review, which is a preliminary site plan review that is required for the development. It must be completed before construction plans are submitted.
“When we receive comments, probably in the next month, we’ll see about everything. But right now, we believe that we’re substantially in compliance with the land use and zoning code,” Davis said.
The group also will seek a service availability determination from city utility JEA.
The last step would be applying for the building permits from the city.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a pre-application meeting with each of those agencies to walk them through it,” Davis said.
“It is different, but we don’t foresee an unusual process.”
Edelman said Aventuur has completed the permitting process in Perth, Australia, “so we’re fully permitted and shovel-ready for our project in Australia.”
He said his Aventuur has gone through the permitting process for its project in Auckland, New Zealand, "and we’re shovel-ready for that project.”
Edelman said Aventuur Chair Andrew Ross built the first Wavegarden in Australia, “so he’s been through the full process from development right through to commercial operations of the first Wavegarden in Australia, which was also the second Wavegarden in the world.”
Government incentives
Davis said the group has not applied for city and government incentives but would like to talk about assistance.
“We believe that we’re bringing a large community value here. This is something that we really stand behind, he said.
“This is something that we believe will bring a wellness component to the city. We believe that we’re in alignment with Mayor Donna Deegan’s campaign as it relates to these things.”
Deegan has promoted health initiatives.
“We would love to have conversations. We don’t know what incentive that would be,” Davis said.
“We have a large utility component that we would love some help with, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Leading the charge
Edelman said the project team is a group of passionate surfers.
The team includes Adrian “Ace” Buchan, Aventuur director of surf and sustainability, who spent 16 years competing on the World Surf League Championship Tour, consistently maintaining a Top 20 ranking.
Buchan is a the chair of Surfing Australia and formerly sat on the World Surf League board.
“He is the professional surfer on our team,” Edelman said.
Buchan met with Deegan and JAX Chamber, he said.
Davis said he, Smith and Skinner likely will be the area point people leading the project.
On the Aventuur side, Edelman said Tom Rubel is the head of development for North America who will support the team along with Jarrod Neumann, associate director of development for North America. Rubel lives in Austin and Neumann is in Los Angeles.
They will be further supported by Ross, who also is Aventuur chief development officer and Edelman’s business partner.
Before joining Aventuur, Ross was the founder and executive chairman of URBNSURF Group where he was responsible for the development of the first surf park and Wavegarden Cove in the Southern Hemisphere, URBNSURF Melbourne.
Edelman said there are eight full-scale Wavegarden Coves around the world.
“There’s lots of proof of concept.”
Surfing community
Davis said the partnership has communicated with the Jacksonville Board Riders Club surfing organization, Sunrise Surf Shop in Jacksonville Beach and other leaders in the surfing community.
He said Sunrise owner and operator Dan Brooks and surfing competition legends Jay Dodson and Mitch Kaufmann have been helpful.
The Beaches Museum honored Kaufmann this year as its 44th Beaches Legend.
“They’ve just been very welcoming,” he said.
Davis said North Beach Fish Camp owner Ben Groshell hosted an event for the group Sept. 30 at the Neptune Beach restaurant.
“It was a great time," he said.
He said the group presented the plans "and spent an hour or so on questions and answers. We wanted to make sure that they were completely informed, their voices heard, and they don’t feel like we’re coming in here to dictate culture, because we know that Jacksonville has its own surf culture, and we want to honor that,” Davis said.
Edelman said the Jacksonville Surf Park is being built for the Jacksonville surfers and the group wants “to be working side by side with the surf community.”
He said the park is designed as a family attraction, and also for first-time surfers.
“This is because of our love for the community. This is a massive investment in time and money for all the partners involved.”
Edelman said he has visited Jacksonville and met with surfing leaders as well as Deegan and the JAX Chamber.
He said he looks forward to spending a lot of time in Jacksonville on the project.
Deegan’s husband, First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan, has been called the city’s “first dude.”
Edelman said he didn’t meet Tim Deegan but understands he is “a passionate lifelong surfer.”
Davis said he had considered meteorology and shadowed Tim Deegan during that process in the early 1990s.
Davis said he has been surfing in North Florida since he was a child and “passionately since I was 12."
“Surfing in Florida gives you a great desire to surf great waves," he said, but " we don’t always get those waves.
"We have our moments,” he said.
“If you ask some of the locals, there’s a rideable wave most days of the year, as long as you change the craft that you’re riding on, so you could ride a longboard or stand-up.”
Davis said the partners “in no way are trying to position this to take over” ocean surfing.
“It helps people like me. I’m 48 now and I still have a desire to continue to progress and surf. But when you surf in Jacksonville, you don’t have all that opportunity to progress because of the waves, but in this controlled environment, it will allow me to progress,” Davis said.
“If we didn’t have this pool, I would likely be stagnant, kind of at the level where I am today.”
Territory
Davis said the project is focused on “community in every way, architecturally, planning-wise.”
“We want to honor not just Jacksonville, but North Florida, because we really respect Fernandina and St. Augustine and Clay County and all the surrounding counties are going to be important stakeholders in this project.”
Davis said the project partners expect the Jacksonville Surf Park to attract area visitors within a drive of 90 minutes to two hours.
“It would not be unusual for people to make their way here from Orlando or from South Georgia routinely, and then on holidays from Miami and from the Panhandle.”
He said the group anticipates travel that comes through Jacksonville International Airport for the project.
“We’ve flown to Texas three times to go to Waco to surf. We’ve flown to Kelly’s twice in Lemoore, California, to surf. We anticipate people to fly here to do the same.”
Surfing also is a lifestyle sport.
Lifestyle sports, such as golf and skiing, have long been used as centerpieces for real estate developments.
Davis and Edelman said while there are about 16,000 golf courses in the U.S. and 450 ski resorts, there are three operational modern surf parks.
Davis said the group wants the park to be a family experience.
“Unlike a soccer field where parents are on the sidelines cheering the kids on, we want the parents in the water. We want the grandparents in the water, (to create a) multi-generational from the youngest to whoever is willing to go in the water,” he said.
“It’s controlled. It’s safe. There’s a proven program that we see around the world that can be implemented here.”
Edelman said it also encourages participation among and supports female surfers, the fastest-growing population in the sport.
It also is a lifestyle movement.
“We believe people should spend more time outdoors. People should spend more time engaging in these activities and moving with friends and family in the outdoors,” Edelman said.
“We believe people should put their phones down and engage in outdoor recreation more often, and this is what this development is meant to bring,” he said.
