Billions of dollars of investment are in the pipeline for Downtown Jacksonville. Some projects are new, like Ergisi Tower near the Main Street Bridge.
Others have been in the works for years, like the Laura Street Trio redevelopment. Some are poised to launch, like the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Stadium of the Future.
Some are under construction, including the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences. Here’s a status report on some of the Downtown projects, big and small:
Head-turner. Head-scratcher.
The proposed Ergisi Tower on the Downtown Northbank may be either or both, depending on who’s looking at it.
When the mixed-use project was unveiled in July 2024, it drew attention for its scale and sleek design. At a height of 720 feet, it would be the tallest tower between Miami and Atlanta.
Its developer, Jacksonville-based Cross Regions Group, said the project would include 320 residential units and 35,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space on a 1.6-acre parcel of city-owned riverfront land just east of the Main Street Bridge. The project is named after Cross Regions’ President and CEO David Ergisi.
But no sooner had the $450 million development been announced than questions about its feasibility began to swirl.
Building on the lot, which is squeezed between the former Jacksonville Landing site and the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront parking garage, poses a technical challenge that would include removing the easternmost Main Street Bridge ramp and relocating a 54-inch sanitary sewer line that intersects the parcel.
Ergisi says he’s determined to make the project a reality, and sees it as a magnet that will draw other high-end developments that will spur the revitalization of Downtown.
The Downtown Investment Authority board is taking a cautious approach, requesting a study of the parcel to help determine the best use of the site.
Vertical construction is well underway on the $300 million-plus Four Seasons Hotel and Residences and office building across Gator Bowl Boulevard from EverBank Stadium.
The first phase of the Shipyards development by Shad Khan’s Iguana Investments Florida LLC includes a 170-room Four Seasons Hotel with 26 residences, a six-story office building, 200 parking spaces, a modernized city-owned marina and a 6,000-square-foot marina support building.
Phase 2 plans call for a mixed-use development featuring a medical facility on the 5-acre property immediately west of the Shipyards office building. The project would include retail, residential, office space and a parking garage.
On Sept. 18, the Downtown Investment Authority board approved $345,314 in forgivable loans toward a $2.1 million conversion of the former We Insurance Jacksonville headquarters at 1430 Prudential Drive into a dining destination with 9,000 square feet of interior space, a 6,800-square-foot patio and a lounge with a 15-seat, full-service bar and additional seats for 75 people.
The restaurant is the latest from the owners of Players Grille, a sports bar with one site in Mandarin and another permitted in the new Home2 Suites by Hilton at 600 Park St. in Brooklyn.
The decades-long saga to resurrect the three historic buildings at Laura and Forsyth streets continues with a new player and a re-opened door for new negotiations between the city and the development team.
Downtown-based Live Oak Contracting announced in September 2024 that it had joined SouthEast Development Group as a builder and equity partner, which could ease concerns that SouthEast had brought too little private capital to the project.
In other news, the city dropped a foreclosure lawsuit alleging that SouthEast owed $800,000 in unpaid fines for municipal code violations. With that, the stage was set for another round of talks on an incentives package for the project.
Leasing has begun at Vestcor Companies’ 120-apartment workforce housing development at 325 and 327 E. Duval St.
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer told DIA board members Sept. 18 that workers were applying finishes to the exterior and that living units had been built-out.
The $26 million development, which includes a $5.45 million renovation of the YWCA building, includes 20 studio, 74 one-bedroom and 26 two-bedroom apartments.
After increases in construction costs scotched a development agreement between The Related Group of Miami and the city for Related’s proposed 25-story Southbank tower, City Council is considering a new $58.79 million package of incentives.
The Downtown Investment Authority board approved a tweaked version Sept. 18 that would allow Related to reduce its private equity by $7 million but not change the amount of the city incentives.
Atlanta-based Columbia Ventures has begun finishing out residential and retail spaces in its $73 million adaptive reuse of the circa-1913 warehouse at 700 E. Union St.
The completed project will include 228 apartments and 50,000 square feet of small-office, food and beverage, and makerspace.
Seven months after fire tore through the nearly completed Rise Doro apartment building, Jacksonville City Council gave final approval Sept. 10 to a $15.45 million incentives package to rebuild the property.
The project will include 247 residential units and 7,400 square feet of retail space, according to Downtown Investment Authority documents.
The developer, Rise: A Real Estate Co., plans to incorporate 85 units of workforce housing, where the original project had all units being leased at market rate. That change allowed Rise to qualify for a $3 million workforce housing completion grant as part of its incentive package.
The project will be built around its concrete pedestal and parking garage, which survived the fire. The eight-floor building will feature a rooftop swimming pool and fitness center, plus 4,700 square feet of retail space that will be open to the public during normal business hours.
The same day as the vote on The Prudential Club, the Downtown Investment Authority board approved $173,055 in incentives for Dorothy’s Downtown to redevelop the space vacated by the Burrito Gallery at 21 E. Adams St.
The restaurant will serve Southern and Creole dishes. Plans call for a $353,167 build-out of the interior plus $7,094 to create sidewalk dining space.
Construction is set to begin as early as Oct. 1 on the $419 million-plus first phase of Gateway Jax’s sweeping project in Downtown’s NorthCore district.
On Aug. 13, Jacksonville City Council granted final approval to a $98.58 million package of city incentives for the first phase, known as The Pearl Street District. Plans for that call for a mixed-use development comprising residential and retail development across four blocks.
Gateway Jax principal Bryan Moll and partners DLP Capital LLC and JWB Real Estate Capital say the full project could grow to 22 acres and more than 20 blocks with a $2 billion-plus investment.
The transformation of EverBank Stadium into the Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future” is expected to be underway after the 2024-25 NFL season. The $1.4 billion project includes $775 million from the city of Jacksonville and $625 million from the Jaguars.
The new stadium, which is targeted for completion in 2028, will include a roof membrane that will shield all seating areas from rain and direct sunlight, a design that is open at the corners to facilitate airflow; a reflective exterior coating to reduce interior heat; a park-like entrance and elevated concourse with observation decks; an artificial turf surface; an increased number of restrooms; and expanded food and beverage options.
The Jaguars will play in the stadium through the 2026-27 season while it is under construction, although at reduced capacity in ’26-27.
Construction is underway on a $3 million build-out for companion pizza and beer establishments in the VyStar Credit Union garage at 61 N. Laura St.
In April, the DIA board gave final approval to $207,350 in incentives for Pizza Dynamo and $215,000 for Pour Taproom. The self-serve beer venue and pizza restaurant are planned on the ground floor of the garage.
Vertical construction is underway at the $693 million development on the site of a former JEA power plant on the Southbank, as Toll Brothers began building the first of several dozen town homes planned on the property.
The full development is expected to include 950 residential units, 147 hotel rooms, more than 330,000 square feet of office and retail space, a 225-slip marina and four park spaces. A marsh boardwalk that helps connect the parks is nearly completed.
Corner Lot Development Group is nearing completion of its four-story, 340-apartment transit-oriented development near the Kings Avenue parking garage on the Southbank.
Living units are being built-out and work is underway on amenities such as the swimming pool for the $96.9 million multifamily property, which will include studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans and a 425-space parking garage.
TriBridge Residential says it will soon begin leasing units in the $59.9 million, 225-apartment first phase of the mixed-use development on the former site of The Florida Times-Union building at 1 Riverside Ave.
TriBridge and Fuqua Development are partnering in the $250 million mixed-use project, which will include a Whole Foods grocery store along with retail and restaurant space.
On Aug. 21, the Downtown Investment Authority board approved $53,430 in incentives for The Flamingo bar and cafe in Murray Hill to expand into the Hanania Place building at 1200 Riverplace Blvd.
Plans call for a 1,781-square-foot establishment modeled on the original, which serves coffee, beer, wine, pastries and sandwiches. Build-out costs are listed at $157,950 in DIA documents.
After a ceremonial groundbreaking May 29, the $40.54 million nerve center of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s Ultimate Urban Circulator system is rising at 650 W. Bay St. in LaVilla.
Balfour Beatty Construction LLC is the contractor for the two-story, 15,019-square-foot structure on 1.28 acres.
The U2C is envisioned as a network of autonomous people movers that will connect Downtown to Riverside, Springfield and San Marco.
Work is progressing on the $38 million first phase of the Riverfront Plaza park on the site of the former Jacksonville Landing, with construction underway on a park services building and bulkhead.
Phase 1 included rerouting Independent Drive, which has been completed, and construction of a cafe, playground and a city-owned restaurant building. The City Council Special Committee on the Future of Downtown has questioned plans by the city to lease the restaurant to a private operator, with some members asking whether a private developer should be allowed to build on the site.
As discussion continues, the city is reviewing permits for The Haskell Co. to build a pedestrian bridge, the foundation for playground and shade structures, and a splash pad at a combined $2.64 million.
The $4.7 million city park opened June 27 with a ribbon-cutting that drew dozens of elected city leaders and administrators, LaVilla residents and others.
Next door to the west, Corner Lot Development and JWB Real Estate Capital are constructing the sixth building in the Johnson Commons condos, the only for-sale residential properties under development Downtown.
On Sept. 12, two years of contentious meetings concluded when the Downtown Development Review Board gave final design approval to the mixed-use project at Prudential Drive and Hendricks Avenue.
The $38.8 million, 10-story development, which will include a CubeSmart facility, had drawn opposition from Southbank and San Marco residents for including self-storage.
With City Council having already approved a rezoning and incentives package, the DDRB’s vote was the final approval needed before starting the permitting process.
Aug. 8 marked the opening of the skate park portion of the $8.8 million plaza under the Fuller Warren Bridge. Work is underway on the eastern part of the project, which will include a stage and turf lawn.
The plaza stretches from Park Street to Riverside Avenue and will connect the Emerald Trail, Northbank Riverwalk and Fuller Warren Shared Use Path.
On Aug. 8, the Downtown Development Review Board granted conceptual approval for the six-story AC Hotel by Marriott and two-story parking structure at 800 and 825 Dora St. in Brooklyn.
The garage is on the property of the defunct Liddy’s Machine Shop, which was founded in 1929 and operated for 91 years. Plans call for the building to be torn down to make way for the garage.
Take dry rose wine, fruit puree and other ingredients, turn it into a frozen slush and you have frose.
It’s the signature product of The Co-Op Frose & Eatery planned for 218 W. Church St. The Downtown Investment Authority board approved a $156,240 incentive for the South Carolina-based eatery to expand into a two retail bay of the renovated Florida Baptist Convention Building.
DIA staff estimated total build-out and equipment costs at $666,935.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Marcus “Big Baby” Stroud is cleared to build-out his proposed Baby Got Brunch at 610 N. Julia St. after the city issued a building permit Sept. 19.
The Downtown Investment Authority board voted to grant Stroud a $96,620 incentive for the $401,610 project.
He plans to offer such menu items as chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, slow-cooked collards, mimosas and a full bar menu of cocktails.