The collection of three former office buildings and the closed Jim’s Place restaurant and bar along the south side of the Arlington Expressway are in City Council legislative review that would provide for a unified multifamily development with amenities.
Council is set to review two sets of legislation that would rezone and change the land use on 16.42 acres in Arlington for apartment development and associated amenities where the former FBI Building is under renovation and two former Offshore Power Systems structures are vacant and vandalized with graffiti and broken windows.
Council Ordinances 2025-0085 and 0086 and Ordinances 2025-0087 and 0088 were introduced Feb. 11 and routed to the Council Land Use & Zoning Committee.
The property, between Arlington Road North and Century Street, is in Council District 1, represented by Council member Ken Amaro.
Ordinance 2025-0088 would rezone 14.38 acres at 7820 and 7960 Arlington Expressway from Commercial Residential and Office, Commercial Community/General-2 and Planned Unit Development into a new PUD to permit multifamily dwellings with integrated commercial and office uses.
The property is owned by 8000-1 LLC and 8000 Realco LLC of Fort Lauderdale.
The 7820 Arlington Expressway building, which is the former FBI structure built in 1975, has been under renovation into apartments.
The 7960 Arlington Expressway property comprises two office buildings developed in 1972 and 1973 for Offshore Power Systems.
Ordinance 2025-0087 would adopt a small-scale amendment to change the future land use designation from Community/General Commercial and Residential-Professional-Institutional to High Density Residential on about 9.56 acres – the 7960 Arlington Expressway buildings owned by 8000 Realco LLC.
A PUD written description dated Nov. 7, 2024, says the property had been used by the FBI with the structures falling into disrepair after the bureau left. It relocated to Gate Parkway.
The Arlington Expressway PUD is to unify the three buildings under a cohesive multifamily development.
Baker Design Build is the project engineer. The Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow law firm is the project agent.
The site is proposed for 659 multifamily units, with maximum density not to exceed 775.
Ordinances 0087 and 0088 apply to the first six buildings, along with an amenity center and pool.
Ordinance 2025-0086 would rezone about 2.04 acres at the former Jim’s Place at 7900 Arlington Expressway from Commercial Community/General-2 to Planned Unit Development for the seventh building, comprising 96 multifamily units not to exceed 125, along with a dog walk and pickleball courts.
That PUD is called 7900 Arlington Expressway.
Companion Ordinance 2025-0085 would adopt a small-scale land-use amendment to accommodate the use as high-density residential.
A master site plan dated August 2024 shows an eventual seven buildings comprising 756 units along with the amenities.
Public hearings are scheduled March 18 at the Land Use & Zoning Committee and at Council on March 11 and March 25.
Plans in progress
As reported in June 2024, the site is fenced off and under redevelopment.
The former FBI building is under extensive renovation, while the two other office buildings, still labeled Three Oaks Plaza, are vacant and extensively vandalized with graffiti and broken and missing windows.
Jim’s Place is closed and likely will be demolished, based on the site plan.
The property owner and developer Marc Kozman, through Arlington Florida LP, acquired the four properties in separate deeds totaling $8 million.
Arlington Florida LP is affiliated with the 8000 Realco and 8000-1 limited liability companies.
Pending negotiations, approvals and market conditions, the three office buildings and a second phase could create affordable, workforce and market-rate apartments on the property.
The decades-old existing structures are at 7820-8000 Arlington Expressway, west of Southside Connector.
With four structures on the property now, the site could be developed into eight buildings spanning the parcel, according to a site plan.
Those comprise the old FBI and Offshore Power Systems buildings and a new leasing office and clubhouse along with four new apartment buildings.
The first three buildings and the amenity center are projected at a $79 million construction cost by the developer.
“It is a project that could bring a significant amount of affordable housing and workforce housing to the Arlington area,” said city Affordable Housing Administrator Joshua Hicks in a 2024 interview.
Hicks is with the Jacksonville Neighborhoods Department.