Rezoning for the Jacksonville Surf Park drew final City Council approval on Feb. 25, ushering in a potential era when surfers in Northeast Florida will no longer have to rely on ocean conditions to catch waves.
Council voted 18-0 on legislation granting a rezoning request for the 55.27-acre mixed-use development in eTown, where plans by global surf park creator Aventuur and area partners center on a wave-generating lagoon that offers up to 1,000 waves an hour. Council member Tyrona Clark-Murray was not present for the vote.
Ordinance 2025-0007 rezones the property from Commercial Community General-1 to Planning Unit Development to allow for up to 3,500 residential units and 3.6 million square feet of nonresidential uses.
The park at 11374 Etown Parkway is part of a 237-4-acre development southwest of Florida 9B and Interstate 295 interchange. In city documents, the development is identified as E Town Village Center West.
Portions of the property have already been developed, including a town home community with a total of 229 units.
The park development is estimated at more than $50 million and possibly as much as $100 million. In addition to the Wavegarden Cove surfing lagoon, it would include restaurants and retail space, a surf academy, wellness studio, conference rooms and more uses.
Aventuur and PARC Group of Jacksonville, which is developing eTown, say the wave park can produce 20 wave types across four surfing zones that accommodate surfers of various levels. The park is powered by Aventuur’s Wavegarden technology.
Pending permitting, construction is expected to start in 2026. Completion is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
The Jacksonville general partnership comprises Lockwood Holmes Jr., his father, Lockwood Holmes Sr., and brother, Austin Holmes; Riley Skinner; Hawley Smith III; Robert Carlton; Morgan Phillips; Marshall Brown; and J. Bradford Davis.
