Gateway Jax ‘lighthouse’ parking garage retail space in review

The developer proposes five storefronts totaling 15,300 square foot of space along Pearl Street in Downtown Jacksonville.


Gateway Jax’s N5 building at 721 N. Pearl St. is known as the “lighthouse garage.” The garage previously was owned by the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
Gateway Jax’s N5 building at 721 N. Pearl St. is known as the “lighthouse garage.” The garage previously was owned by the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
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A little more than two months after the Downtown Development Review board granted final design approval, the developers submitted civil engineering plans to the city Jan. 23 for retail space in the Pearl Street N5 block, the “lighthouse” parking garage.

Civil engineer England, Thims & Miller Inc. of Jacksonville seeks civil plan review for the garage at 721 N. Pearl St. to redevelop the first floor of the existing parking structure for commercial and retail space.

The plans show five retail spaces totaling 15,300 square feet of space. No tenants are identified.

DDRB granted approval Nov. 14 for developer Gateway Jax, which has designed the five-story parking garage with retail storefronts along the Beaver Street frontage and on the corners of Pearl and Julia streets. 

Plans for the "lighthouse" parking garage at 721 N. Pearl St. show five retail spaces.

The garage sits on a 1.5-acre block bordered by Beaver, Pearl, Union and Julia streets.

Union Street is the northern edge and Beaver Street is the southern edge.

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 a place where I would go and take my family, and I wouldn’t be too worried about finding parking,” board member Peter Deiuliis said.

Under the Downtown project approval structure, DDRB’s vote constitutes final action on the design. 

The garage, formerly owned by the First Baptist Church, features a lighthouse on its northwest corner. The lighthouse will remain part of the structure under the redevelopment.

The five-story "lighthouse" parking garage at 721 N. Pearl St.

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.

Pearl Street District Block N5 is part of the NorthCore Gateway Jax development.

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.

JWB bought the site through 712 Hogan St N LLC. The plans are being designed for another JWB-affiliated entity, 721 Pearl Garage LLC.

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 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.

 

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