The Jacksonville Transportation Authority board approved a proposal to purchase a building in Gateway Town Center for a workforce training site.
In a 5-0 vote Jan. 23, the board authorized CEO Nat Ford to negotiate and execute a purchase and sale agreement with Global Building LLC on a 2.03-acre site that includes a 7,900-square-foot building at 910 W. 44th St. for up to $2.1 million.
A site map shows the property at the southwest corner of the mall property.
According to the proposal, the JTA has been looking for alternative sites to its training facility for new bus operators for about a year. The training facility is at Cecil Field, 19 miles from JTA’s Myrtle Avenue Operations Campus and includes no buildings or restrooms.
The Gateway Town Center facility would replace it and become the home for all JTA training.
The proposal says that a staff study identified the mall, along JTA’s First Coast Flyer Green Line, as a prime location for transit-oriented development.
“This new workforce training facility would serve as the beginning of the Green Line TOD implementation in the Gateway area,” the proposal states.
“JTA will also engage with the new owner throughout Phase II of the Green Line Study to identify additional TOD opportunities in the area.”
Board member Greg Evans was not present for the vote, and member Ray Driver stepped down from the board at the end of 2024.
California-based Global Building bought 10.7 acres of the mall in July for $6 million.
The company said in August it planned to add retail, apartments and self-storage to the site.