A week after issuing a permit for a $6 million renovation of rooms, the city received a permit application for an estimated $2.5 million project to remodel the public areas at the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown.
No contractor is listed for the project, which is described as 34,582 square feet on the first through fourth floors of the 16-story hotel at 245 Water St.
Plans for the permit, created Jan. 15, show lobby, fitness and restaurant renovations on the first floor (13,236 square feet); ballrooms and meeting rooms on the second (20,514 square feet); and pool restrooms and a king guestroom on the fourth floor (832 square feet).
The permit specifies relocating the existing registration pods; adding a new market/coffee shop; reconfiguring the existing bar and restaurant with new food service equipment at the bar; adding a buffet area to the restaurant; finishes upgrades in the first- and second-floor restrooms; new finishes in the second-floor ballrooms and meeting spaces; and relocating the fitness center to a first-floor meeting room.
R2 Architects LLC of Voorhees, New Jersey, is the architect. The Gettys Group Companies of Chicago is the interior designer.
The city issued a permit Jan. 8 for Continental Contractors of MD Inc. to renovate the guest rooms on the fourth through 16th floors at a project cost of $6 million.
In September 2024, more than two years after becoming the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown, the property’s owner — L+R Hotels of London — applied to the city for a permit to renovate and convert the guest rooms and public areas on the top 13 floors of the hotel.
R2 Architects and Gettys Group are working on that project as well.
Continental Contractors is based in Annapolis, Maryland, with a Florida office in Wellington and a California office in Redondo Beach.
The Downtown hotel, built in 1987, has 354 rooms and suites.
Plans show about 154,000 square feet of space will be renovated in the $6 million project.
The hotel is about 287,000 square feet, according to property records.
The Omni Jacksonville Hotel officially became the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown on April 6, 2022, with a ribbon-cutting and reception.
Omni Jacksonville Corp. sold the Omni on Feb. 25, 2021, for $35.1 million to LR Jax LLC, based in Wyoming.
The permit plans show the owner and project manager as L+R Hotels of London.
LR Jax paid $35.1 million for the full-service hotel, which has the Juliette’s Bistro restaurant, the J Bar bistro, a hotel bar, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, event space and event and breakout rooms.
