JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After years of promise, change is coming to one of Jacksonville’s most recognizable abandoned properties. Construction crews are now at the Regency Square Mall.
For more than a year, the Regency’s redevelopment has only been on paper. Now, the first physical signs of change are impossible to miss. While the wrecking ball hasn’t hit the mall yet, the infrastructure work happening today is already changing people’s attitudes about the property.
Shirley Olsen remembers shopping during Regency’s heyday.
“It was wonderful. Al the other malls were not around. This was a big deal,” said Olsen.
Now, only a handful of stores are still standing. Dillard’s Outlet, Impact Church, the closed Sears and AMC Theaters are owned separately, and will stay.
“I brought my kids here. They had a petting zoo around the time they opened,” said Olsen.
The vast majority of the enclosed mall and interior common areas will come down to make way for the Nexus at Regency, a mixed-use development with apartments, retail, restaurants, offices, and new internal streets.
The move has nearby business owner William Svingo rethinking his plans to sell.
“Let’s see what happens; I’m optimistic. I may be enticed to selling it because they’re leaving soon, but if there’s going to be development with housing and so forth, it’d be appropriate for other businesses also,” said Svingo.
Last April, Lake City-based Blackwater Development paid $19.1 million dollars for roughly 74 acres of the mall.
The company’s president, Rurmell McGee, wasn’t immediately available for an interview, but shared his plans with the JAX Chamber at their ‘Future of Arlington’ panel in 2024.
“When I look at the Regency Mall, and this has probably been a love affair for me for the past 5-6 years or more,” said McGee.
McGee says the mixed-use development will benefit the community but also stressed there’s a bottom line.
“When you do something like this, it has to make money. That’s the only way any of us can do the things we do – it must be profitable,” said McGee.
According to a study by Build Florida 2030, Regency’s revamp could create nearly 1,600 jobs and increase economic activity by $360 million.
“We want to create a vibrant property project that benefits the neighborhood and benefits the constituents in that area,” said McGee.
The project has at least three phases. Bulldozing the parking lots to make way for new roads is part of Phase 1.
It’s unclear exactly when the Nexus at Regency plans to open its doors.
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