JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An entire corner of downtown Jacksonville has been turned into an active construction site, with Gateway Jax’s Pearl Square developments well underway.
Action News Jax got a firsthand look at the progress at 10 development sites Tuesday morning.
The total project cost is now expected to be about a billion dollars, up from $750,000 initially projected after Gateway Jax acquired an additional parcel that will become a building hosting condos, apartments, and retail space.
In total, the various developments will create 1,250 new residential units, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 100,000 square feet of office space, 109 hotel rooms, 2,500 parking spaces, and an acre of open space for parks.
Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said he believes all those residential units, the first of which will be done this summer, will attract a wide variety of residents from students, to empty nesters, to young families.
“You usually find more young professionals. That’s typically what happens and that might be the predominant person that lives here, but we’ll see,” said Moll.
Moll also discussed some long-term goals like widened sidewalks, traffic pattern changes, and bike lanes on Beaver Street.
One of the anchors of the project, the planned Publix on Beaver and Hogan Streets, will start demolition this summer.
Moll said an incentive package from the city will likely be sought for that project.
“I think I heard one of the council members bring up a loan of some sort. We’re open to any and all ideas. We just want to get it built,” said Moll.
Moll also talked about his hopes for the future of the skyway.
Moll told Action News Jax he’d prefer to keep some form of transit on the existing structure, rather than the walking path option that was favored in JTA’s most recent survey.
“Once you actually have people that live here, they’re going to school here, that are visiting here and the skyway system connects all kinds of different neighborhoods, we think we’re going to see a jump in ridership so long as we provide the service effectively,” said Moll.
And Moll said the vast majority of the ten projects will likely be wrapped up sooner than you might think.
“So, if you could imagine sort of a grand opening for all of the retail to be open, it would likely be 2028,” said Moll. ”I think the site right behind us, the condominium, that would likely be in 2029. At some point we’ll start design on that this year and then construction would likely start next year.”
Moll also updated Action News Jax on another Gateway Jax project, the high-rise on Riverfront Plaza.
He said Gateway Jax is currently in conversations with three different hotel groups seeking to become anchor tenants.
The goal is to announce the selection of the anchor tenant this summer and break ground by the end of 2027.
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