JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Construction permits for demolition of the Regency Square Mall site’s east wing have been approved.
The permits, issued on August 28, were filed by demolition contractor RealCo Recycling Co. on behalf of Regency Square Mall’s owner Blackwater Development.
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With the permits newly approved, Jacksonville City Councilman Ken Amaro (R), who represents this district where the mall is located, is looking ahead to the future.
“I’m highly optimistic about what that property is going to look like in the next year or two,” Amaro said.
Action News Jax told you last April that Lake City-based Blackwater Development paid $19.1 million dollars for roughly the roughly 74-acre mall.
For now, the abandoned mall, opened in 1967, doesn’t look like much. Some businesses and organizations remain with Impact Church occupying the former Belk Department store.
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“It’s languished, it fell into disrepair,” Amaro said. “Then it became an eyesore. It became in many respects blighted property, and in any neighborhood, the last thing you want to have is blight.”
Of course it won’t stay like this for long. Action News Jax told you in July that most of the mall’s indoor public areas will be demolished to birth Nexus at Regency. It’ll be a mixed-use development with apartments, retail, restaurants, offices, and new internal streets.
A study by Build Florida 2030 finds that Regency’s revamp could create nearly 1,600 jobs and increase economic activity by $360 million.
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“It’s gonna be an economic boost. I am expecting what I call transformative work. Work that transforms not just that intersection, but has a ripping effect up and down Monument and the rest of the Atlantic Boulevard corridor,” Amaro said.
The project has at least three phases.
It’s unclear exactly when the Nexus at Regency plans to open its doors.
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