Mega-development in downtown historic district rolls out design of 22-floor building

David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·2 min read

Gateway Jax won its opening round of official city support for its ambitious downtown development on at least five city blocks when the Downtown Development Review Board did its conceptual review of the first set of proposed buildings.

The five-block area will include a new 22-story tower. Two other buildings approved conceptually by DDRB would each be seven stories tall. All would have residences and ground-floor retail in a development that would tie in with the historic Porter House and an existing parking garage.

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The DDRB will vote a future meeting on final review of the architectural design of the buildings. Meanwhile, developer Gateway Jax could go on a simultaneous track to the Downtown Investment Authority for an economic development agreement containing taxpayer incentives for the development, which will go on underused property containing parking lots.

The design of the planned buildings came from architects who said they examined the appearance of other buildings in that part of downtown, including the St. James Building that houses City Hall.

A 22-story building with 530 residential units and 62,000 square feet of residential would be built on a block bounded by Pearl, Beaver, Clay and Ashley streets for the Pearl Street District in downtown Jacksonville.
A 22-story building with 530 residential units and 62,000 square feet of residential would be built on a block bounded by Pearl, Beaver, Clay and Ashley streets for the Pearl Street District in downtown Jacksonville.

"They didn't design the buildings to look old," Jax Gateway CEO Bryan Moll said. "They designed the buildings to look new with historic context."

He said the planned timetable is to start construction of the first building around the middle of 2024 followed by the two other buildings. The five-block area also will have a fourth building that still must go to the DDRB for approval, and Gateway Jax plans to put retail space in the ground floor of the parking garage. The target is to complete construction in 2026.

"We'd like everything to deliver around the same time so it really feels like a cohesive neighborhood when it delivers," Moll said.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gateway Jax wins first round of approvals for big downtown project