This project includes replacing deteriorating bulkheads along the Northbank. Work on the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center bulkhead was recently completed (2023). Additional improvements to come include the CSX bulkhead, Riverfront Plaza bulkhead, and East of Main Street bulkhead.
Development Status: Under Construction
Lofts at Cathedral
The project, located in the Cathedral District, will be dubbed Lofts at Cathedral. Workforce housing downtown has become a staple of Vestcor’s work. The company’s Lofts at Monroe, Lofts at LaVilla, Lofts at Jefferson Station and Lofts at Brooklyn are some of the income-capped apartments it is supplying downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods, like Murray Hill.
The Vestcor Companies Inc. will add 120 workforce housing apartments to the Cathedral District through the renovation of the former YWCA building and a new, adjacent structure.
Investment: $39 million
Status: Under construction
Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park
The Durkeeville Historical Society and city of Jacksonville collaborated to dedicate the birth site of Jacksonville’s Johnson brothers as the “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” Park. The park is named after the song written by John Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson in the late 1800s, which the NAACP calls the “Black National Anthem.”
As part of the development strategy for LaVilla, the current Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park will be expanded and redesigned to celebrate the Johnson Brothers’ contributions to our nation. The park will invite people from all walks of life to honor these important Jacksonville natives. Designed by renowned landscape architect Walter Hood, the park includes a lifted lawn, a performance stage and a restored shotgun house placed on the parcel of the historic Johnson House. The park will be linked to 15 other historic neighborhoods and Downtown via the Emerald Trail.
Currently under construction, the park is expected to open this summer.
LaVilla Place Former Pratt Funeral Home
Silver Street Management’s development team intends to convert the former funeral home into thirteen apartments and a retail space that could potentially become a restaurant, coffee shop or wine bar. The developer also plans to add a courtyard, swimming pool and parking lot just west of the building.
Total Development Cost: $4.98 million
Johnson Commons
Located in the historic neighborhood of LaVilla in Downtown Jacksonville, Johnson Commons is a new townhome community designed to honor the neighborhood’s history and architecture. Corner Lot Development Group and JWB Real Estate Capital is building 91 townhomes and 10,000 SF of ground-level retail next to Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park in LaVilla.
In addition, the transit-oriented development will be in close proximity to the JTA Skyway and Regional Transportation Center, providing convenient access to major employment centers, dining, sports venues, and entertainment
Investment: $18 million
Status: Under construction
Independent Life Building
Augustine Development Group purchased the building—now designated a local Historic Landmark—in October 2019 for $3.7 million, with plans to invest more than $30 million in the redevelopment of the property. The developer plans to renovate the 18-story, 165,000 square foot building to include a 21,000-square-foot grocery store, 140 market-rate apartments and a 10,000 square foot rooftop restaurant, lounge and pool.
This historic redevelopment project is a recipient of the DIA’s Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program (DPRP). Learn more about the program here: http://dia.coj.net/DPRP.
Investment: $30 million
Iguana Investments Four Seasons Hotel & Residences and Shipyards Office Tower
In October of 2021, the Jacksonville City Council approved plans for a 176-room Four Seasons hotel with 25 private residences, a 156,000-square-foot class A office tower and City-owned marina. The five-star hotel will tout resort amenities including a pool, spa, ballroom, meeting spaces, signature roof-top restaurant and dining options. The marina will feature a marina support building that contains a ship store, public restaurant, restrooms, and shower facilities.
Plans include a $4 million investment over 20 years to neighboring Metropolitan Park.
Investment $387.6 Million
Expected Completion: 2026
Home2Suites by Hilton
Home2 Suites hotel by Hilton is under construction at 600 Park Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Downtown Jacksonville, Florida.
Located on a .86-acre parcel, the new six-story, Home2 Suites will offer 100 rooms, a fitness center, and a street-level restaurant with outdoor dining, landscaping, public art and the redevelopment of an existing parking lot. The project broke ground in October 2022 and is projected to be complete in January 2024.
Investment: $17.3 million
Status: Under construction
Greenleaf & Crosby Building
Currently undergoing a substantial rehabilitation to update mechanical systems and retain historic architectural features that make this building one of the finest in the downtown Historic District. The ground floor will have a restaurant space with basement seating with office in the upper floors.
Fincantieri North Florida Shipyards
Fincantieri Group, who employs 19,000 people worldwide, plans to invest $30M and ramp up employment to 300 jobs in Jacksonville by 2028. Fincantieri Marine Systems North America is improving marine infrastructure on the Working Waterfront in preparation for a 500- foot, Navy-certified dry dock.
Investment: $30 million
Status: Under construction