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Downtown Development Updates for September 2014

  • Intuition Ale Works announced plans to expand to Downtown into former the Noland Co. building at 929 E. Bay St. near the Sports Complex. Intuition will convert the space into a brewery and taproom with a rooftop beer garden, taking 21,000 of  36,000 total square feet. After a lengthy parking discussion last Thursday, the Downtown Development Review Board approved project plans, which include a deviation from the required 64 parking spaces – the facility will have 57 spots, with metered and garage parking available nearby. The project goes before the board for final approval Oct. 2. The Noland Co. building has been vacant for about 12 years.
Intuition Rendering
Intuition rendering
  • More plans were announced for the Laura Street Trio, including a bodega grocery store featuring product lines from local food catering and gourmet entrepreneur Liz Grenamyer. Other plans previously announced for the Trio include a commercial bank in the Marble Bank Building, a Marriott Courtyard boutique hotel in the Bisbee and Florida Life buildings, and possible restaurant and bar plans.
  • Owner of the Bostwick Building announced plans for a high-end steakhouse in the historic structure, known as the ‘Jaguar Building.’ The steakhouse, to be named Cowford Chophouse, will also include a rooftop bar.
  • This month, JEA set a final due date – Oct. 7 – for bids to develop 30 acres of its former Southside Generating Station site on the Southbank waterfront. The original May deadline was pushed back several times to allow for the negotiation of a land swap between JEA, JTA, the City of Jacksonville and the School Board. The land swap will extend from Prudential Drive through the School Board parking lot to the vacant site. Prudential Drive would then connect with Broadcast Place to JTA’s Kings Avenue parking garage. The School Board will receive 1.33 acres of the vacant land to make up for the parking-area loss.
  • Announced this month, the Crowne Plaza hotel on the Southbank will become a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel beginning Sept. 1, 2015. The hotel, which will be renamed DoubleTree Jacksonville Riverfront, is undergoing a $5 million renovation that started early this year. Renovations are expected to be complete by mid-to-late 2015.
  • Earlier this month, the EverBank Center sold for $47.4 million. Miami-based developer Amkin West Bay LLC  bought the office tower – the largest building by square footage Downtown – and a nearby garage from El-Ad Florida LLC.

    EverBank Center
    EverBank Center
  • Unity Plaza recently revealed its site plan. For details, visit: http://unityplazajax.com/2014/08/21/countdown-36-to-unity-plaza-opening-revealing-the-site-plan/. The park is expected to open February 2015.
  • 220 Riverside, the luxury apartment building under construction adjacent to Unity Plaza, remains under construction, with an open date now at early 2015. The Brooklyn Riverside, the nearby multi-building residential project also under construction, is expected to be complete by December.
  • The Fresh Market at Brooklyn Station on Riverside opened its doors 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24. Lucy’s Gift Boutique is planned to open this fall, October or November. The Corner Bakery and Hair Cuttery are expected to open in December. Navy Federal Credit Union branch and Burger-Fi are looking to open in the first quarter of 2015, and Zoes Kitchen is planning an April 2015 opening. The remainder of the tenants should be in place by summer 2015.

    First look at Brooklyn Station on Riverside's Fresh Market.
    First look at Brooklyn Station on Riverside’s Fresh Market.
  • The right lane of Pearl Street adjacent to the Duval County Courthouse has reopened. The road has been fully closed since November 2013, just before construction on the courthouse pedestrian bridge began. The pedestrian bridge and the new State Attorney’s Office (in the former Federal Courthouse Building) the bridge connects to are expected to be complete by December.
  • Construction continues in the Southbank Riverwalk. After experiencing construction and funding delays, the project originally slated to be finished this month is now looking at a February 2015 completion timeline.
  • Work in the Florida Department of Transportation Overland Bridge Replacement Project also continues. The project, which began January 2013, is replacing the series of overpasses that carry traffic over Hendricks, Kings and Montana avenues along 2.3 miles of I-95 through Downtown. Expected completion date is mid-2016. To stay up-to-date on this project, visit its website, i95overlandbridge.com.
  • The median barriers at each end of the Mathews Bridge were replaced this month with removable guardrails, to be used in emergency evacuations.

For information on other projects in the works Downtown – including the Berkman II, JTA’s transportation center, the Parador parking garage and Jimmy John’s build-out – visit our previous development updates here.