Jacksonville Project to Transform 22 Downtown Acres

Two Jacksonville, Fla., area real estate companies—JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital under the umbrella of Gateway Jax have acquired 22 acres of downtown space that equals 20-plus city blocks complete with buildings and development sites. The goal is to develop a lively scene of walkable streets, sidewalk cafes, courtyards, and office, hotel and other mixed uses. The developers also envision pedestrian flows along green corridors leading to the waterfront’s amenities and complementing the city’s 30-mile Emerald Trail, being developed by the nonprofit Groundwork Jacksonville in partnership with the city for a network to be completed in coming years. 

In the first phase, where ground will be broken next year, plans call for $500 million of the mixed-use development. Over the next decade, the total build-out is estimated to cost $2-plus billion, which will make it one of the largest-urban core revitalizations in the U.S. as far as its geographic reach.

The project represents a continuation of Jacksonville’s efforts to spur economic vitality for its city, located 12 miles south of the Georgia state line. It boasts one of the lowest costs of living in the state and may act as a catalyst for the entire state. Already Jacksonville has become attractive as a location for Fortune 500 companies, universities including a recently announced University of Florida graduate campus, its Port of Jacksonville and its Mayo Clinic campus, the first outside the home base of Rochester, Minn. But with this project, the city hopes to do more than add buildings, said Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax. “We plan to create thriving, walkable neighborhoods that create a series of place, attracting residents and workers who’ll be able to find everything they need within the city’s core,” he said.

Already, Jacksonville has a metropolitan area population of 1.68 million but 500 are moving to the city each week due to its strong job market. The city also has good access with 85 daily non-stop flights into its international Jacksonville International Airport, which is due to undergo a big expansion.

The beginning development will focus on the North Core district of the downtown within its central business district. If approved, plans are to develop three buildings on Pearl Street with 1,000-plus multifamily units, grocery-anchored retail and new public spaces for community interaction. “Any builder can build space; we invest in and build communities that serve America’s workforce families,” said Don Wenner, Founder and CEO of DLP Capital, which is providing the majority of capital through its private evergreen funds that invest in building thriving communities 

Gateway Jax has significant experience in undertaking large-scale redevelopments. It previously was in charge of Water Street Tampa, a $4 billion development revitalization of that city’s waterfront, and the National Landing development in Washington, D.C., which consists of three neighborhoods of Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard.