Downtown Development Update: What's rising, what's delayed

[fsu813]

I'd imagine if the city is successful in foreclosing on the Trio and auctioning it off that we would see a bid from Gateway Jax. It's right across the street from Gateway's offices and JWB's future HQ and they seem focused on helping the DIA activate Laura Street

I believe there are other interested parties with credibility, as well.

[Tacachale]

I'd imagine if the city is successful in foreclosing on the Trio and auctioning it off that we would see a bid from Gateway Jax. It's right across the street from Gateway's offices and JWB's future HQ and they seem focused on helping the DIA activate Laura Street

I believe there are other interested parties with credibility, as well.

There'll be a good amount of serious interest, absolutely. The current ownership is 100% of the problem.

[Tacachale]

Despite the setbacks, I do feel we are taking "3 steps forward, 2 steps back" or some similar ratio lol. I still feel that the energy is different, the projects with shovels in the ground ARE there, and thank goodness for Gateway Jax, who has the potential to near single-handedly be the spark that drives in-fill development from the river to Springfield downtown.

Also very grateful for VyStar, and despite the controversy...Khan and his companies. There's a few big players that are doing almost everything. Without them, we would be still at square one.

I have a 2 and a 4 year old. We visited Friendship Fountain when the new playground opened, and it just became clear to me how wonderful of an asset this is. All we have to do is follow through with botanical gardens, the rooftop bar/restaurant, the bathrooms, and the Related Tower...and you'll be in really great shape. If only it was combined with the MOSH renovation, which could have already been done!

Looking towards the stadium, the ballpark renovations were great and are already finished. That in tandem with the Zombie DORO apartments, Shipyards West Park, MOSH, Four Seasons, Met Park, and New Stadium is a monumental amount of great things happening on that half of downtown.

I personally do not share the urgency to move the jail. I just do not feel like it is actually a factor on people not going downtown. It will cost so much to move and build a new one. Would you rather spend $1 billion replacing a functional jail to a better location, or spend $1 billion on incentivizing a dozen other complimentary projects? Seems like a no brainer to me.

Lastly, the Emerald Trail and it's connections are transformative and game changing and we HAVE to finish them, even if it means playing hardball with JTA, who have been given so much leeway to go down weird R&D paths that have yet to return anything on their investment.

UF Campus too. Gotta tie that in with new train station and bringing Brightline and Amtrak DOWNTOWN.

One thing that's been great about working in the current mayor's administration is seeing how much just changes in perspective and focus can have huge results. Seeing things through now from how they were when we were writing about the various mistakes and hurdles a few years ago is like night and day. There is much more to be done, but it's a great reminder that when we simple commit to doing and finishing key things, the results are palpable. Just shows the truth that none of this stuff is rocket science, it just takes the right people and the right vision.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Can you get the mayor to change her opinion on U2C?  That would add to the transformation legacy she is building  .

[Skybox111]

Riverfront parks now is asking to make tower parcel green space or low rise commercial on riverfront plaza. so now they will advocate all riverfront to be just park and no high rises that will help populate the area with people utilizing the park no office hotel residential commercial retail just a type of restaurant that many probably won't care about and some trees here and there and stupid art.  wow as if we don't have trees everywhere and parks in this city surrounded by national parks and homes filled with so much dense canopy and grass plants and shrubs. People can just stay where they are and enjoy the peace. No taxpayer is going to want to drive all the way downtown to see some park that is filled with trees unlike other major cities our city is mostly suburbs which contains more nature. And who is going to fund those parks like gateway said the hotel will add surcharge to help fund maintenance for the park. East bay street from berkman all the way to the stadium not really anything there and intuition ale is leaving so dead zone. Also if they add any food there in the parks probably not appealing to many and doubt mosh will have actual food there.

[acme54321]

Riverfront parks now is asking to make tower parcel green space or low rise commercial on riverfront plaza. so now they will advocate all riverfront to be just park and no high rises that will help populate the area with people utilizing the park no office hotel residential commercial retail just a type of restaurant that many probably won't care about and some trees here and there and stupid art.  wow as if we don't have trees everywhere and parks in this city surrounded by national parks and homes filled with so much dense canopy and grass plants and shrubs. People can just stay where they are and enjoy the peace. No taxpayer is going to want to drive all the way downtown to see some park that is filled with trees unlike other major cities our city is mostly suburbs which contains more nature. And who is going to fund those parks like gateway said the hotel will add surcharge to help fund maintenance for the park. East bay street from berkman all the way to the stadium not really anything there and intuition ale is leaving so dead zone. Also if they add any food there in the parks probably not appealing to many and doubt mosh will have actual food there.

There isn't a national park anywhere near here. 

[jaxlongtimer]

Riverfront parks now is asking to make tower parcel green space or low rise commercial on riverfront plaza. so now they will advocate all riverfront to be just park and no high rises that will help populate the area with people utilizing the park no office hotel residential commercial retail just a type of restaurant that many probably won't care about and some trees here and there and stupid art.  wow as if we don't have trees everywhere and parks in this city surrounded by national parks and homes filled with so much dense canopy and grass plants and shrubs. People can just stay where they are and enjoy the peace. No taxpayer is going to want to drive all the way downtown to see some park that is filled with trees unlike other major cities our city is mostly suburbs which contains more nature. And who is going to fund those parks like gateway said the hotel will add surcharge to help fund maintenance for the park. East bay street from berkman all the way to the stadium not really anything there and intuition ale is leaving so dead zone. Also if they add any food there in the parks probably not appealing to many and doubt mosh will have actual food there.

Hurray for Riverfront Parks!  I have been supporting this approach consistently. This is not about just bringing in people from the burbs to Downtown.  It is about attracting residents and tourists to Downtown.  Just like suburbanites want parks and green spaces, they are necessary to grow Downtown (even Nocatee, Wildlight and other mega-developers voluntarily provide these spaces, knowing the value they create). 

These residents and tourists will provide the vibrancy and the increased demand for Downtown will raise property values and the associated tax base to allow dollars to maintain the parks and more. 

Money for parks is not an issue, it is that our elected officials drain available funds for stupid pet projects, incentives for projects by their developer campaign donors, or by grandstanding to "reduce taxes" so they can get re-elected (just see their fear of raising the garbage tax for over a decade costing the City tens of millions).

Putting aside land for parks needs to be done before the demand is created or otherwise the land becomes unattainable, either due to cost or due to being diverted for other uses.  It takes vision and planning, not looking at what is today, but would could be tomorrow and for generations to come.

As I have stated before, most any city in the world would love to have the opportunities for public space along our riverfront that our City is, perversely, paying developers to take off our hands.  Ass backwards!

Instead of "investing" in developer incentives, plow those dollars back into infrastructure, including parks, and the developers will come begging to take advantage, no incentives necessary.  Jax has had it upside down for decades and will not move forward until it changes its tack.

[Skybox111]

Meant state parks but we do have national parks here fort Caroline national memorial and castillo de san marcos also timucuan preserve

[Ken_FSU]

Absolutely classic Jacksonville.

Step 1 - Spend years, and millions of dollars, RFPing Riverfront Plaza as a park, supported by integrated private development on a fraction of the northeastern portion of the park. Bring in a world class design firm to build a park around the idea of having a private development pad.



Step 2 - Plan park construction in two phases, with private development happening alongside Phase 2. Which again, occupies very little of the actual property.



Step 3 - After the first RFP for private development bears no fruit, the developer of Tampa's transformational Water Street falls into Jacksonville's lap, helps recruit UF, and launches the first vertical construction in the CBD in roughly 250 years as part of a billion dollar development. He owns a key piece of property necessary to launch a $500 million UF graduate campus that will revitalize LaVilla and transform the Prime Osborne, has a good relationship with the DIA, and works in good faith to come up with a win-win deal for Gateway and the city.

Step 4 - He works with the DIA and says, "Hey, you can have my property for UF, and we'll activate the northeast corner of the new park with hotel, residential, and retail. We won't ask for a penny more than $20 million in completion grants (below market rate for Jax these days), we'll work with you to phase construction alongside Phase 2 of the park, we'll build in a mechanism that will pump $700k in upkeep and programming into the park each year, and if it doesn't work out, no hard feelings, you can have the land back, and we'll give you the Interline building at a discount."



Step 5 - We're handed the easiest, biggest no-brainer of the last 20 years. Jacksonville wins, getting the Interline building for 0 dollars and locking in UF during a time of economic uncertainty and leadership change at UF. We avoid another lengthy RFP, partnering with a proven, vested developer that has offered guaranteed timelines and incentive caps. We fulfill our end of the CBA with the Jags by delivering Riverfront Plaza on time. We get a healthy annual endowment to maintain Riverfront Plaza. And we get an active use, taking up very little space at the park, that provides restaurants, retail, and a sky deck, while ensuring enough 24/7 pedestrian density at the park to prevent it from becoming yet another homeless camp.

An absolute, slam dunk for the city, that checks ten boxes at once.

And what do we do?

Step 6 - We try to snag defeat from the jaws of victory once again by having every lunatic with some depressing axe to grind come out of the woodwork and act like they're smarter than the DIA and the only proven outside developer we have investing in Downtown Jax at the moment. Actively trying to kill the land swap, and if they're not careful, sour relationships with Gateway and UF as well.

The VERY LAST THING we need is dead greenspace surrounded by unactivated, M-F office towers. It's a recipe for disaster. Not sure if anyone remembers, but Riverfront Plaza was passive greenspace for a few years after the Landing was demolished. A few random events aside, you know who used it during the week and on weekends? A half dozen office workers kicking a soccer ball, and about 300 fentanyl addicts. You know who's using the greenspace at Ford on Bay? No one. Metro Park died because it was an island with no amenities. The most successful urban park in our city's history - Memorial Park in Riverside - only works because it is bordered on all sides by active uses.

We need to start taking advantage of these layups when they fall in our laps instead of having 50 special interests always wanting to slow things down. Or conduct another study. Or lobby to have yet another parcel in Downtown Jacksonville remain undeveloped.

There simply aren't tens of thousands of people in Jacksonville desperate to enjoy 100 acres of greenspace on the river just because they exist. We need to give them additional reasons to come, play, and stay on the river.

But, by all means, let's table everything, tell Gateway no, figure out UF later, delay Phase 2 of Riverfront Plaza for YEARS while we figure out a Plan B, piss off the Jags, jeopardize the CBA, pay for park maintenance from the general fund, and hand an empty Riverfront Plaza over to the meth heads to practice their murders, just so Ron Salem can run for Mayor on a platform of saving $1 million on a land deal (depending on which of the 40 required appraisals you use) and just so Riverfront Parks Now can prevent that awkward 10% of the park in the corner from becoming something that people actually want to use.

Self-defeating madness all around.

[jaxlongtimer]

Here is the reasoning offered by the counterpointers...

Former DIA chair, pro-parks group come out against Riverfront Plaza land swap
Jim Citrano Jr. calls for completion of an "optimal use study" for the site, while Riverfront Parks Now suggests a new option.

....Both Citrano and Riverfront Parks Now support the outright purchase option.

Concerns about cost

Citrano, who served on the DIA board from March 2020 through January 2025, said the Plaza redevelopment parcel poses challenges for builders.

In a May 27 email to Council members, DIA CEO Lori Boyer, current DIA board Chair Patrick Krechowski and others, he questions whether Gateway Jax's proposed tower could be built with $20 million in completion grants, the amount at which those incentives would be capped under city legislation.

Citrano said he believes there is "considerable risk that the final cost to taxpayers could exceed this figure substantially" due to the complexities of developing on the site.

Among those, he said the property offers limited size relative to the conceptual project's scale. Utilities would need to be moved, he said, and the pad's proximity to the Main Street Bridge also presents complications to construction.

Citrano said that under a master plan for Riverfront Plaza, developed by Chicago designer Perkins & Will, there would be coordinated development of the pad and the east portion of the plaza park. A tower and a beer garden in Perkins & Will's plan would include a shared retaining wall for instance.

Whether the tower and park can be built in concert is unclear, considering that the city has yet to fund the construction of the east half of the park. The west half is under construction.

"These factors make the parcel's development highly complicated and necessitate coordinated construction timelines with Phase II of the park," he wrote. "In real estate development, 'complicated' often translates to 'expensive.'"

More study needed

Citrano, the DIA board's president from July 2023 to June 2024, said the complexities of the site were evident when the DIA received only one response to its original request for proposals from developers for the property. That respondent was New York-based American Lions, which later withdrew after determining that its proposed 44-story residential tower was not feasible.

"Recognizing the need for flexibility, the DIA subsequently hired a consultant to explore interim uses for the site, anticipating that synchronization between park development and private construction might not proceed as planned," Citrano wrote.

"Simultaneously, the DIA was receiving growing community feedback, advocating for alternative uses — ranging from lower-density commercial buildings to full integration of the space into expanded parkland."

The DIA hired the consultant referenced by Citrano in the fall of 2024 to perform an "optimal use study" for properties in and around Riverfront Plaza.

"This effort appears to have been abandoned in favor of the current land swap proposal. Why?" Citrano wrote.

"The DIA should continue with the optimal use study, prioritize community input, and thoroughly assess all potential alternatives for the development of the northeast corner parcel. Doing so may require a redesign of Phase II of the park, but it could better align with the long-term public interest, community sentiment, and potentially reduce the city's financial obligations."

Citrano concludes that if the study found that a tower project was the best option, the property should go back out for proposals from developers so that competing offers could be fully scrutinized.

"This should include thorough due diligence into each developer's background, experience, and financial capacity," he wrote. "An RFP is always in the best interest of taxpayers, whom the City and DIA are duty-bound to represent."

In an interview, Citrano said he initially had not planned to address the situation publicly but changed his mind after the Council Committee of the Whole discussed the land swap during a May 21 meeting.

That day, Council member Chris Miller said he had been hearing only from supporters of the swap and that he would be interested in learning counterpoints.

Citrano said that given his experience on the board and his knowledge of the situation, he felt compelled to speak out.

He emphasized that his opinions were not directed at Gateway Jax but on the plaza properties. He said he is a strong supporter of Gateway Jax, which is moving forward on a Downtown development that comprises 25 city blocks across 32 acres if fully realized.

Citrano demonstrated his support of Gateway Jax as a DIA board member, voting for incentives for the development.

Coming forward

Like Citrano, the steering committee of Riverfront Parks Now said it was reluctant to publicly discuss the issue but had "been encouraged to share our perspective in keeping with our role as a civic advocacy group."

In an email to Council members and members of Mayor Donna Deegan's administration, the group offers a third option that includes a low-rise building with a multilevel restaurant and retail space.

"Tampa's riverfront offers a proven model, with places like the two-story Armature Works and one to three-story Sparkman Wharf that draw people in and energize the area," the email states.

"These vibrant spaces thrive without towers — offering public benefits without costly city-funded financial incentives."

Riverfront Parks now offers another example closer to home, The HUB Brooklyn multiuse restaurant, office and event space under construction at 400 Riverside Ave. The HUB will be anchored by Southern Grounds, the Sky Bar and Alder & Oak.

"This type of structure could allow the City to retain long-term control and ownership of the land while providing leased space for restaurants and rooftop dining that integrate seamlessly into the park," the group wrote, adding that the smaller-scale approach satisfies public interest in riverside dining options while fitting with the character of the park.

Other benefits

The group says its approach could save the city tens of millions of dollars in incentives and utility relocation costs over a tower, requires less parking and promotes a pedestrian-friendly space.

The project would generate tax revenue and, through contributions from occupants of the spaces, could help pay for park maintenance.

"Riverfront Parks Now respectfully recommends the City retain ownership of the back corner of the Landing and lease it to partners who will help create a vibrant, welcoming park in the heart of downtown—delivering the energy of a whole park as soon as possible," the email says. "We urge you to consider this appealing less costly, faster, more park-forward alternative!"

Signees are chair Natalie Rosenberg and members Susan Caven, Barbara Ketchum, Michael Kirwan, Jimmy Orth, Ted Pappas and Nancy Powell

On its website, Riverfront Parks Now describes itself as a coalition of nonprofit organizations working with city leaders, the business community and residents to foster development of parks and green spaces Downtown....

[Low rise images:]





https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2025/may/28/former-dia-chair-pro-parks-group-come-out-against-riverfront-plaza-land-swap/

[Skybox111]

They are acting like the hub is already completed and people are flocking there and tampa has a bunch of residential and hotel towers all nearby waterfront parks that's why Tampa waterfront works that way is because people are living in towers proximity to the parks. Convention center hotels and museums on Tampa's waterfront Jacksonville does not we have no parks right now and no residential towers nearby to help that area there's really no one living near where those parks will be cbd is all empty office.  so any residents living in close range to that park. that is why gateway wants to put a tower there because there's no-one living there to help contribute at that place. Tampa has shorten parks where buildings are also on the waterfront convention center Marriott hotel apartment tower restaurants all tying together it's not all parks on the waterfront. We can also have buildings and towers that mingle with these parks doesn't have to be all green space need something that's gonna entertain people.

https://floridayimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/101_099-300-w-tyler-st-david-allen-productions-scaled.jpg

https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1479018139/photo/downtown-tampa-during-sunrise.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=C7IndrRwGzoCV91l5N9fCvNw74EV9ATQUl-6ckvEmx0=

[acme54321]

Meant state parks but we do have national parks here fort Caroline national memorial and castillo de san marcos also timucuan preserve

None of those are national parks.

[jcjohnpaint]

I thought the park was fully designed, but not funded for the second half. Not really sure how this pad would change the design. Either the building fits on the pad or it doesn't. Am I missing something?
Also, I would have much more faith that Gateway would make something happen then putting out for bid again. This never seems to work in our favor.

[Joey Mackey]

Completely agree Ken, if City Council votes against the land swap deal it would be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Citrano is acting in bad faith with his concerns about the costs. The costs to City are capped at $20,000,000. Furthermore, the ROI is projected to be the best ROI for the City out of any of its recent development. If, for whatever reason, Gateway cannot build the Tower with $20,000,000 in incentives from the City, the City can buy the property back from Gateway for less than the City is selling it for, which guarantees the City can realistically buy the property back. Also, the fear that Gateway can't get this Tower off the ground runs against the reality that they are the only group to start vertical construction for a tower in the Urban Core in the past what, 30 years?

As for all of the Park Lovers. I hope they all realize that Phase II of the Riverfront Plaza is currently not funded. There is a snow balls chance in hell that the City will fund Phase II without a private developer lined up to build on Parcel B. Another reality is that there are no other private developers to build on Parcel B as demonstrated by a failed RFP a few years ago. So, if Gateway doesn't get this property, what the Park Lovers are going to get is a half-built park with 50 percent fenced off and left to rot, just like Friendship Fountian for years. Way to go guys.

[jcjohnpaint]

Also, If Gateway couldn't make it work, couldn't just be scaled back from 17 to 10 stories, ect.? Also, hasn't Salem been in council through all the past failures: American Lions, Barlow, Ford on Bay, etc. etc.?
I feel like an outside developer, meaning one not currently working with the city, is just going to propose something way over the top and not find it feasible in the end. This cycle will just go on for another 50 years.