Recent posts

#31

Urban Neighborhoods / Re: Is Jacksonvile ready for a...

Last post by MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain - July 23, 2026, 03:53:48 PM

Many diets proposed out in flight. Not sure if any of you drive through St Aug Rd. But that got dieted. 4 to 2 with a suicide lane down the middle and huge bike lanes.

Very commercial and industrial heavy road that needed repairs 10 years ago. Mayport is probably gonna get diet too.

#32

Urban Neighborhoods / Re: Is Jacksonvile ready for a...

Last post by Jagsdrew - July 23, 2026, 03:43:06 PM

I can't wait to hear Ron Armstong complain about this 

He's got it all figured out with the People's Plan of Jacksonville. Apparently, it's a utopian world where every problem gets solved overnight.

#33

Downtown / Re: Downtown Development Updat...

Last post by Ken_FSU - July 23, 2026, 03:37:57 PM

^ Ken, glad to assist.  I should also had that some TV, commercial, movie, recording and other media projects done in Jax have used WJCT's sound stage and other facilities for their productions.  Like many things, more there than meets the eye  .

Pippi Longstocking!

Today I learned that Tony Khan uses WJCT's studios to film television shows for Ring of Honor wrestling (AEW's minor league).

#34

Transportation, Mass Transit & Infrastructure / Re: Let’s Get Back to the Basi...

Last post by Ken_FSU - July 23, 2026, 03:33:48 PM

Great stuff, Marcus! Hope it gets in front of the right folks.

#35

Downtown / Re: Sights and Scenes: Pearl S...

Last post by Ned Plimpton - July 23, 2026, 03:04:26 PM

Here's been work recently on the N8 site. I've seen it myself.

Yeah I saw them drilling out there, for what I assumed were foundations, but now the site is mostly empty again.

Likely soil testing and environmental surveys as part of preconstruction. 

#36

Urban Neighborhoods / Re: Is Jacksonvile ready for a...

Last post by acme54321 - July 23, 2026, 02:41:28 PM

I can't wait to hear Ron Armstong complain about this 

#37

Downtown / Re: Sights and Scenes: Pearl S...

Last post by blueyaj22 - July 23, 2026, 02:40:00 PM

That's a great retail lineup, especially when considering how much more is to come. Does anyone know if these are in addition to the Japanese restaurant to be developed by Indigo Road that was previously reported as being attached to this building? Or is that concept no longer a part of Vandeveer or Pearl Squares plans? I was excited for that one: It will feature a chef-driven Japanese restaurant on the ground floor developed by Indigo Road Hospitality Group, offering wood-fired dishes from a robata grill, sushi, and sashimi.

#38

Urban Neighborhoods / Re: Is Jacksonvile ready for a...

Last post by Jagsdrew - July 23, 2026, 02:22:28 PM

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/jul/23/proposed-street-project-includes-converting-two-lanes-of-riverside-avenue-in-brooklyn-to-parallel-parking/

Riverside Avenue getting a much needed road diet along with Monroe Street converting to two way traffic.

#39

Downtown / Re: Sights and Scenes: Pearl S...

Last post by acme54321 - July 23, 2026, 12:58:19 PM

Here's been work recently on the N8 site. I've seen it myself.

Yeah I saw them drilling out there, for what I assumed were foundations, but now the site is mostly empty again.

[Gateway Jax announces retail lineup for Vandeveer]

#40

Downtown / Re: Sights and Scenes: Pearl S...

Last post by thelakelander - July 23, 2026, 12:47:59 PM

Gateway Jax announces retail lineup for Vandeveer

Bagels, yogurt and a German-themed beer garden are part of the initial retail lineup for the Vandeveer mixed-use development in Downtown Jacksonville, developer Gateway Jax announced July 22.

The seven-story Vandeveer, the first project in Gateway Jax's more than $750 million Pearl Square district, is nearing an opening. The 205-unit apartment building at 515 N. Pearl St. is named after the late Thomas Vandeveer Porter, whose historic Porter House Mansion is immediately east of the building.

In a news release, Gateway Jax listed the retail lineup as follows:

• St. Augustine's Bar Citra will expand into a 2,000-square-foot space where it will sell coffee, pastries, seasonal plates and wines. The restaurant is led by spouses Rachel Gant and Andrew Deming.

• Buchner's Bierhalle of Murray Hill will turn the Porter House lawn east of the Vandeveer into Buchner's Biergarten starting this fall. The menu includes German beers and shareable small plates.

• After making its Jacksonville debut at St. Johns Town Center in late 2025, PopUp Bagels will open its second location in the city in a 1,443-square-foot space at Vandeveer. The chain is based in Westport, Connecticut.

• Go Greek Yogurt will open its first Northeast Florida location in a 1,141-square-foot space in the development. The menu includes yogurt and bowls.

• JetSet Modern Pilates will operate in a 2,495-square-foot space, joining two other locations in Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach. Plans call for a fall opening.

• Pearl Street Nails will open in a 2,032-square-foot space, one of more than 135 salons across the Southeast by its operator.

Except for Buchner's and JetSet, tenant openings have not been set. Gateway Jax said in the release that openings for those tenants would occur through early 2027.

"The retail mix at Vandeveer has been intentionally designed to bring daily life to the Urban Core, encourage everyday activation and support the kind of walkable, connected environment essential to Downtown Jacksonville's continued evolution," Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax, said in the release.

In 2024, Jacksonville City Council approved a $9.06 million REV grant and $4.63 million completion grant for the Vandeveer, then known as Block N11.

DLP Capital and JWB's Downtown Fund are the primary investors in the development.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/jul/22/gateway-jax-announces-retail-lineup-for-vandeveer/