JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New spots to live, eat and shop are coming to downtown Jacksonville.
The city council unanimously approved the first phase of the Pearl Street District project.
Folks who commute regularly into downtown have no doubt been passing renderings hanging on Pearl Street every day for months, wondering when the images will start coming to life.
It will be in the next few months now that they’ve been approved, changing the face of Downtown.
“We’re getting a 22-story tower," said Jacksonville City Councilman Jimmy Peluso. "That is big. For Jacksonville, which is one of the oldest cities in Florida, we deserve it.”
Peluso was one of 18 councilmembers who voted in favor of a new vision for Pearl Street: a developer’s plan to spend about $500 million to add 1000 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail space.
“I feel like we’ll have a very different looking city in 10 years, a much more urban looking city," said Peluso.
Gateway Jax, the developer, says the retail space will include a full-service grocery store, a high-end fitness club, restaurants, salons and shops.
Peluso says two parking garages should accommodate residents and guests.
The planned apartments are market rate with amenities, not workforce housing.
“You need that mixed income for downtown," said Peluso. "You need people that are able to spend more and you need people that are able to live comfortably on $15-$20 per hour salary.”
Gateway Jax plans to incorporate workforce housing in later phases of the project, as well as more downtown hotels.
Peluso says the buildings should be complete by late 2027, early 2028.
Even with heavy machines already filling Riverfront Plaza and the site for the new Four Seasons Hotel on Bay Street, Peluso doesn’t think another major project is too much at one time.
“You do it all together, all at the same time, that’s when you start to get real capacity, that’s when you get the downtown we’ve all been dying to get," said Peluso.
The first building will go between Ashley and Church Street, and it’s expected to break ground in October.
The other three in Phase 1 will follow shortly after.