Article by: Alexandria Mansfield | Florida Times Union | View the original article.
Construction on Gateway Jax’s first development project in downtown Jacksonville officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.
Gateway Jax, a Jacksonville-based commercial real estate development firm sponsored by JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital, announced last year a $500 million mixed-use development project in downtown that includes apartments, grocery and retail spaces at 515 Pearl St.
“A lot of people didn’t believe it,” said Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax, said at the groundbreaking. “A lot of people thought this was just another rendering that wouldn’t come to fruition.”
Gateway Jax also announced the name Pearl Square as the first building to be constructed as part of the Pearl Street District, which is at the intersection of Pearl, Julie, Ashley and Church streets.
Pearl Square will include 1,250 residences, 150 hotel rooms and about an acre of outdoor space in addition to the 200,000 square feet of retail space.
Mayor Donna Deegan said she was “off-the-charts thrilled” to celebrate an “unprecedented mixed-use development in our urban core.”
“A year ago we were announcing the project, and we’re already at the groundbreaking,” said Lori Boyer, DIA’s chief executive officer, at the Gateway Jax event. “I compliment them on that ability to get it done.”
Boyer noted that this project could be the final push of units needed to get downtown to see 10,000 residents, a long-term goal for the city.
This mixed-use building is expected to include a grocery store, a tenant for which Moll previously said he hopes to be able to announce within the next several months.
The building should have about 22,000 square feet of total retail space, mostly restaurants.
Other blocks of the district are expected to begin not long after Pearl Square, with the next one being a 22-story high-rise, for which Moll added they are in “advanced lease negotiations” for a full-service health club and which is expected to see construction start in the spring.
The first completed building is expected to be finished in 2026, with the next one sometime in 2027.
The two properties make up about 10 acres of development property of Gateway Jax’s total of 28 acres.
The project designer of 515 Pearl St. is SK+I Architecture, with interiors by Streetsense. Jacksonville-based FaverGray is the general contractor, with civil engineering provided by England-Thims & Miller (ETM). Leasing of the project’s retail spaces will be led by Colliers’ Urban Division. The new parks and public spaces will be designed by Hoerr Schaudt.
The Pearl Street District is Gateway Jax’s first development in Downtown Jacksonville with more than 1,000 new residential units; 100,000 square feet of leasable retail space; and new public spaces, including widened and shaded sidewalks, park spaces and a curbless festival street on Pearl Street.
Gateway Jax has estimated the whole development will add $750 million in annual economic impact once it’s completed. “It’s all part of this momentum,” Moll said. “There will be continuous momentum as we get all these buildings going every few months. There’s been, by large, a feeling that downtown has been waiting for a big moment [and an investment] like this.”