The first phase of Springfield's Emerald Station officially opened Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, on North Liberty Street. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on October 30, 2024 at 5:05 pm
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Two major development projects commenced this week in Jacksonville’s Urban Core.
Emerald Station in Springfield and the Gateway Jax project will create public meeting spaces, offices, residences and tree-shaded areas to transform neglected parts of the city in coming years, their developers said.
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Here’s a rundown of each project.
Emerald Station
The first phase of the Emerald Station officially opened Wednesday in a century-old warehouse in Historic Springfield. The warehouse is one of several that wil be restored and reimagined with the help of a city grant package.
The first phase of the Phoenix Arts and Innovation District sits next to railroad tracks on North Liberty Street, with colorful artwork decorating many facades. The development is led by Miami-based Future of Cities, a group that works with local leaders to redevelop urban communities, such as the Wynwood arts district in Miami.
Future of Cities CEO Tony Cho said he worked with private investors as well as community groups like the Local Initiative Support Corp. to create what he said is “already a success.”
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“We put $5 million, $6 million into this building alone, so we are investing and this is now active,” Cho told Jacksonville Today. “We have already succeeded in opening our first building. We will open our next building, and it’s fully funded. We are now working on our vertical building. To me, the project is a success because it is what the community wants.”
One converted warehouse has 7,000 square feet of offices that include the city’s Small and Emerging Business Office to support local entrepreneurs, plus conference rooms and a community lounge. The other 11,000-square-foot warehouse is an event venue, where a ribbon-cutting was held Wednesday.
City Council member Jimmy Peluso said Emerald Station has created “a long-term sustainable plan” for a community that needs this development.
“They have an appropriate funding source; they have real investors; they have done this work before in the Wynwood area, which by the way was a rat’s nest in the ’80s as well, and now look at it,” Peluso said.
“They have got that credibility. And when they came in here, they bought all these buildings; they own the land; they have site control. They created a real vision, and I think they have the ability to execute, and that is what makes it different.”
People at the event saw renderings showing the next phase of the plan: a decorated breezeway under development between the office and event space. It ultimately will be joined by eight other projects.
The office space will begin pre-leasing with rental rates starting at $450 per month, and another phase is set to open early next year: a 22,000-square-foot office and retail space called Liberty Building.
The master plan shows more office space on North Market Street, as well as low- and mid-rise residential towers that will be affordable, Cho said. A grocery store and residences for senior citizens also are planned.
Part of The Emerald Trail, a 30-mile trail that will eventually connect 14 urban neighborhoods to Downtown, will go right past the North Liberty Street entrance to the converted warehouse.
The 8.3-acre site is in a federally designated Opportunity Zone in North Springfield. Development of its first phase began in December.
An Economic Development Agreement between Future of Cities and the city provided $4 million for rehabilitation of four warehouses and public green space. The public-private partnership includes an-almost $38 million investment by FoC, the company said.
Cho said that when he first looked at the Emerald Station project, it “checked a lot of boxes” with what he wanted. It’s part of Downtown’s Urban Core, he said, and there has been a lot of development happening along Main Street in Springfield.
“It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to see the potential of place, and I just loved the symbolism of the Phoenix — from the beginning, I connected with it,” Cho said. “We don’t have crystal balls. But we can cultivate, build and trust our intuition, and for me, I just felt that Jacksonville has so much untapped potential, and it was really focused downtown.”
Gateway Jax
The Gateway Jax real estate development firm broke ground Tuesday morning on the first phase of its mixed-use development in the Urban Core: Pearl Square at 515 Pearl St.
The development is part of a project with an estimated $2 billion in capital investment by JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital. Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said the project has benefited from experience, financial resources and “relentless support” in the past two years.
Ultimately, Gateway Jax will span 28 city blocks, with more than 1,250 new residential units, another 200,000 square feet of retail space, plus public parks and wider, tree-shaded sidewalks.
“From city support to neighborhood backing, public-private partnerships are a key ingredient in making projects like this possible,” Moll said in a news release. “We know Downtown — and Jacksonville as a whole — is ready for this type of development.”
Mayor Donna Deegan added that breaking ground on Pearl Square is “another important step toward the revitalized Downtown we all want to see.”
“We believe in the vision that Gateway Jax has for activating the Urban Core and its surrounding areas. This project can and will spark even more growth — both Downtown and across our city,” the mayor said Tuesday.
The project received unanimous approval by the Downtown Development Review Board after it was announced just over a year ago. The Downtown Investment Authority also authorized incentive packages before unanimous approved from City Council.
The incentive package totaled $98.5 million, including $38.9 million in completion grants, which will not be paid until the projects are complete.
