The historic Ambassador Hotel is at 420 North Julia St. | Google
Published on March 19, 2025 at 12:55 pm
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The brick and stone facade of the vacant Ambassador Hotel bears few traces of its former glory as a 120-room hotel once home to Jacksonville’s elite.
The hotel’s steel awning still hangs over the lobby door, and the elaborate arched roof stands six stories over West Church Street. But the hotel was last occupied in 1998, then it was condemned and boarded up.
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Now it could get new life as part of Gateway Jax’s eight-block Downtown redevelopment project. The developer this week announced preliminary plans to restore the hotel’s glory through a partnership with The Indigo Road Hospitality Group.
The 101-year-old building, at 420 N. Julia St., is part of Gateway Jax’s inaugural multiuse development project, called Pearl Square. The project also will include 1,250 new residential units, about 200,000 square feet of retail space, a grocery store, park and public spaces and outdoor dining opportunities.
Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said the group has a unique opportunity to strengthen Downtown with the hotel, which was added in 1983 to the National Register of Historic Places.
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“The Ambassador Hotel will be one of the cornerstones of Pearl Square, a world-class development,” Moll said in a news release. “Indigo Road brings decades of experience in bespoke hospitality concepts to our expertise in urban development. Together, we can redevelop this iconic piece of Jacksonville architecture that will honor the city’s past and contribute meaningfully to its very bright future.”
Ambassador history
Architects Hal Hentz, Neel Reid and Rudolph Adler designed the Georgian Revival-style brick and limestone building. It initially opened as the 310 West Church Street Apartments. Its H-shaped design was done so every room had a window.
With a restaurant in the basement, the building was known as Jacksonville’s first big Downtown apartment building, according to Abandoned Florida, a preservation and education website.
The building changed hands in 1944 and was converted into the Three-Ten hotel, reflecting its address of 310 W. Church St. It changed names a few more times before it ultimately became The Ambassador in 1955.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the hotel fell into disrepair and was condemned in 1998 due to safety violations.
It stayed closed while various efforts to resurrect it failed, as other historic buildings in the area were redeveloped.
Across West Church Street lies a 103-year-old mansion designed by architect Henry Klutho for Thomas Porter. The pillared mansion, now an attorney’s office, is also on the National Register.
Across North Julia Street sits Jacksonville’s former Federal Reserve office, now the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department headquarters.
As for the Ambassador, Gateway Jax plans to redevelop the hotel with a minimum of 100 rooms, plus a high-end restaurant and bar, conference space and other amenities. The purchase of the hotel site also includes an adjacent parcel where a 487-space parking garage will be built to serve the hotel, plus planned neighborhood retail, restaurant and residential developments.
Gateway bought the buildings and property bordered by Duval, Julia, Church and Pearl streets about a month ago through 420 Julia St LLC for $17 million, Moll told the Jacksonville Daily Record, a Jacksonville Today news partner. The former Central National Bank at 404 N. Julia St. was included in the transaction and will be developed later, Gateway said.
Indigo Holdings has properties in Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; and Raleigh, North Carolina, as well as other sites in the Southeast. Indigo also operates O-Ku in Jacksonville Beach and announced plans to open Oak Steakhouse in the historic Greenleaf Building at 208 N. Laura St.
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity in Downtown Jacksonville,” founder Steve Palmer said. “In the next two to three years, this neighborhood will see a revitalization similar to what has happened in many other markets where we operate.”
Gateway Jax’s first building project at 515 Pearl St. broke ground in October, and is on track to deliver in 2026. Several other projects within Pearl Square will begin construction in 2025, Gateway said.
