Gateway Jax is asking for more than $55 million in city incentives for its proposed hotel and residences tower at Riverfront Plaza. | Downtown Development Review Board
Published on September 14, 2026 at 4:48 pm
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City officials will weigh awarding more than $70 million in a property tax break, cash grant and development loan to two high-profile Gateway Jax Inc. projects as the company continues to expand its portfolio Downtown.
The Downtown Investment Authority board is scheduled to vote on incentives packages Wednesday for the developer’s proposed residential and hotel tower complex on Riverfront Plaza and the Hotel Merrydelle renovation west of City Hall.
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According to documents released Monday, Gateway is asking for a $35.397 million property tax refund — known as a REV Grant — and a $20 million cash completion grant for the estimated $271.5 million high-rise that would integrate into Riverfront Plaza’s public park.
Payment of the cash grant would not begin until the tower project was done, documents state.
For its renovation of the former Ambassador Hotel — renamed the Hotel Merrydelle at 420 Julia Street — the DIA is renogotiating a deal with Gateway it approved in May for the nearly $50 million project.
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Instead of $10.1 million in historic renovation forgivable and deferred interest loans, the city would now offer a $15 million development loan Gateway would have to fully repay over 20 years.
If approved by the DIA board, the Jacksonville City Council would still have the final say. The authority would have to file legislation for city lawmakers to approve both sets of incentives.
Dollars for Riverfront Plaza tower
DIA staff have been negotiating for months with Gateway and its attorneys on the $55.387 million incentives deal for what will be a prominment piece of Phase II of the city’s Riverfront Plaza on Independent Drive.
The city would also get a cut of the deal. The term sheet says the developer would provide the city with a yet-to-be negotiated amount of the project’s pretax net cash flow. That number would be ironed out by DIA CEO Colin Tarbet, city attorneys in the Office of General Counsel, and Gateway.
The terms of the deal require the 17-story structure to include a four- of five-star or luxury boutique hotel. Gateway officials say there would be 130 to 170 hotel rooms.
The hotel operator, which has yet to be announced, would contribute 2% of the hotel and transient room revenue, which would go into the Downtown Economic Development Fund. That money helps pay for future development incentives, park maintance, public programing and other public improvements on the Downtown Northbank.
People who own a condo in the tower also would have to contribute $50 per month, escalating by 2% per year for 30 years, dedicated to maintenance and programming of Riverfront Plaza.
At meeting Thursday, where the Downtown Development Review Board greenlit the conceptual design for the tower project, Gateway CEO Bryan Moll said his company has narrowed the potential hotel brands to two. He said there would be an announcement soon.
The residential portion of the bulding could be condominums, rental apartments or a mix. The deal calls for at least 50 units with a maxium of 150. The city incentives agreement as written would allow for “transient rentals,” like Airbnbs and vacation rentals.
The skyview terrace that would face the city park and be open to the public would be at least 5,000 square feet. Two full service resturants of at least 7,500 square feet would open into the park.
The agreement would be between the city and 801 Bay St LLC, a subsidiary of Gateway Cos. LLC.
No loan forgivness for Hotel Merrydelle
The $15 million loan for the Hotel Merrydelle is a response to the City Council asking the DIA to move away from the forgivable loan structure of the Downtown Preserviation and Revitalization Program whenever possible.
The council authorized the program at the request of the DIA in 2020, in an attempt to make renovating and restoring the swath of vacant and deteriorating historic buildings financially viable. It gives developers access to grants and forgivable and deferred-interest loans for these projects that can often be costly and difficult to turn a profit.
The DIA’s lastest proposal for the Hotel Merrydelle would offer the Gateway subsidiary $15 million from the city as opposed to the $10 million in the previous agreement.
The difference is that the city would recoup the $15 million with 1% interest, repayed over 20 years.
If Gateway or the subsidiary defaults or files for bankrupcty, the city could demand the developer repay everything that is still owed and could collect 20% interest on what’s already been paid, according to the terms of the deal.
City cash uncertainty
The DIA resolutions released Monday say the authority’s staff are trying to find ways to provide public financial aid to these projects without flouting the Jacksonville City Council’s recent policy push to halt cash grants and forgivable loans coming out of the general fund for development projects.
The cash completion grant in the deal — $20 million for the Riverfront Plaza tower — could be funded by tax dollars controlled by the DIA. Property tax dollars collected from building owners in the Downtown Northbank Community Redevelpment Area are separate from the city’s general fund.
The nearly $35.4 million REV grant is a refund of 75% of the property tax revenue increase the property would generate from the improvements. Those tax refunds don’t affect the general fund.
According to the DIA’s calculations, the city would receive $2.94 for every $1 it invests in the tower project under this deal.
In the case of the Riverfront Plaza propety, the 1.1-acre site was previously owned by the city and was not generating property taxes.
For Hotel Merrydelle, the previous deal never made it to council for approval. But Gateway would not have had to repay $8.08 millon of the $10.1 million.
Council’s concern stems from tens of millions of dollars of unbudgeted completion grants awarded to developers over the last decade — the majority for Downtown projects. That worry has been amplified by a possible $300 million-per-year shortfall in projected revenue, if Florida voters pass a referendum in November to cut property taxes.
Gateway itself has nearly $2 billion in development projects happening Downtown with its Pearl Square district with its investment partners JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital LLC.
Millions in city incentives has come with it. In 2023, the DIA approved nearly $39 million in completion grants for Gateway’s Pearl Square. Legislation that would offer Gateway a $28.5 million completion grant for a 14-story, $138-million mixed use tower in Pearl Square that would include a Publix Grocery store has been in limbo for weeks.
It’s on hold while DIA and Gateway work to revamp the agreement to address council’s concern about completion grants.
In April, Moll told Jacksonville Today that he is considering the council’s softening on cash incentives in every project it brings before the city.
“We understand there’s a lot of conversation about incentives, and we’re really trying to keep that number as low as possible,” Moll said at the time.
