A drawing of the RiversEdge project under construction on the city's Southbank. It shows part of its planned riverwalk and nature trails. | RiversEdge/Toll Brothers
Published on April 28, 2025 at 12:19 pm
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Q: The site of a former JEA power station on the Southbank is being redesigned into RiversEdge, a huge mixed-use development with homes, hotels, retail, restaurants and four public parks.
Developer Toll Brothers continues to work on the project, but Jacksonville Today reader D.U. notes that many of the public roads appear done. You just aren’t supposed to drive on them, D.U. says.
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“The streets have been paved and are paid for by the taxpayers,” D.U. says. People can drive on them to see open houses, and staff also will invite you to visit the new boardwalk.
“However, the Rent-A-Cop guard driving around RiversEdge says we are not allowed to walk the streets. In fact, he will aggressively shout at you and tell you everything is closed,” D.U. says.
“These streets are public — aren’t we allowed to use them?”
A: Mayor’s Office spokesperson Melissa Ross says roads inside RiversEdge, including an extension of Prudential Drive, will be public — just not yet.
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The first phase of RiversEdge is well underway. Multistory residential units are easily visible to anyone walking along the Downtown riverfront or cruising across the Hart Bridge.
Situated on the riverfront just east of the Duval County School Board, the development will have 200,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of retail space when completed, the company’s website says.
It also will have 750 multifamily units, 200 condominiums and 200 more hotel rooms, plus a 125-slip marina. A mile of riverwalk and trails, and four public parks — Central Park, Marshfront Park, Fitness Park and Northwest Park — are also planned, its website says.
Ross says the roads, parks and riverwalk are still active construction sites. Security would be correct to keep the public out until the city has accepted them as “substantially complete,” Ross says.
“The majority of the parks are anticipated/expected to be open in early May, with the streets/sidewalks (with maybe the exception of active Toll Brothers construction) coming online shortly thereafter,” she says.
Once the construction is done and the parks are opened, then Ross says D.U. “is absolutely correct that these are public assets for use by the public and will be open to the public.”
