Jacksonville an d NORTHEAST FLORIDA
With more than $1 billion in projects on the horizon, the future of downtown
Jacksonville looks exciting. But supporters of downtown are not waiting.
Since the beginning of 2016, a number of smaller
projects adding up to more than $900 million have
been completed or are in progress, according to
nonprofit Downtown Vision.
Those projects include new restaurants at Brooklyn
Station and Unity Plaza at the west end of downtown to
Intuition Ale Works, a microbrewery and tap room near
the sports complex on the east end.
The sports complex area has traditionally been silent
on days when there are no events.
“Intuition Ale Works has reinvigorated that area,” says
Jacob Gordon, CEO of Downtown Vision.
The downtown Jacksonville district has 13 culture
and entertainment venues and 112 bars and restaurants
packed into 2.7 square miles.
One of the highlights of the downtown area is the
First Wednesday Art Walk, a monthly event drawing
about 8,000 people to see local artists and also check
out museums and dining in the core of downtown.
Even for companies that bring jobs to the suburbs,
Gordon says a vibrant downtown is an important signal
to potential employers.
Downtown Jacksonville
6 JACKSONVILLE AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA SPONSORED SECTION
Downtown growth is not limited to
entertainment. “Downtown is a recruiting tool
for our city to attract and retain talent,” he says. “This
is a good investment on a long-term scale.”
Jacksonville University, with its main campus
along the St. Johns River northeast of downtown,
opened a downtown campus in 2017.
JU is offering about 100 undergraduate and
graduate programs at its 15,000-square-foot facility
in the SunTrust Tower.
More businesses are also locating in
downtown. Downtown Vision says the office
vacancy rate in 2016 fell to 15.4%. That was the
first time in a number of years that the downtown
vacancy rate was below the suburban office vacancy
rate, which was 16.2%.
“We’re really excited that number is now down,”
says Gordon.
Nearly 60,000 people come to work downtown
every day. Gordon says 4,000 to 5,000 people live in
the downtown district, but that number is expected
to grow as more housing units become available in
the coming years.
“We really, truly feel people are returning to the
urban core,” Gordon says.
First Wednesday Art Walk
Intuition Ale Works
2.7 SQUARE MILES
Historic Core and
Central Business District
90 BLOCK
Business Improvement
District
$909.9 MILLION
Active and Completed
Developments since
January 2016
$1.1 BILLION
Proposed
Developments
Daily’s Place outdoor amphitheater
BOLD EVENTS (LEFT); VISIT JACKSONVILLE.COM (TOP RIGHT)
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