Jacksonville City Council is meeting with developers Thursday to discuss plans to revamp the downtown connected buildings known as the “Laura Street Trio.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A project to revitalize a historic trio of buildings in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville could move forward Thursday.
Jacksonville City Council is meeting with developers Thursday morning to discuss plans to revamp the connected buildings known as the “Laura Street Trio” and change the skyline with additional buildings.
The buildings are on Laura and Forsyth streets and were formally the Florida National Bank, Florida Life Insurance and Bisbee buildings. The buildings are currently in disrepair.
Developers call the Laura Street Trio, “the most important group of historic buildings in the region built in the early 1900’s yet to be restored.” The restoration could cost around $175 million and would add two 11-story buildings to the mix, turning the block into a new upscale hotel, restaurant, rooftop bar and apartments.
The Jacksonville city councilmember sponsoring the ordinance for it, Matt Carlucci, says it’s probably, “the most complicated restoration project in Jacksonville’s history.” He says the trio survived the Great Fire of 1901, helping to revive downtown after it. He says the trio can do that again.
“Historic buildings lend an authenticity to who Jacksonville is, to our sense of place,” Carlucci told First Coast News. “These buildings revived us from the greatest catastrophe that we’d ever had in our downtown.”
If the project is approved, Carlucci says developers will have just over two years to complete it. The meeting to discuss it started at 9 a.m. at city hall.
“Once they develop, they will be contributing to our economy, to affordable housing, a nice new restaurant, a 4-star hotel,” Carlucci said. “It will be a 365-day a year contributing economic driver.”
Down the street at the Jacksonville Shipyards, the new MOSH museum is expected to break ground this year.
Construction on the old Landing site now called ‘Riverfront Plaza,’ began last summer, with the first phase slated to last a year and a half. First Coast News got an update from Downtown Vision on the large “Jax” sculpture joked to read “Lerp,” and learned it is no longer on the table; however, they say the same artist will be creating something else.
On Pearl Street, the new Gateway Jax project aims to transform 20 city blocks into apartments and retail space. Developers say a groundbreaking is planned with the first phase planned to be finished around 2026.
These are just several of the projects you’ll see development on in 2024.
