JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Work has been underway for several months on the new Four Seasons hotel and other projects as part of the Shipyards development near the football stadium in downtown Jacksonville.
Now that the football season is over, expect to see a lot more activity going on around TIAA Bank Field.
With the Sky 4 drone, News4JAX on Monday was able to see what’s going on.
For the Four Seasons hotel, crews are still clearing out that land. Most of the gantry rails — the rails used to bring the ships up to work on the Shipyards site — have been removed.
Work is also being done on an office complex.
A lot of this could be completed by 2026.
Near where the hotel is going is what’s left of Metropolitan Park. Recently, the rest of the pavilion came down. Now, the city is looking to spend $1 million for upgrades in that area, but it’s also looking at the land right next door to the park. That’s where the city wants to build a new fire department marine station for fire boats.
Farther down the river is an area known as Shipyards West, but eventually, it is going to be the Museum District. The USS Orleck is eventually going to be housed at Pier 1. Work has already started because the ship museum is going to be moving from next to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville to its new location within the next several months.
The fire museum that was moved is finally settled in place, and work will begin on that, as well. Another part of the Museum District is going to be where the Museum of Science and History is going to be located at the other end of Shipyards West.
The Downtown Investment Authority is also working with an outside firm to develop a park to replace Kids Kampus. There will be a public hearing on Feb. 8. to get input on the new park slated to go into the Shipyards West or Museum District area.