JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville is becoming the city of renderings as developers are unveiling projects left and right that they hope will be built throughout the city.
Another dream development on the Southbank along the St. Johns River is starting to be built, and new renderings for that project were released on Wednesday.
It’s called RiversEdge and it’s located next to the Duval County Public Schools headquarters.
There is a lot of history on the Southbank in the area of the new development. About 20 years ago, a JEA power plant sat in the same spot, but it was imploded when it no longer had a use.
Not a lot happened after that, but the area became a landmark for Jacksonville when the city landed the Super Bowl in 2005. It was the area where the NFL experience was held and thousands of people gathered to participate in Super Bowl events.
Then, talk of a development came up.
Developers purchased the land from JEA and they were going to turn it into a “Healthy Town,” which would have healthy housing and events where people could exercise and people could take advantage of a healthy lifestyle. Well, that never actually was built.
The property was then redeveloped and around 2018 it was going to become “The District” with shops, stores and residential housing. But that went away and RiversEdge emerged.
The project, which will include more than four acres of public park spaces and a 125-slip marina, is expected to cost around $700 million.
The developer said the parks will be constructed first on the 30-acre site in early 2024 followed by townhomes.
The development is slated to bring 1,170 residential units, 200 hotel rooms, 200,000 square feet of office space and 121,400 square feet of retail space.