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Creating a Blueprint for Downtown: What 2020 Will Bring

December 13, 2019

VyStar's campus. The rebuilding of the Ambassador Hotel. The open question of what happens to the sites of the former Duval County Courthouse and the Jacksonville Landing.

Downtown may be at a tipping point, with projects underway and those slated to be developed in 2020 perhaps setting the stage for a more successful urban core.

What will become downtown's focal point? What will join the riverfront at the site of the former courthouse? Who will take on First Baptist's 11-acre urban core parcel, and what will it become?

The answers to some of those questions will come more quickly than others.

The DIA will pick a winning bid for the courthouse site, now dubbed the Ford on Bay, in February and is expected to bid out the Landing site soon after. Meanwhile, First Baptist Church is in the process of selling off several key acres of its downtown campus, looking to sell its properties as one parcel for a single use.

Some downtown questions, however, remain unanswered. Perhaps the biggest one: What is the future of Berkman Plaza II, an unfinished shell that has been part of downtown's skyline since 2007?

Last week, the Business Journal sat down with Downtown Investment Authority CEO Lori Boyer for a public conversation about how she'll approach downtown growth in the months ahead. 

Get the full story from the Jacksonville Business Journal