The Downtown Development Review Board awarded conceptual design approval to the historic Laura Street Trio renovation.
The board voted 8-0 during its Feb. 11 meeting to advance developer SouthEast Development Group LLC’s estimated $70.4 million plan to convert the three vacant urban core structures into a 146-room hotel with restaurant and retail spaces.
Board member Matt Brockelman with The Southern Group is a lobbyist for SouthEast. He recused himself from the vote.
The project will return to the board for final approval before work can begin.
During his presentation, project architect Tom Hurst of Dasher Hurst Architects said the eight-story addition to the historic Trio was needed to bring the proposed hotel to 146 rooms and be financially viable.
Hurst said the design team and SouthEast Managing Director Steve Atkins wants the layout to emphasize the three historic structures — the Florida Life, Bisbee and Marble Bank buildings — that comprise the Trio at 51 W. Forsyth St.
“We want to make sure that we’re deferential to the existing historic buildings and we don’t try to overwhelm them,” Hurst said. “We could have probably designed a 20-story high-rise here and we could have made the numbers work better. But we want to pay homage to them.”
Get the full story from the Jax Daily Record.