The Downtown Investment Authority seeks to attract investment, facilitate job creation and increase residential density through capital investment, planning, marketing, and public-private partnerships including the provision of incentives.
Featured News
Downtown Development Update Part I: Projects rising
The effort to revitalize Downtown Jacksonville yielded successes in late 2024 and early 2025 in the form of project completions, new construction starts and progress at worksites on the Northbank and Southbank.
Downtown visitors can see crane booms in the air and heavy equipment on the ground from the Sports and Entertainment District to Brooklyn and spaces in-between, including the historic core.
At the same time, headwinds emerged as Citizens Property Insurance Corp. announced plans to move hundreds of workers from Downtown to South Jacksonville, adding to an office vacancy listed by Downtown Vision Inc. at 28% at year-end 2024.
Then came uncertainty over the fate of federal offices Downtown as the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency announced possible closures of office buildings and termination of leases.
Mayor Donna Deegan said her administration was watching the situation closely and was preparing to find offices Downtown for any displaced federal employees.
“Obviously, we want to encourage as many people to be Downtown as possible,” she said.
Here is an update on some of Downtown’s public and private projects.
Four Seasons Hotel and One Shipyards Place
Topping-off was Jan. 17 for One Shipyards Place, the six-story office building under construction by Shad Khan’s Iguana Investments across Gator Bowl Boulevard from EverBank Stadium.
Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2026.
The 10-story Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences building is expected to top off this year and a signature restaurant is in review for the top floor.
Also, work is nearing completion on a bulkhead for the new marina, followed by demolition of the old marina.
The cost for the vertical construction of both structures totals $254.3 million, growing to almost $260 million with the marina support project.
Stadium of the Future
Demolition began in March on EverBank Stadium’s pedestrian bridges, escalators and staircases as the process to transform the facility into the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Stadium of the Future progressed.
The $1.4 billion stadium project is on a timeline for completion in August 2028, with the team playing in EverBank at a reduced capacity in 2025 and 2026 before playing in Orlando or Gainesville in 2027.
Union Terminal Warehouse
The historic warehouse building reopened March 6 as a $73 million mixed-use redevelopment with mixed-income housing, offices and retail units.
Atlanta-based Columbia Ventures spent more than six years bringing the 361,169-square-foot building back to life.
The building, constructed in 1913, is at 700 E. Union St.
Decca Live
After a $3.31 million renovation, the Decca Live music and dance venue at 323 E. Bay St. held a grand opening Jan. 31.
The renovated building features a ground-floor dance floor and bar, a second-floor wraparound walkway and bar, and a rooftop bar.
Former JEA headquarters
In February, JEA issued a request for proposal seeking bids for its former headquarters campus.
The property includes the 19-story office tower at 21 W. Church St., the six-story customer service center and the Adair Building parking garage with street-level retail space.
The selection criteria for the RFP hint at possible office-to-residential use of the property, saying respondents will be rated based partly on economic benefits of their proposals on such factors as capital investment, job creation and housing units.
Artea apartments
A grand opening was held March 11 for the Artea transit-oriented apartment complex near the Kings Avenue parking garage on the Southbank.
The $96.9 million multifamily property includes studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, a 425-space parking garage, a swimming pool and other amenities.
Lofts at Cathedral
A ribbon-cutting was held in December 2024 for the $26 million 120-unit multifamily property at 325 and 327 E. Duval St. The project included a $5.45 million renovation of the YWCA building, which was built in 1949.
RiversEdge
The $693 million RiversEdge mixed-use development continues to take shape, with DIA CEO Lori Boyer reporting that the riverwalk and some of the more than 4 acres of public parks are expected to be completed as soon as April.
Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers construction began vertical construction on town homes in the development in 2024, and some are now on the market.
RiversEdge is on the former JEA Southside Generating Station power plant site on the Southbank.
Gateway Jax
Construction is underway on Gateway Jax’s first project, the seven-story Block N11 mixed-use building in the block bordered by Pearl, Julia, Ashley and Church streets.
Principal developer Bryan Moll says work will begin in the coming months on two other buildings.
Among other Gateway Jax news, the development group purchased the block containing the Ambassador Hotel and Central National Bank, and announced plans to redevelop Downtown’s NoCo Center with a full-service grocery store.
The Block N11 building is the first tower under construction in the historic core since the new JEA headquarters tower, a private project that was completed in 2023 with the intent of having the city-owned utility as a tenant.
UF campus/Riverfront Plaza
The University of Florida announced in December 2024 that it had chosen LaVilla as the site of its proposed graduate center campus in Jacksonville, setting into motion a plan for the city to provide five properties for the site.
Among them, the city is proposing to swap a 1-acre development pad at Riverfront Plaza and an option on an adjacent parking lot to Gateway Jax, the owner of the Interline Brands Inc. building at 801 W. Bay St., for use by UF.
City Council member Ron Salem has proposed an alternative plan to buy the building outright.
Riverfront Plaza park
Jacksonville’s Haskell design and construction firm continues work on the first phase of plans to transform the site of the demolished Jacksonville Landing into a park.
The initial $32.5 million phase calls for such features as a pavilion building with a rooftop playground, a flexible event lawn and space connecting the plaza with the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts.
By Ric Anderson, Reporter
Jacksonville Daily Record
Downtown Development Update Part II: Cranes up, work in sight
The effort to revitalize Downtown Jacksonville yielded successes in late 2024 and early 2025 in the form of project completions, new construction starts and progress at worksites on the Northbank and Southbank.
Here is an update on some of Downtown’s public and private projects. Part I of this series is here
One Riverside/Whole Foods
Groundwork is underway on the site of the Whole Foods grocery market planned as part of the $250 million mixed-use project under construction by TriBridge and Fuqua Development at 1 Riverside Ave.
Work continues on the $59.9 million, 225-apartment first phase of the project, with completion expected in September.
McCoys Creek Outfall
The city posts a fall 2025 estimated completion date on work to improve McCoys Creek, which for decades ran beneath the Florida Times-Union building at 1 Riverside Ave.
The current construction, which comes with a cost estimate of $66.9 million, includes “daylighting” the creek by rerouting it into an open-air space between the One Riverside project and railroad tracks, widening and deepening the creek, building a new pedestrian bridge providing access to a future riverfront park and rebuilding the Riverwalk overpass.
The T-U buildings were demolished.
Jones Bros. Furniture Co.
The city issued permits in December 2024 for the adaptive reuse of the seven-story building at 420 N. Hogan St.
Plans call for a $9 million, 38,836-square-foot build-out of the 110-year-old building, which Corner Lot Development Group has been working to revive since 2018.
The June
Britt Morgan-Saks, founder of The June private club, says the venture has attracted 150 founding members, who are investors.
The city approved permits in February for the $6.4 million build-out of the club in the historic Federal Reserve Building at 424 N. Hogan St.
Pratt Funeral Home
Work is underway to bring the 110-year-old funeral home at 525 W. Beaver St. back to life as an Airbnb and restaurant
The city issued a permit in November 2023 for the adaptive reuse.
City Council approved a $1.25 million forgivable loan for the project in May 2023.
Rise Doro
Work began anew on the apartment building at 960 E. Adams St. in early 2025, about a year after the structure was heavily damaged by fire.
In September 2024, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $15.45 million incentives package to rebuild the complex, which comprises five floors of wood-frame construction built atop a two-story concrete base and around a seven-story concrete parking garage.
The wood portions of the building were ordered demolished after the fire, and the concrete was deemed structurally sound.
Two-way street restorations
Resurfacing and striping began in February on a project to restore two-way traffic to Forsyth and Adams streets between Jefferson and Liberty streets.
The $4.6 million first phase of the project will include closures of one lane of each street for 60 days, followed by closure of the other lane for the same duration.
The work is designed to slow traffic, make the streets safer for walking, and foster development of street-level dining and retail.
St. Johns River Park
Construction is underway on the $10.4 million park adjacent to Friendship Fountain.
A centerpiece ship-shaped piece of play equipment has been installed for the history-themed play park.
Other features will include a wedding venue, picnic areas and interpretive gardens.
Completion is estimated in early 2026.
Autonomous Innovation Center/U2C
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has begun testing autonomous vans for its Ultimate Urban Circulator along the system’s Bay Street Innovation Corridor.
Work is progressing on the control center for the system, the Autonomous Innovation Center at 650 W. Bay St. in LaVilla. Including the $40.5 million building, the U2C’s costs are estimated at up to $400 million.
Restaurant update
• The city issued a permit in March for Dorothy’s Downtown, a Southern and Creole restaurant proposed in the space of the former Burrito Gallery at 21 E. Adams St.
• In November 2024, Indigo Road Hospitality Group announced plans to open Oak Steakhouse on the ground floor of the Greenleaf & Crosby Building at 204 N. Laura St. in the space previously occupied by Jacobs Jewelers.
• In February, Players Grille opened its Brooklyn location on the ground floor of the Home2 Suites by Hilton Jacksonville Downtown, 600 Park St.
• The Prudential Club restaurant and lounge states on its website that it is opening soon at 1430 Prudential Drive, where an incorporated liquor store has already opened.
• Lily’s Asian-American Food opened in February at 11 E. Forsyth St., former home of Super Food & Brew.
• The locally owned Vantage Point Coffee shop opened in a 900-square-foot space of the Union Terminal Warehouse.
By Ric Anderson, Reporter
Jax Daily Record
LaVilla site selected for new University of Florida Jacksonville graduate campus, Semiconductor Institute
A University of Florida Board of Trustees committee selected the area around the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center as the site for the university’s planned graduate center campus in Jacksonville.
The Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs voted unanimously Dec. 12 to select the site and delegate authority to the university president and board chair to negotiate an agreement to convey the property.
The full board will vote on the matter Dec. 13.
A presentation to the committee included renderings and conceptual site plans showing UF buildings immediately north of the Union Terminal Station and west to the Forsyth Street exit of Interstate 95.
Includes Florida Semiconductor Institute
A news release from the city of Jacksonville said the campus is expected to open in fall 2026 and would include the Florida Semiconductor Institute.
The release said graduate degree offerings were being finalized, but areas under consideration include business management; data analytics; computer science with concentrations in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity; law; and biomedical and health sciences.
UF says enrollment at the fully built-out campus could reach 20,000 or more.
Mayor Donna Deegan plans to work with the Downtown Investment Authority and City Council to provide 22 acres, the release said. With the Florida Semiconductor Institute as part of the campus, the administration will propose $50 million in city funding for the project on top of $50 million committed by City Council in the spring of 2023.
In a question-and-answer session at City Hall with reporters after the committee’s vote, Deegan said the initial conveyance would involve two vacant city-owned properties next to the convention center.
Additional properties
Deegan said UF was working to secure a property other than those two, possibly an existing building, where it would begin offering classes in the fall of 2026.
UF had negotiated with JEA for a short-term lease of space on the fifth floor of the municipal utility’s headquarters building at 225 N. Pearl St., but a JEA spokeswoman said a deal had not been reached.
UF announced nearly two years ago that it planned to open a graduate school focusing on health and financial technology in Downtown Jacksonville.
Since then, $250 million in funding has been committed to the project, comprising $150 million from the state of Florida, the $50 million from the city of Jacksonville and $50 million from private donors.
Deegan said the campus would be “another monumental step towards Jacksonville being a national leader in the industries that will shape our collective future.”
Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees, said: “Our goal is to create a national center of excellence and to bring our bright students to this forward-thinking city. We are grateful for our strong partnerships with the state, city, and community leaders – we are going to do big things together.”
Jacksonville 'on the forefront of innovation'
UF interim President Kent Fuchs said, “Jacksonville – like UF – is on the forefront of innovation.”
“This is a place where our students will create great change and help transform the industries of the future,” he said.
The property near the convention center was among three that had been publicly identified as sites being considered by UF, including the soon-to-be vacated Jacksonville Fairgrounds and land near the Florida State College at Jacksonville Downtown campus.
Deegan recommended the convention center site in a Dec. 5 letter to Fuchs and Hosseini. In the letter, she said the city would work with the university on terms of conveyance “so that design, planning, and construction can begin as quickly as possible in 2025.”
The Daily Record has requested details on the parcels under consideration from the city.
During the committee meeting, Hosseini commended Deegan, Council members and Jacksonville business development officials for driving the project forward.
“The leaders of Jacksonville kept on pushing us, (saying), ‘Come on, let’s go,’” he said. “That’s so admirable. We all think governments are slow and never move. But they did an impressive job.”
Why LaVilla
Kurt Dudas, UF vice president for strategic initiatives, told committee members that the president’s office recommended the Prime Osborn site based partly on its proximity to interstates 10 and 95 and to businesses in Brooklyn and the Downtown core.
Other reasons included the nearby availability of public transportation out of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s headquarters, and the presence of public amenities such as Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park and the Emerald Trail Model Mile.
David Norton, UF vice president for research, said locating the Florida Semiconductor Institute in Jacksonville offered an opportunity for it to become a “world-class research facility” specializing in national security. Florida lawmakers approved $80 million for the institute this year.
“The accessibility of Jacksonville with direct flights into Washington, D.C., make it much more attractive for us to really build-out something new that will be competitive to what other universities across the country have already built-out in the area of national security,” he said.
Prompted by a question from Hosseini, Norton indicated the institute’s economic impact could eventually be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jaguars reaction
The Jacksonville Jaguars issued a statement calling the committee’s vote “a moment of celebration” for team owner Shad Khan and his family. The Khan family donated $5 million toward landing the campus and had offered the 14.1-acre Fairgrounds property, which in 2022 it agreed to purchase.
“Growing Downtown Jacksonville to be a versatile center for commerce, education, entertainment and lifestyle is a priority for the Jacksonville Jaguars,” the statement read.
“With today’s news from the University of Florida on the location of their graduate studies campus and Florida Semiconductor Institute, our downtown is one step closer to that reality.”
Demolition in future
Deegan said that eventually the newer portions of the convention center, not including the historic train station, could be demolished to make way for the campus.
However, she told reporters that plans involving the demolition would be years away, allowing time for the city to develop a new convention center. likely at a site near the current Duval County jail.
“In terms of the convention center itself, that is probably 10 years down the road,” she said.
“You’ll have another mayor to beat up on, probably, by that time.”
Conveying properties
Deegan said the city’s timeline called for the Downtown Investment Authority to vote in January 2025 on conveying the initial two properties.
The city said the DIA vote would be on six parcels, five of which make up one of the lots.
The properties involved in the DIA vote in January are a grass parking lot directly north of the train station and an adjacent paved parking lot to the east, across Park Street.
Five properties comprise the block of Bay, Forsyth and Lee streets and LaVilla Center North totaling 1.33 acres.
The sixth property is 2.26 acres next to the east at Bay, Forsyth and Lee streets
“At the end of the day, a lot of space that we’ve had sitting around doing nothing and providing no tax benefit to the city is going to be a vibrant part of our Downtown,” she said.
In March 2024, the State University System Board of Governors approved UF’s plan to establish the school.
UF followed up by negotiating with JEA for a short-term lease of space on the fifth floor of the municipal utility’s headquarters building at 225 N. Pearl St.
A JEA spokeswoman said Dec. 11 that no agreement had been reached.
The UF colleges participating in the establishment of the facility include the Warrington College of Business; the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering; the College of Medicine; the College of Public Health and Health Professions; the Levin College of Law; and the College of Design, Construction and Planning.
Plans unveiled in 2023
Plans for UF to establish the school in Jacksonville were unveiled in February 2023, long enough ago that two of the principals then are no longer involved.
Mayor Lenny Curry’s term ended in July 2023 and UF President Ben Sasse resigned in July 2024 after 17 months on the job, the shortest term of any non-interim president in the university’s history.
Hosseini, a strong proponent of the proposed Jacksonville center, also took part in the February 2023 announcement and remains part of the board.
Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, had touted the Jacksonville school as part of his vision to expand the university and turn it into an economic development engine for communities outside of Gainesville.
Sasse’s strategy involved partnering with businesses to apply research to real-world challenges and putting students closer to prospective employers.
In his resignation, Sasse cited concerns over his wife’s health.
Later, the Independent Florida Alligator reported that Sasse’s relationship with Hosseini had collapsed and that Sasse had more than tripled his office’s spending during his 17 months as president while directing millions of dollars of university funds into consulting contracts and positions for his political allies.
By Ric Anderson, Reporter
Jacksonville Daily Record
Upcoming Meetings
20250626_DDRB Meeting
20240710_DDRB Meeting
20250716_DIA Board Meeting
20240814_DDRB Meeting
20250820_DIA Board Meeting
Latest News
Colliers exec predicts vibrant urban core for Jacksonville by 2027 as developments take shape
Jacksonville’s long-anticipated downtown revival is no longer a distant vision — it’s rising from the ground, brick by brick. With cranes in the air, restaurants opening and multifamily units leasing at record rates, developers and stakeholders say the city’s urban core is entering a defining moment.
That was the message delivered at Downtown Vision Inc.’s quarterly stakeholder meeting June 10, where Colliers Urban Division SVP Matt Clark laid out an optimistic timeline for when downtown’s transformation will truly take hold.
“Everything is happening simultaneously, so you really will start to feel Jacksonville becoming a vibrant city in 2027 or 2028 when everything starts to come online and mesh together. So get excited and start believing,” Clark told the gathered audience.
With a number of major downtown and downtown-adjacent development projects now open (Pizza Dynamo and Pour House, the Jacksonville History Center at the Casket Company, One Riverside and the Corner on Main from Corner Lot, etc.) and under current construction (the Greenleaf Building from JWB, retail at One Riverside and the Pearl Square project from Gateway Jax).
Clark made no major announcements, but elucidated on the Colliers team’s comprehensive urban Jacksonville vision.
“I’ve always viewed Riverfront plazas as the roots of downtown, Laura Street as the trunk and now, Pearl Square is the canopy that everything will branch off of,” Clark said.
While the city undertakes Jax Riverfront Plaza redevelopment, two stories of the seven-story, 205-unit building at 515 Pearl St. has already risen from the ground. And just two weeks ago, ribbons were cut to begin phase two — a 286-unit mixed-use project at 425 W. Beaver St.
Residential availability and subsequent concentration are the keys that will unlock the broker’s ability to populate the urban core, according to Clark.
“Pearl Square is going to create the residential density to create a neighborhood of people living downtown, which is what we've been missing,” Clark said.
For downtown developers, the question has always been if builders can achieve optimum residential occupancy rates. The adjacent One Riverside project (just across the river in Brooklyn) has elicited the highest multifamily rates that Colliers has seen in Jacksonville. The young professionals excited to move into this new urban development suggests the possibility of success for projects like Pearl Square.
“The opportunity has always been there,” Clark said. “We’re just now beginning to deliver on that.”
As phase one and two come together, Colliers’ job is to create retail density for approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space that the project will create.
While names will slowly be released over the next few months, Clark said that a number of national brands intend to sign on to open up on Beaver and Pearl streets, including an anchor grocer.
This is similar to the adjacent One Riverside project just across the river in Brooklyn. With Whole Foods signed on and now under construction, retailers followed. Clark reports that One Riverside’s retail is now 100 percent leased with names that will be announced in the coming weeks.
With at least 50 vacant storefronts downtown and numerous cranes to signify urban rebirth, national brands from Atlanta, Charleston and Nashville, don’t want to miss out on this growth. Simultaneous projects and new retailers also allows for each brand to distinguish itself, as aligned to Gateway’s urban theme.
“We really want to shape places that look and align to the community as well as give distinction to their brand,” Clark said.
The eventual grocer, for example, is going to be allowed to design according to their brand as well as to their local presence to establish “an authentic feeling there.”
As national brands come in, this gives local brands more confidence to make the significant investment in a downtown that has not always followed through on its promises. As evidence of this claim, Clark said that Colliers has four signed letters of intent from four “significant” local groups.
For its part, DVI is proud of the years-long alignment civic and private alignment that’s led not only to billions of dollars in downtown development, but that’s now generating confidence in the city’s populace and interest from its small businesses.
“It’s so refreshing to see this collaboration. It just goes to show that, in working towards a more vibrant downtown, that we’re all in this together,” Eduardo Santos, stakeholder engagement champion at DVI, told the Biz Journal.
By Matt Denis, Reporter
Jacksonville Business Journal
Pour Taproom and Pizza Dynamo planning June openings Downtown
Pizza Dynamo and Pour Taproom are tapped to open Downtown as soon as the first week of June.
Both passed health inspections May 15, according to the owners of the businesses in the VyStar Credit Union garage Downtown at 61 N. Laura St.
The two concepts feature indoor-outdoor bars and seating, as well as interior bars and tables.
They have separate entrances but a shared kitchen and other common space.
The city issued a permit Aug. 27 for Danis Construction LLC to build-out the projects at a cost of $3 million.
Pour Taproom
The Jacksonville Pour Taproom is the pub’s sixth location and a franchise. It is headquartered in Atlanta.
The 7,000-square-foot, two-story Pour Taproom focuses on self-service for its beer, wine and select specialty cocktails at 80 taps.
When customers arrive, they are given radio-frequency identification wristbands and open a tab. When theyfind a tap they want to try, they touch the wristband to it and make a pour. Their wristband maintains their tab.
Customers pay by the ounce.
Tony Draper is the owner of Pour Taproom. It is his first experience in the restaurant business.
He said the decision to open the bar is “two stories that run together.”
“Probably seven or eight years ago I went to a Pour Taproom and experienced the self-pour technology,” he said.
“I met some friends and I just really liked the idea that I didn’t have to wait to order a beer. I loved the on-demand aspect of the self-pour. It made an impression on me.”
At the time, Draper was in corporate sales with Jacksonville-based RF Smart. He said he liked the company and its culture and leadership, but said but he felt out of place “in the corporate world.”
“I just reached a point in my career. Call it a midlife crisis or a crisis of fulfillment,” he said.
“I didn’t really feel like I wanted to be in an office or traveling long term, but every time I did travel, I’d find a brewery. I’d just be sitting there thinking I would love to walk out of an office and do this,” he said.
“I threw that around enough at home, and my wife knew I was unhappy. She was like, ‘Why don’t you just do it?’”
Draper said Pour Taproom also will serve “elevated pub food,” including smashburgers, fish and chips, jumbo shrimp and wings. It will also allow customers to order from Pizza Dynamo next door.
He said the menu should be finalized next week.
Diners will scan QR codes at their seats to bring up a menu and place orders. Runners will serve the food.
Draper said he also hopes to use the space for corporate events.
Draper said it will open daily at 11 a.m. and close about 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday depending on demand. It may be open as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday. It may close earlier, possibly 8 p.m., on Sunday.
Pizza Dynamo
Restaurateur Jeremy Gatto is opening Pizza Dynamo.
He is the owner of Pizza Jeans — which stands for Just Eat A New York Slice — as well as Pielands Sub & Slice and Luca’s Brooklyn Pizzeria in the Atlanta area.
The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will serve whole pizzas, slices, calzones, sandwiches, salads and gelato.
“I’m a born-and-raised New Yorker, and I believe in my heart it’s the best pizza in the world,” he said.
“I make pizza exactly the way I want to make it based on what I think are the best New York pizzerias.”
In preparation for his pizza recipe, Gatto said he flew his business partners to New York, where they visited eight pizzerias in two days.
“They left the trip saying they knew exactly where I’m coming from,” he said.
Gatto said he imports his flour for pizza dough and tomatoes for sauce from Italy.
“I spared no expense on ingredients,” he said.
“This is the most money I’ve spent on my pizzerias.”
Originally, Pizza Dynamo was planned as another Pizza Jeans, but Gatto said he and his partners changed their minds “at the 25th hour.”
The primary differences between the two pizzerias are the flour used to make dough and the tomatoes, which he said have a completely different “flavor palate.”
“After we started kicking the tires and talking, we just thought ‘let’s do a completely different concept and make it exactly what we want,’” he said.
“There isn’t anybody else doing anything like this Downtown. I think we’ll be busy off the bat.”
Pizza Dynamo’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
By J. Brooks Terry, Reporter
Jacksonville Daily Record
Committee selects first 30 artists to be enshrined in Jacksonville 'Walk of Fame'
Four days after site plans were approved for a waterfront Music Heritage Park behind the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, the first 30 music artists who will be enshrined amidst the music notes and treble clef have been selected.
A Downtown Investment Authority DIA special committee of local historians, musicians, authors and industry professionals met for a second time on May 19 to finalize the final 16 persons/bands who’ve contributed significantly to the city’s and to the country’s musical culture.
Nominees must've met at least one of three selection criteria: first, that the nominee must’ve been either born, raised or launched a music career in Jacksonville or Duval County; second, the nominee must've spent a significant amount of time in Jacksonville/Duval County; third, the nominee must’ve demonstrated significant accomplishments and longevity in the music industry.
After a blind vote, Jacksonville strategic initiatives coordinator, Ina Mezini, tallied nominations. 15 artists received nine or more votes, which was majority support. These included stalwarts like James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson, Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and more cultural contributors like Limp Bizkit.
At the May 19 meeting, the committee combined the Johnson brothers to create another opening. Committee members discussed the relative merits of the remaining 28 artists who received partial support — 20% to 50% of committee support (or three to eight committee votes).
This included discussions of bands like 69 Boys with members from different cities (Jacksonville and Orlando in this case.)
“It would be nice to finally recognize 69 Boys,” Jacksonville musician, documentarian and historian Nicholas “NICKFRESH” Puzo told the committee. “I knew Van Bryant personally back in the day, and he worked very hard to make sure not only that the 69 Boys got on the map, but also that Jacksonville got on the map.”
This also included discussion of lesser known bands like Rein Sanction that might’ve impacted the era and the genre in which they fall.
“They were out of Riverside, and they were big. They were signed to Sub Pop Records,” committee member Michael Ray FitzGerald said to the group. “They self-destructed after one or two albums, but their music was really groundbreaking. Stylistically, they were very important.”
FitzGerald is a media scholar, musician and former university instructor who is the author of five books including the award-winning “Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock.”
After the 30 initial Walk of Fame inductees were selected, the committee selected three alternatives in case artists and/or artist estates don’t approve of the recognition (Because he is so famous, Ray Charles, for example, may be a challenge.)
These include mid-twentieth century crooner Billy Daniels, disco-era R&B singer Jackie Moore and early 2000s indie rockers, Black Kids.
As industry professionals in one form or another, committee members wanted to make sure that each generation and genre were fairly represented.
Artists not selected will remain on the consideration list for inductions further down the line — perhaps in a year or two.
There will also likely be observations for those folks who impacted the music industry, but were not a part of specific bands.
Without further ado, here are the original thirty artists selected to Jacksoville’s Walk of Fame in Music Heritage Park:
1. 38 Special
2. 69 Boys
3. 95 South
4. Allman Brothers
5. Blind Blake
6. Charlie “Hoss” Singleton
7. Classics IV
8. Frederick Delius
9. Glenn Jones
10. Gram Parsons
11. Jahaan Sweets
12. JJ Grey & Mofro
13. Johnson Brothers (James Weldon Johnson & John Rosamond Johnson)
14. Lil Duval
15. Limp Bizkit
16. Longineu Parsons, II
17. Lynyrd Skynyrd
18. Ma Rainey
19. Mae Axton
20. Marcus Roberts
21. Molly Hatchet
22. Pat Chapelle
23. Quad City DJs
24. Ray Charles
25. Shinedown
26. Tedeschi Trucks Band
27. Tim McGraw
28. Ulysses Owens, Jr.
29. Walter Orange
30. Yellowcard
Jacksonville Business Journal