Nearly six months after the the opening of the first phase of Riverfront Plaza, the city of Jacksonville and its partners are shifting the focus to the park's second phase, which includes elements like a beer garden, trails, riverwalk connection and pedestrian and bike connectivity to the Main Street Bridge.
On May 13, the city hosted a more than two-hour long session for the public to provide feedback on the park's updated design plan for its phase two.
Construction of the second phase is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027.
Bryan Carson, a landscape architect at Perkins&Will and the lead designer for the Riverfront Plaza project, was at the public input session and spoke to the Business Journal.
"Our goal is to just listen, to hear what people think," Carson said. "This is the first time that they're seeing updated renderings of what phase two can look like. And we work really hard to make these renderings look beautiful and very real, but they're not real."
Carson said that some fundamental elements of the original plan for phase two, like the beer garden, dining terrace, a full-service restaurant and access to the Main Street Bridge, have remained. Updates to the design give it a more intimate feel and have the addition of 14 swing chairs on an elevated deck platform.
Carson previously told the Business Journal in October 2025 that Perkins&Will designed the park with a four corners design concept, which "activates nodes around the edges very strategically, while keeping the center open and flexible." The center, or the beating heart of the project, remains the event lawn.
The input session occurred while the park's first phase has been open since the end of 2025 and portions of the park's open space are being used for the Iron Man event which will take place on May 16.
"Phase one has turned out incredible. It's a blessing to come and hear the sounds of the children playing and see the park activated. It truly is very, very fulfilling," Carson said. "Phase two is really exciting, it's going to complete the original vision. It offers a lot that that phase one doesn't yet offer and complete a program for all different types of people to come enjoy the park."
On May 14, the Downtown Development Review Board will be presented with information regarding the capital project for the second phase of Riverfront Plaza.
At the next Downtown Investment Authority meeting, on May 20, the board will vote on a resolution to enter into a negotiations with Baltimore-baed Atlas Restaurant Group, for the lease, construction, development and operation of a full-service restaurant located on 0.43-acre waterfront parcel within Riverfront Plaza, located at 2 Independent Dr. W. If the board approves it, DIA CEO Colin Tarbert, also from Baltimore, Maryland, will enter an exclusive negotiation period, of up to 45 days (and a possible 30-day extension) with Atlas Restaurant Group. Atlas would, in turn, bring a 6,000-square foot restaurant concept, with outdoor seating, rooftop activation opportunities and integration within the greater park area.
The DIA received another proposal, from Florida-based PK Hospitality Group/Pizzaalley's, but its committee — comprised of Jill Caffey, Allan DeVault and Wade McArthur III —ultimately selected Atlas Restaurant Group's proposal which would include an approximate $12 million investment, with $4 million in direct tenant investment.
Atlas has identified Cronk Duch Architecture and Haskell as its would-be design and construction partners. Atlas would bring a three-tiered experience: a waterfront raw bar and casual dining element, a full-service dining room with steak and seafood offerings and a rooftop bar and lounge for activation of the area in the evening. Atlas has over 30 concepts in Maryland and Washington, D.C, and more than 20 more restaurant concepts in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Texas. This would mark the Baltimore restaurant group's first foray into Northeast Florida, after two locations of its seafood concept Loch Bar, in Boca Raton and Tampa.
By Leah Foreman
Jacksonville Business Journal