The hulking 1913 Union Terminal Warehouse on Jacksonville’s Eastside is officially in its second act, and now it has national bragging rights to match. The warehouse at 700 E. Union St. has been remade into a mixed-use campus anchored by 228 apartments alongside offices, maker spaces and storefronts after roughly $72 to $73 million in renovation. Developers say the project is meant to stitch downtown to the Stadium District and the planned Emerald Trail while delivering workforce housing and creative workspace.
CoStar Impact Award and project snapshot
According to CoStar Research, the adaptive-reuse conversion turned the 330,000-square-foot building into a multifamily-anchored development, with the project’s budget listed at about $73 million and a $34 million build-out permit on file. CoStar notes that the campus includes office, retail, food-and-beverage and maker spaces, and that the property remains roughly 60 percent vacant while leasing continues.
The judges behind the 2026 Impact Award were impressed. One remarked, “Hats off to Columbia Ventures for redeveloping a 113-year old warehouse and breathing new life into this urban area.”
Developer vision and in-building amenities
Columbia Ventures outlines a deliberately mixed ecosystem inside the building: 228 apartments paired with about 50,000 square feet of small-office and maker space, 43 small-business suites and flexible production bays. The developer’s project page and press materials state that the building welcomed its first tenants in March 2025.
On the amenities front, Columbia lists a rooftop terrace, podcast studio and fitness center, with a swimming pool slated to open later. It is the kind of setup meant to appeal to both residents and creative businesses looking for something a little different from a standard downtown office box.
City backing and local support
The financial stack behind the revival leaned heavily on public tools. Jax Today reports the redevelopment tapped historic tax-credit equity, opportunity-zone capital and roughly $8.3 million in loans from a city program aimed at preserving historic properties.
Local officials marked the turnaround at a March ribbon-cutting, with Downtown Investment Authority leaders calling the project a model for preservation-led growth in coverage by News4JAX. Meanwhile, Hoodline’s coverage in reopening as a mixed-use hub previously chronicled the opening last year.
Occupancy and downtown market
The prize is in hand, but the lease-up is still a grind. CoStar Research reports the campus sits at roughly 60 percent vacancy, a reminder that downtown absorption has been uneven. Local coverage and trade reporting note that move-ins began in March 2025 and that landlords are pitching the site’s maker-friendly spaces and direct access to the Emerald Trail as key selling points, per Jax Daily Record.
Developers and city leaders say the project shows how preservation and new housing can coax investment to Jacksonville’s Eastside. The long-term verdict will hinge on steady leasing and follow-on private projects, but for now the CoStar Impact Award cements Union Terminal Warehouse as one of the city’s most visible adaptive-reuse wins in recent years.
