On April 1, 2026, a Jacksonville-led development team rolled out a $160 million plan for a riverfront hotel, convention center and office plaza at 330 E. Bay St. on the Downtown Northbank. The concept from local developer Corner Lot and investment partner Aspect Holdings calls for a 14-story tower and an adjacent Class A office building on the long-vacant former Duval County Courthouse parcel.
According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, the tower would stack roughly 17,000 square feet of conference space on levels two and three, including a divisible grand ballroom for up to 600 attendees, with 160 hotel rooms on floors four through 14. Renderings in the filing show pool decks on the fourth and fifth floors, plus a covered outdoor lounge, clubroom and fitness center on the fifth floor. The adjoining office building would total about 54,397 square feet, with an anchor tenant called Project Caymus expected to take roughly 5,000 square feet for academic, administrative and culinary demonstration uses.
DIA rules for the Ford on Bay slice
The Downtown Investment Authority has issued a notice of disposition for the western one-third of the 2.6-acre site and laid out minimum activation standards. Those include at least 10,000 square feet of riverfront restaurant or bar space, with at least 7,500 square feet on the ground floor, street-level retail and a commitment to work with Jacksonville Small and Emerging Businesses. The packet also states a preference for steel-and-concrete construction instead of pedestal-style framing and asks respondents to pitch a comprehensive parking solution tied to nearby garages and public parking assets, according to DIA materials (DIA notice of disposition).
Money and parking
In their submission, Corner Lot and Aspect say they would seek a 20-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value (REV) grant and a completion grant while also pursuing other funding such as New Markets Tax Credits and federal and state sources. The developers estimate the project would need about 360 adjacent parking spaces and say they will coordinate with the DIA and the city’s Office of Public Parking; PCL Construction is listed as a partner to provide construction input, according to the filing (Jacksonville Daily Record).
A site with a checkered past
The parcel has sat empty since the courthouse was demolished in 2019, and earlier attempts to develop the Ford on Bay site produced a high-profile plan that never broke ground. In 2022 the DIA approved roughly $41 million in incentives for Atlanta-based Carter’s "The Hardwick," but that project later fizzled and the city never paid out the incentive. The authority’s public materials and past board packets track that history and explain why staff re-offered a smaller portion of the riverfront site in an effort to lower the barrier to entry for new developers (DIA news).
What’s next
Corner Lot and Aspect were the only respondents to the latest disposition for the western third of the property. The DIA will evaluate the submission under the scoring criteria in its packet and may request interviews, negotiate terms and move toward a letter of intent and a development agreement if the board finds the plan financially viable. Any use of public incentives would still need additional approvals from the DIA board and the city, and the project’s schedule will depend on financing, tenant commitments and how the developers resolve the parking piece of the puzzle.
