Downtown Jacksonville’s next big residential push is officially out of the ground phase and headed for the sky. On April 14, 2026, the City of Jacksonville signed off on a building permit for Gateway Jax’s Block N8, a nearly $145.21 million mixed-use project at 440 W. Beaver St.
The plans call for roughly 198,181 square feet of development, built as a 22-story tower connected to a 13-story component and a three-story structure. When finished, Block N8 is slated to deliver 537 rental units, split between 394 traditional apartments and 143 furnished short-term units. PCL Construction LLC is listed as the contractor on the permit, which follows a horizontal site-clearing permit the city issued on Sept. 10, 2025.
Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll stressed that the furnished units are meant to behave more like extended-stay rentals than a conventional hotel.
“They are short‑term rental units, not a hotel as you'd typically think of one,” Moll said in an email, noting that the 143 furnished units will include full kitchens and baths and typically be booked for stays under 30 days. Moll said the operator will be a third‑party hospitality manager and that the units are designed to serve visitors in town for business, education and health‑care needs. The quote and project details were reported by the Jax Daily Record.
City incentives and financing
Public money is playing a significant role in getting Block N8 off the drawing board. Jacksonville City Council approved a $33.88 million Recapture Enhanced Value (REV) grant and a $25.55 million completion grant for the project as part of the Pearl Square incentive package, according to Downtown Investment Authority materials.
The REV grant is structured to rebate a portion of future ad valorem tax revenue generated by the development, while the completion grant is designed to help close financing gaps on large downtown projects. Together, those incentives are part of a broader $98.58 million package the city approved to jump-start the Pearl Square district.
How Block N8 fits in Pearl Square
Block N8 sits within a full city block bounded by Beaver, Pearl, Ashley and Clay streets, and it is a key piece of Gateway Jax’s Pearl Square plan to reintroduce housing, retail and public space to Downtown’s NorthCore.
Gateway Jax, a partnership led by Bryan Moll alongside JWB Real Estate Capital and DLP Capital, is marketing Pearl Square as a multi-block neighborhood that will bring new residences, a grocer anchor and a festival street to the area. Developer materials and prior releases lay out a district-level target of more than 1,250 residential units and roughly 200,000 square feet of retail across multiple blocks, which helps explain the mix of longer-term apartments and furnished short-term units at Block N8.
What comes next
With the April 14 building permit secured and site-clearing already wrapped, Gateway Jax can shift from demolition and horizontal work to vertical construction once contractor mobilization and required inspections are complete.
Project plans show four ground-floor retail spaces, a fitness center, a reception area for rental guests, an amenity pool deck on the fourth level and two levels of parking. Gateway Jax has not yet identified the short-term operator or released a public construction schedule. The permitting milestone and plan specifics were first reported by the Jax Daily Record.
