One of West Jacksonville’s most tired shopping centers is officially getting a makeover. Cross Regions Group has rolled heavy equipment onto the former Westside Plaza, turning the long‑talked‑about Fountains at Westside project into something you can finally see from the parking lot.
City filings show the developer is getting ready to mill and resurface the parking area in front of the Office Depot and add new stormwater islands while crews clear out pieces of the old plaza. It is early, gritty work, but it is the first visible step toward a full redevelopment of the site near I-10.
According to Jax Daily Record, the city is reviewing a permit for an estimated $1 million in site work at 5800 Ramona Blvd. The package covers partial demolition, milling and resurfacing of sections of the parking lot and stormwater construction, with the filing specifically flagging work in the Office Depot lot. The idea is to get the ground ready for larger, phased construction that will follow.
Planning Commission Clears Minor Modification
The regulatory side is lining up too. As shown in the City of Jacksonville Planning Commission results agenda, the commission signed off March 19 on a minor modification to the site’s Planned Unit Development (MM‑26‑08) and treated that vote as final.
The agenda lists Fountains at Westside LLC as the owner and records staff’s recommendation to approve. That decision removes a key procedural hurdle and lets Cross Regions move ahead under revised site plans instead of the older blueprint that had been hanging over the property.
What Is Planned And Who Bought The Land
Cross Regions, through Fountains at Westside LLC, bought roughly 25.66 acres at the southeast corner of Lane Avenue and Ramona Boulevard in December 2024 for about $9.8 million. The developer is pitching a multi‑phase redevelopment that starts with renovating the existing 36,000‑square‑foot building that currently houses Office Depot.
From there, the plan carves out outparcels for a gas station, a 5,000‑square‑foot restaurant, a 36,000‑square‑foot retail building, a 2,100‑square‑foot restaurant, a 15,000‑square‑foot medical office and a 40,000‑square‑foot hotel, according to Jax Daily Record. Cross Regions also submitted civil engineering plans late in 2025 to get the site’s infrastructure work moving in parallel with the approvals.
Why West Jacksonville Is Watching
Cross Regions is already familiar to Northeast Florida residents as the team behind the larger Fountains at St. Johns complex. On the company’s own website, the Westside project is listed among its active developments and framed as a more compact counterpart to St. Johns that is meant to function as a neighborhood hub rather than a regional destination (Cross Regions).
The goal, as described there, is to keep more everyday shopping, medical services and hospitality options close to surrounding Westside neighborhoods instead of sending residents across town. With permits advancing at City Hall and drainage approvals already in play, the next few weeks should bring more contractors on site, some temporary traffic shifts around the plaza and, finally, clear signs that the long‑planned Fountains at Westside is no longer just a rendering.
