One of downtown Jacksonville’s quieter corners is about to get louder. Gateway Jax is moving to carve retail bays into the street level of an existing parking garage on Beaver Street, turning a chunk of Block N6 in its Pearl Square district into a strip of restaurants, fitness space and neighborhood shops while keeping most of the structure for cars. City reviewers are evaluating civil-engineering plans, nudging the project from glossy rendering to build-ready paperwork.
According to Jax Daily Record, the plan would cut at least eight ground-floor retail spaces into roughly half of the garage’s street-facing level, with parking staying on the back half and on the three upper floors. The merchandising plan for Pearl Square calls for a full-service restaurant, a quick-service counter, fitness and shops as likely users. Gateway Jax’s summary places the five-story structure at 712 N. Hogan St., and Duval County property records list the garage at roughly 251,000 square feet, built in 1989.
What’s Planned For Block N6
Gateway Jax pitches Block N6 as a mixed-use retrofit on a roughly 1.52-acre parcel that repurposes the aging garage into a retail edge feeding Beaver Street and the emerging Pearl Square corridor, per Gateway Jax. The broader master plan calls for more than 1,250 new residential units and about 200,000 square feet of retail across nine blocks, with the first phase scheduled to debut this year. Hoodline previously spotlighted the district’s first building in Vandeveer Drops 205 Apartments.
Leasing And Anchors
Gateway Jax has outside brokers working the phones on retail leasing, with Matthew Clark of Colliers handling the Pearl Square retail assignment, according to REBusinessOnline. That coverage also notes a Publix lease for the neighboring Block N7 tower, a grocery anchor developers say is crucial for reliable daily foot traffic. During a May site tour, News4JAX reported that Vandeveer’s roughly 22,000 square feet of ground-floor retail is expected to fill with coffee, fitness and small-plate dining as leasing ramps up.
Incentives And Approvals
The Downtown Investment Authority has lined up incentive recommendations for pieces of Pearl Square. Its N7 term sheet calls for a Completion Grant not to exceed $28,250,000 and a 17-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value grant, with completion payments tied to project performance and future City Council appropriation, according to the DIA resolution. DIA documents also require a long-term grocer lease of at least 30,000 square feet before the completion payment is unlocked. Those financial strings are a big reason permitting, leasing and construction sequencing are getting close attention from city officials and downtown stakeholders.
Gateway Jax says the Block N6 retrofit is intended to weave more day-to-day activity into a historically quieter side of downtown, though the pace of that shift will depend on permits, leases and construction timing. Local business owners told News4JAX they are eager for the promised boost in lunchtime and evening traffic as residents move in. For now, city staff are still reviewing the civil-engineering plans, and storefronts will not hit the street until the paperwork clears and lease deals are finalized.
