Jacksonville's Downtown Development Review Board voted 6-0 on September 10 to grant final approval to Pier 95, a 58-townhome community planned for a 3.92-acre parcel in downtown's Southbank district, wedged between Interstate 95 and the St. Johns River. The vote closed out the final step in the board's review process for a site that, just over a year earlier, was home to a very different, and far less popular, proposal.
The approval, first reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record, came with three board members absent: Joana Berling, Kevin Craig and Peter Deiuliis did not take part in the vote. Pier 95 will consist of five- and six-unit buildings connected to a future extension of Reed Avenue, along with a shared courtyard, pavilion and outdoor kitchen for residents. The plans call for 116 resident parking spaces and 18 additional spaces for visitors.
From Trailview's Rejection to Pier 95's Approval
The same site was previously slated for a project called Trailview, a 53-unit townhome community that received only conceptual approval from the board in August 2025 before developers were sent back to the drawing board. Trailview's plan included five four-unit buildings, three six-unit buildings and three five-unit buildings, but the board criticized the garage-side appearance of the structures and asked for a redesign before final sign-off, according to the Daily Record's reporting.
Ryan Homes, one of three brands owned by NVR Inc., had managed Trailview, with ELM listed as its architect and Cyndy Trimmer, a partner at Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow, representing the project. Van Christiansen said Chase Properties put forth both Trailview and Pier 95 using different project teams and agents, according to the same Daily Record account, even though the underlying property ownership never changed. Board member Carl Dawson described Pier 95 as an improvement over Trailview, according to the Daily Record's coverage of the June 11 conceptual review, at which he called the new design magnificent.
New Team, Same Ownership
Chad Development LLC still owns the Pier 95 property, and county appraiser records show no change in ownership since the board's August 2025 vote on Trailview, per the Daily Record. Michael Balanky, who manages Chad Development LLC and serves as president and CEO of Chase Properties, praised the design work by homebuilder Lennar and its architectural team at Cronk Duch, whose CD+Urban studio is listed on the Pier 95 plans alongside engineering firm Halff. Balanky said the board's final approval marks an important milestone for Pier 95 and the Southbank's continued growth, adding that the project complements its Southbank setting.
Attorney Wyman Duggan, a shareholder at Rogers Towers, represents Pier 95 before the board. During the June 11 conceptual review that preceded the final vote, board member Joseph Loretta recused himself because his employer, infrastructure consulting firm Halff, is part of the project team, according to meeting coverage from the Jacksonville Daily Record. Halff worked alongside architectural firm Cronk Duch on the project's engineering services.
A Southbank in the Midst of Transformation
Chad Development LLC purchased the site from the Jacksonville Humane Society for $1.6 million in December 2024, a sale that let the animal rescue organization establish a dedicated capital improvement fund for its adoption center, according to Resident News. Proceeds from that sale helped fund upkeep of the Humane Society's 55,000-square-foot Linda Berry Stein Adoption, Education and Pet Help Center. Because the parcel sits along a tidal creek feeding the St. Johns River, project planning last year required environmental permitting and flood management coordination with FEMA, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with plans mandating that stormwater be retained on-site to protect neighboring properties.
Chase Properties brings a multi-decade history to the Southbank, having previously developed the San Marco Place residential high-rise, Kings Avenue Station and the Daily's commercial site on Hendricks Avenue, per Resident News reporting. Design plans for Pier 95 also incorporate multi-use pedestrian and bicycle paths connecting residents to Jacksonville's Emerald Trail system and the adjacent MarshFront Park at RiversEdge, the 30-mile trail network that links downtown districts and waterways.
RiversEdge and a Wave of Riverfront Building
Pier 95 sits directly beside RiversEdge, the 32-acre mixed-use development that Balanky originally managed before selling his interest to partner Peter Rummell in 2016. That site was unlocked for development after the demolition of the former JEA Southside Generating Station power plant, turning cleared public utility land into one of the largest riverfront master-planned developments downtown, per the Daily Record.
The Southbank's building boom extends well beyond Pier 95. In June, the city issued a $150 million building permit to Related Group for Southbank Residences, a $202.7 million project bringing 395 apartment units across a 25-story tower and an eight-story building to the former River City Brewing site — a project Hoodline covered ahead of its groundbreaking. The Downtown Development Review Board itself reviews all development and redevelopment projects across downtown's eight districts, serving as the area's planning commission with final authority over exceptions, variances, waivers and minor modifications, while also advising Jacksonville City Council on some matters. Its nine voting members are nominated by the mayor's office and appointed by city council.
The pace of Southbank construction fits a broader municipal financing picture. Downtown Investment Authority leadership reported in February that 10 active downtown development projects, together worth $1.14 billion, could request up to $224.7 million in city completion grants over three to five years, according to Hoodline’s earlier reporting on the grant pipeline. Whether Chad Development LLC will pursue completion grants or tax incentives for Pier 95 as construction moves toward building permits remains an open question, as does the exact timeline for building the Reed Avenue extension that will link the townhomes to the surrounding street grid.
