Building Up Jax, 12/17: The Bread & Board, SunTrust Tower, and more

This week in Building Up Jax: the Five Points area is getting a new sandwich place, SunTrust Tower is adding a couple of new tenants, plus an update on the Shipyards redevelopment project and more.

The Bread & Board to open in Five Points

The old Richard’s Sandwich Shoppe building at 1030 Oak St., purchased last year by Harbinger Sign CEO Steve Williams, will soon become a new restaurant concept: The Bread & Board.

The new restaurant is being launched by Jacksonville natives, and will feature a menu mainly composed of sandwiches. Customers will be able to have their sandwich served on bread, or deconstructed onto a board.

The building is located right around the corner from the main stretch of Five Points in Riverside. It’s directly behind the old Peterson’s Five and Dime building, also owned by Williams and currently being converted into a new location for Hoptinger.

The new restaurant is expected to open early next year.

Busy week for SunTrust Tower

SunTrust Tower is getting a couple of new tenants.

Jacksonville University plans to open a satellite campus for about 100 students on the 18^th floor of the downtown building. Their request for incentives was approved by the Downtown Investment Authority.

Additionally, Tossgreen will open its third Jacksonville location on the ground floor of the building, according to Jax Daily Record. The restaurant plans to open in the spring, and will face Laura St.

Shipyards update

Plans for redeveloping the old Shipyards property along Bay Street have gone back to stage one – but that might be a good thing.

Shad Khan’s investment company was granted early negotiation rights to redevelop the property last year, and had come up with an elaborate plan to do so. However, the negotiations never advanced any further.

Now, the city wants to go back to the drawing board and accept a new round of proposals. They’re also adding Metropolitan Park to the scope of the project.

The city seems to be recommitting itself to developing a concrete plan to revamp the long-blighted Shipyards property. The land is located along a key stretch of Bay Street that leads from downtown to EverBank Field.

Proposals will be due by March of next year.

Noted projects

• The long-awaited East San Marco project is expected to finally begin construction next spring, according to Jax Daily Record. The project was projected to break ground in September, but the developers have struggled to find contractors.
• Another development from the Downtown Investment Authority meeting: the old bar at 331 E. Bay St. may soon be redeveloped as a new bakery and bar concept.