SouthEast Development Group announced today that it officially submitted its Riverfront Jacksonville master plan to city council and the Downtown Investment Authority this past Tuesday – and it also shared some new details about the project.
Several new elements have been added to the already ambitious master plan. Perhaps the most notable of these additions is the planned development of a hydrokinetic green energy facility along the Northbank. The facility would utilize the flow of the St. Johns River to generate electricity, which would be used to power the projects located within the master plan. It would be a public-private investment, wherein the city would be able to sell excess power back to JEA; profits would go toward funding parks and infrastructure.
Another new addition, Pier One, would include a Northbank pier that features a public market, retail, and entertainment venues. Just north of Pier One would be another retail plaza as well as a public park. The revised plan would also see the relocation of Veteran’s Memorial Park and its wall to a parcel across Bay Street from the Maxwell House plant.
Rounding out the major changes is the addition of a 12,000-square-foot riverfront restaurant and bar building, to be located next to the future Jacksonville Naval Museum.
The revised submission also incorporates existing downtown projects into its plans, including the Jaguars’ planned redevelopment of the former Shipyards property, the future MOSH Genesis campus, and the proposed park at the former site of The Jacksonville Landing.
“Since we released our original vision plan, we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback. At the encouragement of our peers within the Downtown community, and with the backing of our finance team of Goldman Sachs and Piper Sandler & Co., we have expanded our concept as a master plan that is greater than the sum of its parts, reflecting all of the programming that is currently being considered along the Northbank of the St. Johns River,” said Steve Atkins, principal of SouthEast Development Group. “This comprehensive plan represents a generational opportunity to secure billions of dollars in outside capital to create the Downtown our community deserves.”
The company’s presentation further noted that it received letters of support from Eastpointe Development Group and Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association, the latter of which is behind Jax Naval Museum. It also received a letter from Marriott tentatively committing to the development of a full-service hotel within the master plan.
The plan will now be discussed by city council and DIA. If implemented, development would begin with the green energy facility as well as previously-detailed resiliency efforts.
