Jax Evolved

In our Jax Evolved series, we take a detailed look at successful adaptive reuse projects from the Jacksonville area - many of which happen to be located within downtown Jax and the urban core. Each of the buildings featured has some form of historic value and has been repurposed to fill a new need after its original tenant(s) moved on.

JAX EVOLVED: Downtown Jacksonville Adaptive Reuse Collection

For many years, downtown Jacksonville’s beautiful historic buildings were left to rot away without a purpose. For a variety of reasons, most of them had been vacant since the 1970s. The ones that weren’t left to wither away either retained their original tenants or were unceremoniously demolished to make room...

JAX EVOLVED: The Barnett’s Long Journey to Redevelopment

When the first tenants moved into The Barnett last year, it marked the end of a lengthy revitalization saga for the 94-year-old building which once housed Florida’s largest bank. The building first opened its doors in 1926 as a new center of operations for Barnett National Bank. The bank was...

JAX EVOLVED: From Brewster Hospital to North Florida Land Trust

When North Florida Land Trust moved into its new office building at 843 W. Monroe Street in LaVilla, it marked the completion of an important decades-long preservation project. The two-story wood frame structure, adorned with a brick veneer and intricate, jigsaw-cut balconies, was originally built down the street at 915...

JAX EVOLVED: Brentwood Theatre to Brentwood Library

One of the earliest successful examples of adaptive reuse in Jacksonville can be found just outside of the urban core in the Brentwood neighborhood. What now serves as the Brentwood branch of Jacksonville Public Library was originally Brentwood Theatre, a single-screen movie theater. The building, located at 3725 N. Pearl...

JAX EVOLVED: J.H. Churchwell Co. Building

Very few of downtown Jacksonville’s historic buildings still have portions of their old-school signage intact. But sure enough, when you look up toward the top of the Churchwell Lofts building at 301 E. Bay Street, you’ll see the black “J.H. Churchwell Company” banner added to the building in the 1920s....

JAX EVOLVED: W.A. Knight Building

Though somewhat nondescript and often overshadowed by the neighboring Greenleaf & Crosby Building, the W.A. Knight Building is noteworthy for one big reason: it was perhaps the first major example of adaptive reuse in downtown Jax. Built in 1921 and opening in 1923, the W.A. Knight Building at 113 W....

JAX EVOLVED: Dyal-Upchurch Building

The historic Dyal-Upchurch Building at 6 E. Bay Street holds two distinctions noteworthy to any Jacksonville history buff. It was the first high-rise building project to emerge following the Great Fire of 1901, and it was also the first building in Jacksonville to be designed by architect Henry J. Klutho....

JAX EVOLVED: 1st and Main Becomes Brick & Beam

This past weekend, a grand opening ceremony was held for Brick & Beam, an event space that will bring new life to the historic building at 1st and Main in Springfield. The building began its life around the turn of the 20th century as a location for J. Daniel Boone...

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