JTA breaks break on new transportation hub

$57 million building going up across from Prime Osborn Convention Center

Helping break ground Tuesday were U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, state Sen. Audrey Gibson, state Reps. Tracie Davis, Kimberly Daniels and Jason Fischer, Jacksonville City Council Members JohnCrescimbeni and Reginald Gaffney, and other officials.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A $57 million building with a very modern look will be going up in the historic LaVilla area, just west of downtown.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority broke ground Tuesday on its new regional transportation center. A portion of the site that will house the city's Greyhound bus station is already under construction.

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The site will tie in traditional bus routes, the Skyway, the new First Coast Flyer routes and the Greyhound inter-city bus service.

"It's going to create a new kind of a gateway into the core city with Forsyth Street here," said U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Jacksonville. "I think it will be great for the city of Jacksonville and continue to spur some of the economic development that you see going on in Jacksonville."

The initial phase of the project will include a 10,000-square-foot inner city bus terminal that includes the Greyhound station that should be completed by early 2018. Phase 2 will be 40,000 square feet and include a bus transfer facility, enclosed passenger waiting area and other facilities, along with covered bus bays.

The building, to be completed by November 2019, will ultimately house the JTA's administrative offices.

Eventually, the JTA hopes the Amtrak rail station will also move from U.S. 1 in northwest Jacksonville to the rail tracks by the Prime Osborn Convention Center, the former Jacksonville trail station that is across the street from the new transportation hub.

A few hours after the groundbreaking, the board of the JEA voted to build a new headquarters building on property near the Duval County Courthouse, blocks away from the new JTA center.

JEA agreed to a land swap deal with the city after staff cited a study that showed it would be more expensive to renovate it's existing 50-year-old building than build a new one.

The Downtown Investment Authority and City Council have to agree to the swap. The new building would cost $50 million to $60 million. 


About the Author:

Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.