JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gateway Jax is leading a major redevelopment effort in downtown Jacksonville, aiming to reshape nearly 30 acres with a mix of residential, retail, and public spaces. Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax, spoke with This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition about the project’s progress and its potential impact on the region’s economic growth.
Moll brings experience from overseeing more than $6 billion in real estate projects across major markets including Tampa and Washington, D.C. He explained how lessons learned from those cities are influencing Gateway Jax’s approach in Jacksonville.
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“The type of project that we’re doing in downtown is, believe it or not, not that dissimilar from all the other projects that I’ve worked on, whether it be in Arlington, Virginia, or downtown D.C. or Tampa,” Moll said. “There are lessons learned from each one of those projects that we’ve been able to bring to Jacksonville.”
Gateway Jax’s first phase, called Pearl Square, covers nine city blocks just north of City Hall and includes plans for over 1,200 residential units, 200,000 square feet of retail space, a 35,000-square-foot Publix grocery store, a 110-room hotel, and public parks.
Moll emphasized the importance of scale for amenities like grocery stores. “Grocery stores, they’re a relatively low margin business and therefore they don’t pay a lot of rent. And so therefore, in order for a landlord to be able to build a grocery store, you need scale,” he said.
The project has already broken ground on multiple buildings, including apartment complexes and parking garages, with innovative plans to incorporate retail space into parking structures to create a vibrant shopping district.
Addressing community concerns about density and growth, Moll said Gateway Jax has prioritized listening to residents and tailoring the development to fit Jacksonville’s unique character. “We’ve done some focus groups... It’s really important that you take elements of what you know works, but then you actually tailor it to what’s gonna work in downtown Jacksonville,” he said.
Moll also highlighted the strong partnerships behind the project. “We have partners, sponsors, and capital partners that believe in this vision... That trust in the vision and now the execution of what we’re able to do has been paramount,” he said.
With public and private investments totaling billions already underway downtown, Moll is confident that Gateway Jax’s efforts will help sustain momentum for Jacksonville’s revitalization. “If some of the most preeminent soft goods, apparel, furniture store, retailers want to be downtown because of the data that they have on their customers, I think that says a lot,” he said.
As Gateway Jax continues to develop Pearl Square, Moll stressed the importance of authenticity in design. “Historic building infrastructure... creating great parks and open spaces... and having local retailers, mom and pops that are only unique to Jacksonville,” are key ingredients to success, he said.