This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition

Jacksonville, Florida – Development seems to be gaining momentum in downtown Jacksonville. Of course, it won’t happen overnight, but through Corner Lot’s collaboration with JWB Real Estate Capital, its growth is progressing at a steady pace.

Alex Sifakis will run JWB and Andy Allen will oversee Corner Lot. Both say they are at the front of the cheering squad and at the forefront of a vibrant downtown.

In “This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition,” the podcast focuses on downtown development, upcoming projects and obstacles the area has faced over the years.

Previous episode: MOCA celebrates River City 100th anniversary milestone

“We’ve invested heavily in downtown through some of the work we’ve done with JWB and through a fund we formed with DLP Capital called Gateway Jacks, which currently has over 20 city blocks in downtown Jacksonville. ,” Sifakis said. “The first phase of development and approximately $500 million in construction is expected to break ground this year on North Core, which will be the first phase of development downtown.”

Allen moved to Jacksonville during middle school. Corner Lot and JWB just announced that the first residents will be moving into Johnson Commons in the LaVilla neighborhood, something both CEOs say they are extremely proud of.

“We were looking to build apartment buildings, but we initially pivoted to building townhouses. Downtown Jacksonville hasn’t had very simple homeownership sales in a little over 30 years. No,” Allen said. “It’s kind of crazy to think about. So Alex and I looked at this and realized the fact that there is some concentration of home ownership in the La Villa area, which is just under 100 townhouses. And a second phase is also planned as part of the agreement with the city, and it was done in partnership and coordination with James Weldon Johnson’s Lift Every Voice and Sing Park.

Mr Allen said progress had “exceeded all expectations”.

“It took a little while for this to start because of the little things that happened in 2020,” he said. “I think this will be one of many.”