JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Council is expected to discuss a proposal during Tuesday night’s regular meeting to create a Downtown Entertainment District, a move that could allow bars and restaurants in a defined area to serve alcohol until 3 a.m., one hour later than the current citywide cutoff.
The proposal comes as downtown Jacksonville continues to evolve with new development, including plans for a future stadium and ongoing efforts to draw more businesses and residents to the city’s core.
For long-time resident and local business owner Jay Higbee, the push to expand downtown has been a decades-long process.
“They have been trying for my lifetime to make downtown the core of Jacksonville,” Higbee said. “I would say in the last 10 years they made some progress, and I see more progress made not just with the stadium area but in this area as well.”
Higbee, who owns Foland & Higbee Inc., said he’s noticed more nightlife and local businesses moving into the area.
“We have a pool hall restaurant two doors down that was featured on Dive Bars. There is just a lot more here than what it used to be,” he said.
Still, Higbee said downtown’s growth has not yet reached its potential, noting that many buildings remain empty and the area needs more foot traffic.
“We need more foot traffic than what we have now. A lot of the buildings are empty and it’s not the fault of the building — it’s the fault that nobody opening a business to generate people coming in,” he said.
That is one reason Higbee supports the proposed entertainment district. He said extending alcohol service hours could help create a more predictable and controlled late-night environment.
According to the ordinance introduced by City Councilmember Raul Arias, the Downtown Entertainment District would combine the areas of the NorthCore/Church, Central Core, and Sports and Entertainment Districts “to promote the vitality of the downtown, ensure its dominance as the City’s entertainment center, and discourage the spread of blighted areas.”
The proposal would affect about 63 businesses across the three zones.
“The council can make all of the laws they want, stating when people can stop entertaining themselves,” he said. “But for the most part, people are going to hang out as long as they want to, so it will probably be a good thing to have some form of control over when entertainment districts can be open.”
Higbee described the area’s transformation as dramatic, pointing to changes he’s witnessed since childhood.
“It really is amazing. When I grew up here, JTB didn’t exist, Racetrack Road was a dirt road, so seeing the change where there used to be trees and now development has been quite a journey,” he said.
He compared downtown’s future to a “build it, and they will come” scenario, saying the entertainment district could help attract more businesses and residents.
Also on the council’s agenda Tuesday are confirmations of appointments to the Five Points Dependent Special District Board of Supervisors, which was created last year to oversee enhanced services in the Five Points area, including security, landscaping, and promotion. That board’s vacancies are being filled so it can begin work and adopt a budget.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.