A proposed 30-story Hard Rock hotel at the former Berkman II site drew enthusiasm from Jacksonville’s Downtown Development Review Board, along with calls for stronger Riverwalk connections and a design that reflects the city’s identity.
Florida Innovation Capital presented preliminary plans to the board at a special workshop at City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 1, with Michael Munz, the firm’s founder, president and general partner, calling the proposed project “a spectacular addition to the downtown.”
“This Hard Rock is going to give Jacksonville’s musical identity a real lift and a global lift, which I think it’s deserving of,” Munz said. “The musical heritage spans not only decades but actually centuries.”
The development at 500 E. Bay St. would include about 350 hotel rooms and 152 branded residences. The proposal still requires conceptual and final approval from the board. Additional features would include a 15,000-square-foot ballroom and a 17,000-square-foot venue space, along with retail, dining, and a signature restaurant and club in a circular “sky level” roughly 230 feet above the ground.
The Hard Rock Hotel would sit on the former Berkman II property on Bay Street, near the USS Orleck.
Unlike some Hard Rock locations worldwide, Jacksonville’s concept would not include a casino. The design team proposes subtle musical references in the building’s architecture.
“Some of the profiles at the top of the roof are sort of taken from the edge of a guitar or the baby grand piano and the idea of this record notion,” said Sherry Gutierrez, principal at the Miami office of the global Arquitectonica. “We’ve created some somewhat whimsical, special moments throughout the project – the shape of the pool as well.”
While board members were overall supportive and enthusiastic about the project, their feedback indicated the development team needed to make changes before it returned to DDRB for conceptual approval.
Feedback included questions about further activation along the waterfront, with more connections between the Riverwalk, Bay Street, and the building.
“I’m not sure how much play there is with the Riverwalk,” said Board Member Peter Deiulis. “…There’s so much happening with this new building, and then it’s almost anticlimactic at the waterfront….In the spirit of taking full advantage of a project of this magnitude, it would be very interesting to see if there was anything that could be done at the water’s edge as well.”
Board Chair Linzee Ott echoed comments from fellow board members regarding authenticity, emphasizing the importance of making the project authentically Jacksonville.
“I want to underscore, both in terms of our approach to the musical storytelling and history storytelling, as well as the building and design itself,” Ott said. “…It’s a beautiful design, but we do want this to be a fabulous asset on the Jacksonville skyline. It will be, so how is that uniquely Jacksonville.”
Munz said the team is aiming to break ground in the first quarter of 2027. However, Downtown Investment Authority staff told Resident News that the proposal will not appear on the review board’s Nov. 12 agenda.