JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Demolition is underway at Regency Square Mall in Jacksonville, marking the start of a redevelopment effort at the property that was once the largest enclosed, air-conditioned shopping mall in the Southeast.
Drone video captured Tuesday shows a large section of the mall has already been removed.
Click on the player above to watch the video.
On Monday, News4JAX saw construction crews tearing down the mall’s food court. The demolition is expected to continue for six to eight months, according to District 1 Councilman Ken Amaro. Infrastructure work is also underway in portions of the property outside the mall.
“After almost a decade of disrepair and disappointment, now it looks like things are turning around,” Amaro said.
Regency Square was once a major shopping destination, drawing families to stores, restaurants, and movies. Residents recalled fond memories of the mall in its heyday.
“My daughter used to go there quite often. She worked there for a little while, summer jobs,” Jacksonville resident Howard Murray said. “But if it’s not being used, it’s best that they go ahead and tear down and put something that’s going to be more exciting in the future.”
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Rachel Galvin remembered going to the mall with friends during elementary school and visiting the AMC theater nearby.
“If you were really lucky and you had done all of your chores for the week, your parents might have given you extra money,” Galvin said.
Over the years, the mall lost tenants and deteriorated, leading to safety concerns and leaving the property far from its former prominence.
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Blackwater Development purchased the majority of the property last year for just over $19 million. The developer plans to transform the site into a mixed-use development with retail, residential and commercial space called Nexus at Regency.
Amaro said the property’s location near Monument and Atlantic boulevards gives it strong redevelopment potential.
“The objective is to make it functional, livable, so that it becomes a destination place,” Amaro said. “I think the work that they’re doing can become an economic force for that corridor.”
Amaro said some of the new development could begin taking shape within the next year and a half.
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