A long-awaited grocery store and high-rise apartments are coming to Downtown Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
The Downtown Investment Authority approved a public-private partnership for the N7 block of the Pearl Square development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more excited,\u201d Gateway Jax CEO Bryan Moll said.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n The plans for the project include a 15-story apartment building, and those housing units are expected to bring about 2,000 new residents to downtown.<\/p>\n But it also brings a Publix grocery store, with over 400 parking spaces above the store.<\/p>\n New grocery stores have helped other cities draw more people to their downtown areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have viewed the grocery store as potentially one of the most important, if not the most important thing that we can do both for our project and downtown,\u201d Moll said.<\/p>\n Moll said that successful downtowns are not built on office space alone.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s been demonstrated in a lot of other cities, but to have a truly thriving downtown, you need good jobs and office space, which we have, but then you also need people living downtown,\u201d Moll said.<\/p>\n And those residents, he said, will need everyday amenities.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople that are going to shop, that are going to dine, go out to eat, and also buy groceries,\u201d Moll said.<\/p>\n That grocery store will not only help downtown residents but also address food insecurity in nearby neighborhoods like Springfield and North Market Street.<\/p>\n The project is expected to break ground next year, and it could be finished as early as 2028.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n