Building A City

Documentary Series

Watch Episode 4:

Jones Brothers Historic Renovation in Downtown Jacksonville

The North Core is becoming a vibrant urban destination in downtown Jacksonville, consisting of historic renovation and multi-family mixed use developments, with retail, entertainment and of course, the Emerald Trail. The North Core, or NoCo, is one of the smaller districts in downtown Jacksonville, but an excellent example of how developers, city planners, architects, and organizations are working together to rebuild and rebrand downtown Jacksonville to becoming a sustainable downtown for residents and visitors alike.

When a city is self-sustaining and organically growing in development, demand, and urban dwellers, it’s said to have reached “Critical Mass”. For a downtown to reach critical mass, it needs “Density” and one of the key components to creating density is through developments that offer a mix of uses, including residential, retail, entertainment, and connectivity. As popular cities such as Austin, Chicago, New York and Dallas have shown, mixed-use development, paired with strategic urban planning, such as the High Line in New York or The Loop in Dallas, help create a more walkable, livable, and in demand urban environment.

It’s an exciting time for downtown Jacksonville, but how has the city gained such a positive momentum? Incentives.

Downtown revitalization is a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors. Incentives act as catalysts, fostering public-private partnerships that fuel economic growth, attract new businesses, and create vibrant communities. They enable developers to take on projects that might otherwise be financially unfeasible or risky.

In this episode we will dive a bit deeper into incentives and some of their common misconceptions. We’ll be exploring the fascinating revitalization of a historic gem in our city’s downtown – the Jones Brothers Furniture Building.

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Watch Episode 3:

Rebranding The Church District in Downtown Jacksonville

About Ep 3

Join us as we explore the revitalization of the North Core district, a shining example of the city’s exciting development projects. With billions of dollars invested and collaboration between developers, city planners, and community organizations, Jacksonville is quickly becoming Florida’s freshest focus. In this episode, we discover how local developers, Corner Lot and JWB have tapped into the potential of the North Core. By rebranding the former Church District, they brought life and innovation to an underutilized part of downtown. Through adaptive reuse and historic preservation, they are transforming spaces like the First Baptist Church and the iconic Jones Brothers furniture building, breathing new life into these locations with places to live, work, and play.

Avant Construction is no new name to (re)building the city’s downtown central core, the #construction company has been making a mark in the North Core from the start with Sweet Pete’s, another JWB development. Avant is the construction company that transformed the First Baptist Church into the NoCo Center. Avant has shown to be a confident choice for construction as the company is handling most of the projects in the North Core, including the Federal Reserve Building and Jones Bros.

The area will be transformed from old to bold, mixing historic preservation adaptive reuse with elements of timeless modern #architecture from the award winning team of architects Bold Line Design, who are designing Corner Lot’s multifamily mixed use development that will surround the historic Jones Brothers building and was the Architect of Record for NoCo Center.

Thanks to the incredible efforts and support from local developers and organizations like Build Up Downtown and the Downtown Investment Authority this district has welcomed countless visitors, igniting a wave of economic activity and cultural vibrancy which will continue to accelerate with all the exciting projects breaking ground including the Emerald Trail being lead by Ground Work Jacksonville and the new and existing transit systems from JTA both coming to the North Core.

Join us as we explore the NoCo Center, a captivating hub of entertainment that has attracted North America’s largest entertainment company, Paquin Entertainment. The professional production team at Fun To Watch is capturing the unprecedented transformation, you won’t want to miss witnessing Jacksonville’s North Core district unfold before your eyes. Brace yourself for an exhilarating journey in a city that is soaring towards success.

Subscribe to YouTube.com/@funtowatchmedia for more remarkable stories and developments, not only in the North Core, but throughout the entire downtown Jacksonville as this city sets its sights on a brighter future.

Watch Episode 2:

About Ep 2

“Building A City” is a documentary series that features the city of Jacksonville, FL. The series shows how developers and city planners are working together to identify what the city needs and activating downtown Jacksonville by developing around those needs through historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and infill development.

The video features a developer called Corner Lot who is activating the city by developing around those needs. The video briefly features its newest commercial infill development, a Hilton, Home 2 Suites, a hotel and will provide people with a nice place to stay in the Brooklyn and Riverside part of downtown Jacksonville.

The main feature of Episode 2 is a completed historic renovation and adaptive reuse building located at 1001 Kings Ave. in the south bank of downtown Jacksonville. It’s an exciting project because it was a historic building that was falling apart but is now the headquarters to an internationally recognized furniture and interior design company called Industry West. The Industry West building is an excellent example of how developers worked together with architects, construction companies, and the city to preserve a historic building that is creating critical mass and density in Jacksonville by helping to put Jacksonville on the map with Industry West and the architecture which won a beautification award from the San Marco Preservation Society and was featured in one of the world’s most influential architecture and design magazines called Dezeen.

The building was designed by bold line design architecture firm alongside Industry West Interiors and the general contractor was Avant construction that brought the design to life. The teams worked together to transform a historic building into a stunning space giving the building and the Southbank part of San Marco new life.

The series is produced by Fun To Watch and hosted by Justin Sena.

Watch EPISODE 1:

About

We’re documenting development showcasing what it takes to build, or rebuild, a thriving city.

Development and building a city can takes years to accomplish, instead archiving the footage, we’ve begun releasing a shorter form of the series in partnership with Jacksonville Daily Record, created for their viewing audience and the city of Jacksonville.