Courtesy of Dasher Hurst Architects
Covering 330,000 square feet of space, the Union Terminal Warehouse Company was said to be the largest warehouse in Florida when it was completed in 1913 by the Turner Construction Company. Now Columbia Ventures is poised to renovate the Eastside landmark at 700 East Union Street into a mixed-use development featuring 220 workforce and market-rate apartments and 38,000 square feet of commercial, retail and dining space. In addition, the project will include an 80 space indoor parking area and a rooftop amenitized with a rooftop terrace.
Inside Crosstown Concourse in Memphis.
Similar to Atlanta’s Ponce City Market and the Crosstown Concourse in Memphis, the redevelopment of the Union Terminal Warehouse is a rare example of the adaptive reuse of a large historic industrial property in Florida.
The project, which will also incorporate a portion of Groundwork Jacksonville’s planned Emerald Trail, was recently awarded $8.29 million in public financing by the Jacksonville City Council. Designed by Jacksonville-based Dasher Hurst Architects, the estimated $57.1 million project is the first of two in the downtown Jacksonville area that the Atlanta-based developer intends development. Columbia Ventures expects the restoration of the Union Terminal Warehouse to take two years. In addition, the developer has proposed to build a project in Brooklyn with 341 apartment units, ground floor retail and a 428-space parking garage.
The Union Terminal Warehouse.
The Union Terminal Warehouse is one of several projects planned for historic Eastside community, in the midst of withintrification and the third major development to break ground in the vicinity. Developed by Rise, the Doro, a 247-unit mixed-use multifamily development on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard was the first to break ground in 2021. A few months later, the Jaguars broke ground on the $120 million Miller Electric Center, a $120 million team practice facility located just northwest of TIAA Bank Field. Earlier this month, The Debs Store at 1478 Florida Avenue, celebrated its groundbreaking. When complete, the LIFT JAX project will serve as a community hub for fresh food/groceries, career and workforce center.
The Doro project under construction on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard.
Additional planned developments that could be underway soon include the $370 million Four Seasons Hotel and Residences project at Metropolitan Park and a $30 million shipyard expansion project at Commodores Point by Fincantieri Marine Repair. The Fincantieri project is expected to generate 300 jobs by 2028, while adding a Navy certified dry dock to the property.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com