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Rail Yard District / Durkeeville

50. 546 Myrtle Avenue

546 Myrtle Avenue is being converted into an indoor soccer training facility. Originally completed in 1950, the 13,000 square foot building will contain three fields, exercise and locker rooms, and a clubhouse area.

51. Myrtle Crab Shack

The Myrtle Crab Shack is preparing to open at 1452 North Myrtle Avenue in a 2,660 square foot storefront that was originally built in 1958.

52. Dennis + Ives

Located just west of Downtown Jacksonville, 95 Arch Partners QOZ Fund LLC have big plans for an 85,000 square foot former cold storage warehouse complex that originated during the late 1890s as the Florida Ice Manufacturing Company. Construction continues on plans to convert the cold storage complex into a mix of uses, possibly including creative office, craft brewery or distillery, cafe, restaurant and outdoor event space. Named for the cross streets of Dennis and Ives, conceptual plans prepared by Jacksonville-based Design/Cooperative LLC. also include plans for a small food hall. The first phase, focusing on the office tenant spaces, could be completed as early as the third quarter of 2021.

For more information: Dennis + Ives proposed for Rail Yard District

53. 136 Myrtle Avenue

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is in the process of making extensive renovations to a warehouse located at 136 Myrtle Avenue.

54. 1281 West Forsyth Street

1281 West Forsyth Street was acquired for $225,000 by Troy and Tracey Lukkarila in June 2021. Lukkarila is the owner of the LukaLips Destruction Company, a website dedicated to the most perverse homemade films, art and music a person could get away with without getting arrested. Renovation work is now underway at the 11,130 square foot warehouse that dates back to 1922 and that was once a part of a slaughterhouse operation.

55. McCoys Creek Greenway

Construction on phase one of the McCoys Creek Restoration Project is now underway. It is being funded with $105.4 million from the City of Jacksonville to remedy McCoys Creek flooding, create neighborhood-friendly spaces, improve recreational opportunity, and protect the environment. Major components of the 18 month project include the permanent closure of portions of McCoys Creek Boulevard, reconstruction of the Stockton and King Street bridges, creek restoration and Emerald Trail construction.

The restoration of the creek, which was channelized in 1930, will involve restoring the waterway to a meandering natural channel design and expanding the flood plain with the addition of natural water containment features, such as lagoons and tidal pools. The former road bed of McCoys Creek Boulevard will be replaced with a new segment of the Emerald Trail. When complete, the trail component of the project will connect the historic Westside neighborhoods of Lackawanna, Mixon Town, Campbell Hill (Rail Yard District) and Brooklyn to the Northbank Riverwalk.

For more information: McCoys Creek restoration project now underway

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Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of TheJaxsonMag.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com