(Jacksonville, FL – September 19, 2024) Today, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) authorized the execution of two long-term ground lease agreements to bring additional workforce housing to downtown Jacksonville. The two Transit-Oriented Developments (TOD) are in partnership with Corner Lot Development, located at a one-acre parcel at the corner of Montana Avenue and Manning Street and with Gateway Jax at the eastern portion of the Rosa Parks Transit Station, a 1.47 site at 201 West Union Street. Forty percent of the Montana Avenue/Manning Street 186-unit development will be workforce housing at 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Fifteen percent of the Rosa Parks 250-unit TOD will be workforce housing at 120 percent of AMI.
"With these Transit Oriented Developments, we are helping to make downtown Jacksonville more walkable with better access to jobs, housing and public transportation for people of all ages and incomes," said JTA CEO Nat Ford.
"We at Corner Lot look forward to collaborating with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority on another Transit-Oriented Development with the Manning Street and Montana Avenue project, said Billy Zeits, V.P. of Government Relations and External Affairs at Corner Lot. "As we learned with our previous partnership on Artea at Southbank, which is close to completion, these collaborations take time to evolve but are absolutely achievable. We want to thank the JTA Board of Directors and staff for their vision of identifying partners to find housing solutions in the City of Jacksonville. We are excited about the positive impact this project may bring, creating new opportunities and strengthening Jacksonville’s growth for the future."
"We are committed to investing and developing in Downtown Jacksonville," said Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax. "A world-class downtown requires considerable density and a mixture of uses in its urban core. The residential and retail uses we are proposing immediately to the east of the Rosa Parks Skyway Station will be another exciting step in achieving that shared vision. We look forward to adding this mixed-use project to our portfolio, which will encourage even more families and individuals of all income levels to call Downtown their home."
"Consistent with best practices in transit-supportive urbanism, as a Board, we have learned that among the best ways to leverage our transportation assets is to ensure dense, mixed-income housing surrounded by amenities at the pedestrian level, better ensuring live, work, and play opportunities over the long term," stated Board Chair Debbie Buckland. "We are thrilled to support these developments."
Both The TODs will make use of the automated elevated people mover known as the Skyway which is being converted to an autonomous vehicle roadway through the Ultimate Urban Circulator or U2C.
"A few years ago, the JTA declared it was ready to transform its lazy assets into placemaking opportunities for our riders and the private sector, stated Cleveland Ferguson III, JTA Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.
"We are pleased that the developer community sees the value of public transportation and is using our U2C TOD planning studies and forming partnerships to create sustainable housing and pedestrian-centric amenities."
In addition, the Montana and Manning development will not feature on-site parking. Connectivity will be exclusive to the existing Kings Avenue Parking Garage and Kings Avenue Skyway station. This development has the potential for commercial and recreational improvements.
The Rosa Parks development will utilize a portion of the adjacent parking garage owned by Gateway Jax at 712 Hogan Street. In addition, a portion of the 30-mile Emerald Trail will be constructed on the property.
Both projects will be leased for 99 years, with substantial completion targeted over the next 36 months.
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About the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is an independent state agency serving Jacksonville, Florida, and Northeast Florida with multi-modal responsibilities. The JTA provides varied mass public transit services and builds roads, bridges, and other infrastructure to enhance mobility in Jacksonville. Public transportation services include BRT and regular bus service, paratransit, the St. Johns River Ferry, Skyway APM, and other mobility and on-demand services in Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns counties. To learn more, visit www.jtafla.com.
Media contacts
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Lynn Opperman
AVP – Marketing, Communication, and Customer Experience
Jacksonville Transportation Authority
lopperman@jtafla.com
904-676-7225