Several projects that could finally bring more riverfront dining options to Jacksonville’s North and Southbanks are simultaneously moving forward.
A café space is already built in Riverfront Plaza, the planned Friendship Fountain restaurant is in an advanced stage of the design process, and the City is eyeing a large riverfront restaurant in Riverfront Plaza. Meanwhile, developer Related Group plans to break ground this year on a 25-story mixed-use residential project that will feature a ground floor restaurant, and the City’s beer garden is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, though each of these projects still faces hurdles.
Coming to the Southbank
According to Allan DeVault, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) redevelopment manager for the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA), the design process for the proposed restaurant immediately west of Friendship Fountain is 70% complete, and a procurement process to find an operator is underway. The operator that is selected will then work with the design team on the remaining 30% of the design process.
“I hope that by the end of March we have a chosen operator so that the design can recommence and then construction can begin sometime toward the latter part of 2026,” said DeVault…