Investors in Gateway Jax, already with at least 28 acres under ownership in Downtown Jacksonville, have added another 2.85 acres in LaVilla with the acquisition of the former Interline Brands Inc. building at 801 W. Bay St.
Through 801 Bay St LLC, Gateway Jax bought the property Oct. 31. It paid $4 million for the two-story, 38,136-square-foot Interline building developed in 1998 at northwest Bay and Jefferson streets, according to a deed executed Oct. 31 and recorded with the Duval County Clerk of Court Nov. 5
“The approximately 38,000 square foot building with surface-level parking remains available for lease. While there are no immediate plans for additional development on this parcel, Gateway Jax believes in the growth potential of the LaVilla neighborhood and may reimagine the site as part of a larger development plan in the future.”
The property is north of the Lofts at Jefferson Station apartments and south of the Prime F. Osborn III convention center and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority headquarters.
City seeking to acquire former Interline Brands Inc. building for University of Florida campusA swap for city-owned property could occur for the structure, which Gateway Jax purchased in October 2024.The city of Jacksonville is seeking to acquire the former Interline Brands Inc. building for use as the first classroom facility for the University of Florida’s graduate center campus in Jacksonville........Kurt Dudas, vice president for strategic initiatives for UF, told the Council Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee that the city’s acquisition of the 801 W. Bay St. building would allow the university to begin offering an architecture master’s program on the campus as early as fall 2025. That program currently operates out of the Groover-Stewart Building, 25 N. Market St. Dudas said plans also called for the Florida Semiconductor Institute to be located in the Interline building in the near term before being moved elsewhere on the campus........In all, the city would provide five sets of parcels for the project, including 801 W. Bay. Also included would be the Jacksonville Terminal and the adjacent convention center property, which stretches west to Interstate 95.Those parcels would be offered in four dispositions, Boyer said, with the two vacant properties being packaged in one. ....In response to questions from committee members, Boyer said UF planned to use the historic train station as a retail and dining hub that also would include a railway ticketing location.In the fall of 2024, the Biden administration offered a $1.25 million grant to return passenger rail service to the station. One initiative under consideration is moving the Jacksonville Amtrak station from 3570 Clifford Lane in northwest Jacksonville to the terminal. Committee members also questioned Boyer about how the project would affect the convention center’s exposition hall. She said the demolition of the newer portion of the center could not take place for at least five years and UF would have to provide the city with two years’ notice of demolition work.Future convention centerThe Downtown master plan calls for a new convention center at the site of the Duval County jail at 500 E. Adams St. Boyer said the plan also contains a contingency for a temporary exposition hall to be built on the former city hall site. In June 2024, a special Council committee recommended replacing the jail with a new campus-style facility. Among potential sites for the new construction is the Montgomery Correctional Center in North Jacksonville, previously known as the City Prison Farm, or P-Farm....https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2025/feb/03/city-seeking-to-acquire-former-interline-brands-inc-building-for-university-of-florida-campus/
Someone needs to give the Daily Record a map, or a lesson in how to read one.QuoteThe property is north of the Lofts at Jefferson Station apartments and south of the Prime F. Osborn III convention center and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority headquarters.The property is EAST of the JTA HQ and the Prime.
