JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In less than two years, what is known as Jacksonville’s Sports and Entertainment district will be transformed. Developers have dreamed up a world class resort and marina right across from what will become a world class stadium.

“This is a $370 million project, so it’s pretty significant and it’s going to be a key anchor to that waterfront and that entertainment sports area,” Colin Tarbert explained.

Colin Tarbert is the new CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority. One of the largest projects in this neighborhood is the Jacksonville Shipyards. It includes a state-of-the-art office building for the Jaguars administration, the Four Seasons Hotel, and a marina.

Tarbert said the office building has already been closed in with windows and air conditioning. It is still on track to open by March 2026. 

Then comes the Four Seasons Hotel, a luxury hotel with private residences, a rooftop and restaurants. While the building has been ‘topped off,’ meaning the final beam has been installed on top of the structure, its completion date has been pushed back a year. It was originally expected to open in June of 2026, but developers went before the DIA to ask to extend the completion date to June 2027.

“The project has been consistent, it’s been on construction. I think they just realized that the time it’s gonna take to complete all of the finishes and details to the standards of the Four Seasons gonna take a little bit longer,” Tarbert explained.

People will also be able to walk along a new riverwalk and sail into a public marina at the Shipyards next summer.

Opening before all the action at the Shipyards, though, is the RISE Doro, the apartment building with two lives. What should have been a grand opening at the beginning of 2024, turned into a devastating loss after a fire engulfed the eight-story building. The owners were determined to rebuild and began construction later that fall. A spokesperson told First Coast News they are planning to start leasing this winter with residents moving in early 2026.

But the momentum from the sports and entertainment district is spilling over into the neighboring Eastside.

“Being able to help rebuild that has raised many generations of my family is priceless, it’s hard to put into words,” Travis Williams said.

Travis Williams was born and raised on Jacksonville’s Eastside. He is now the CEO of LIFT Jax, an organization that works to rebuild and restore homes in the community, and support Eastside businesses.

“One of our major goals is to have less vacant lots in the neighborhood do it through a mixed-income approach. We want to have affordable options for folks but we also want to bring working professionals back to the neighborhood,” Williams said.

As part of the 1.4-billion-dollar stadium deal, the Eastside is getting a large portion of the $300 million community benefits agreement between the city of Jacksonville and the Jaguars. They will soon be getting the first installment of $4 million from this year’s city budget.

Councilman Raul Arias, who chairs the city’s Special Committee on the CBA, said first they need to appoint board members and find a management group before the money can be distributed.

“Once they have that management group, then essentially everybody will go to that group and then they’ll decide they’ll say, ok, your project fits in the categories and this is how much money we have this year for that and then we’ll allocate those dollars,” Arias explained.

Williams is looking forward to seeing what this money will do for his community.

“We believe that those dollars can help make sure that residents can prosper in place and stay and enjoy the benefits of all that being there. And also have newer amenities and opportunities that they can benefit from,” Williams said.