After years of planning, revitalization efforts are visually bearing fruit in LaVilla. Here are examples of notable projects proposed, underway or recently completed.
Johnson Commons
Johnson Commons is a 91-unit contemporary infill townhome development built by Breeze Homes, in a partnership between Corner Lot Development Group and JWB Real Estate Capital LLC. Planned for “total completion” in 2025, the contemporary townhouses are designed to pay homage to the dense, gabled roof dwellings that once dominated LaVilla’s landscape. With prices starting at $299,900, Johnson Commons is the first for-sale residential building product to be built in LaVilla in the 21st century.
LaVilla Link Trail
The LaVilla Link is the first segment of the $150 million Emerald Trail bicycle and pedestrian project. The Emerald Trail is a public/private partnership between the city of Jacksonville and the nonprofit Groundwork that is scheduled to connect 14 urban neighborhoods to Downtown, the St. Johns River, McCoys Creek, and Hogans Creek. It’s expected to be completed by 2029 and eventually encompass 30 miles. The $8 million, 1.3-mile LaVilla Link connects LaVilla with the adjacent neighborhoods of Durkeeville and Brooklyn.
LaVilla Place
Silver Street Management is in the process of rehabilitating the former Lawton L. Pratt funeral home into a $5 million mixed-use development. Future uses include thirteen apartments and a retail space that could potentially become a restaurant, coffee shop or wine bar.
LEVS Park Trail
From ragtime, blues and jazz, to the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, and many local food dishes we enjoy today, the neighborhood of LaVilla has played a significant role. The proposed LaVilla: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Heritage Trail is an interpretive marker project that will share the unique and largely overlooked history of sites within LaVilla and the individuals and events associated with them. This Downtown Investment Authority project, in collaboration with the LaVilla Heritage Trail & Gateway Committee, the 22 interpretive marker project will be completed in 2025.
LEVS Park
Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park honors two of Jacksonville’s most famous residents, James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. The Johnson brothers wrote and composed “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” often called the Black National Anthem, in LaVilla in 1900. The $4 million park opened in Summer 2024.
318 North Broad Street
New LaVilla LLC. has plans to invest $1.8 million to renovate 318 North Broad Street into an apartment, a cafe with 10 seats, a 1,936-square-foot office building, and
949-square-foot retail store.
JTA AIC
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is building an autonomous vehicle operations and maintenance facility in LaVilla. In 2023, the LaVilla Preservation Association worked with the JTA and Downtown Development Review Board to revise the concept to better fit into LaVilla’s urban context.
University of Florida Graduate Campus
In December 2024, the University of Florida announced plans to open a new 23-acre graduate campus in LaVilla. Located at 801 West Bay Street, the $300 million graduate campus will also include the new $80 million Florida Semiconductor Institute. Graduate classes in LaVilla are expected to begin in fall 2025.
Historic Station
Designated to the National Register in 1983, Stanton is recognized as Florida’s first official school for African Americans. While serving as the principal, Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which his brother Rosamond put to music. This song would later become known as the Negro National Anthem. Historic Stanton, Inc. has plans to turn the building into a multi-purpose entertainment venue, museum/gallery, gift shop, office space and STEM educational space. Full roof and window replacement to secure the exterior from water intrusion is currently underway.
Daily’s
A Daily’s mixed-use gas station is proposed at the intersection of West Bay and Broad Streets. A major gateway entrance to LaVilla, the LaVilla Preservation, Inc. worked with First Coast Energy and the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) to modify the project to better fit the community vision calling for the revitalization of Broad Street as a pedestrian friendly mixed-use urban district. The new approved site plan will result in the construction of a 3-story Daily’s Market and Bold City Brewery facing this important block of Broad Street, with pumps and parking located behind the building.
I-95 Improvements
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to widen Interstate 95 from Interstate 10 to Beaver Street through LaVilla. The project includes the rehabilitation of the Myrtle Avenue Bridge, gateway, aesthetic, intersection and roadway improvements at Church Street, Beaver Street, and West Union Street. Construction on the $194 million project is anticipated to begin in 2026.
LaVilla Preservation 