JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 After years of promise, change is coming to one of Jacksonville\u2019s most recognizable abandoned properties. Construction crews are now at the Regency Square Mall.<\/p>\n
For more than a year, the Regency\u2019s redevelopment has only been on paper. Now, the first physical signs of change are impossible to miss. While the wrecking ball hasn\u2019t hit the mall yet, the infrastructure work happening today is already changing people\u2019s attitudes about the property.<\/p>\n
Shirley Olsen remembers shopping during Regency\u2019s heyday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was wonderful. Al the other malls were not around. This was a big deal,\u201d said Olsen.<\/p>\n
Now, only a handful of stores are still standing. Dillard\u2019s Outlet, Impact Church, the closed Sears and AMC Theaters are owned separately, and will stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought my kids here. They had a petting zoo around the time they opened,\u201d said Olsen.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of the enclosed mall and interior common areas will come down to make way for the Nexus at Regency, a mixed-use development with apartments, retail, restaurants, offices, and new internal streets.<\/p>\n
The move has nearby business owner William Svingo rethinking his plans to sell.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see what happens; I\u2019m optimistic. I may be enticed to selling it because they\u2019re leaving soon, but if there\u2019s going to be development with housing and so forth, it\u2019d be appropriate for other businesses also,\u201d said Svingo.<\/p>\n
Last April, Lake City-based Blackwater Development paid $19.1 million dollars for roughly 74 acres of the mall.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s president, Rurmell McGee, wasn\u2019t immediately available for an interview, but shared his plans with the JAX Chamber at their \u2018Future of Arlington\u2019 panel in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look at the Regency Mall, and this has probably been a love affair for me for the past 5-6 years or more,\u201d said McGee.<\/p>\n
McGee says the mixed-use development will benefit the community but also stressed there\u2019s a bottom line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do something like this, it has to make money. That\u2019s the only way any of us can do the things we do \u2013 it must be profitable,\u201d said McGee.<\/p>\n
According to a study by Build Florida 2030, Regency\u2019s revamp could create nearly 1,600 jobs and increase economic activity by $360 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to create a vibrant property project that benefits the neighborhood and benefits the constituents in that area,\u201d said McGee.<\/p>\n
The project has at least three phases. Bulldozing the parking lots to make way for new roads is part of Phase 1.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear exactly when the Nexus at Regency plans to open its doors.<\/p>\n
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