The restoration of three relatively small buildings at a high-visibility corner in downtown Jacksonville would get about $6 million in taxpayer incentives so the vacant structures will become places for restaurants, shops and 14 apartments along the Laura Street corridor.
On a split vote April 29, City Council supported $1.9 million in incentives for the two-story building at the corner of Laura and Monroe streets where Mag’s Cafe closed in 2023 and $1.62 million for renovating a two-story building behind it on Monroe Street.
The city previously approved $2.56 million in incentives last year for the three-story Juliette Balcony on Laura Street beside the Mag’s Cafe building.
The 14-4 vote for the two incentive packages at this week’s council meeting faced criticism for how much of the renovation cost is being shouldered by taxpayers.
“I would certainly not characterize them as iconic,” City Council member Michael Boylan said at a Neighborhoods Committee meeting.
Boylan was joined by council members Rory Diamond, Terrance Freeman and Mike Gay in voting against the incentives.
City Council members backing the incentives called them key to downtown redevelopment.
“If you’re going to revitalize some of these areas of downtown, you’ve got to do these types of projects,” council member Ron Salem said.
“Larger projects are great but we need more of these,” council member Raul Arias said. “I would rather see 10 of these than one larger project.”
The restoration of all three buildings is being done though the city’s Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program that allows more aggressive incentives in order to revive older buildings that have historic landmark status. The city doesn’t pay the incentives until after a project is complete.
Here’s what restoring the three buildings for a projected total construction cost of almost $9.8 million would bring to the corner of Laura and Monroe streets, catty-corner to James Weldon Johnson Park and across the street from the Main Library.
Building where Mag’s Cafe closed would be restaurant again
The closure of Mag’s Cafe on the corner of Laura Street and Monroe Street has left it completely vacant with a padlocked chain closing the iron-barred entryway.
The city’s $1.9 million in incentives would include nearly $1.53 million in forgivable loans the developer won’t have to repay if it complies with the development agreement over a five-year period. The remaining $381,500 is a low-interest loan payable over 10 years.
The nearly $3 million renovation would bring 2,800 leasable square feet on the ground floor and basement for a restaurant and two one-bedroom apartments on the second floor.
Alan Cottrill and Ellen Cottrill of Avant Construction recently purchased the building at 231 N. Laura St. from Historic Urban Core LLC.
Monroe Street building would have retail space and apartments
Historic Urban Core LLC, lead by Carmen and Rafael Godwin, owns the two-story building at 38-44 W. Monroe St. directly behind the Mag’s Cafe building.
Avant Construction is part of the development team that will take the vacant building and turn the ground floor into three separate spaces for 2,700 square feet of cafe and retail uses. The second floor would have four one-bedroom apartments.
The apartments would be geared toward people who work downtown and want to live close to Chamblin’s Uptown bookstore, restaurants, coffee shops and the Main Library with “walkability to a variety of eating, entertainment and work options,” according to a Downtown Investment Authority summary.
The city’s $1.62 million incentives would be nearly $1.3 million in forgivable loans and about $324,000 for a loan due in 10 years. The developer’s construction budget for the restoration is almost $3 million.
Juliette Balcony would have apartments facing Laura Street
The Cottrills of Avant Construction also own the three-story Juliette Balcony building at 225 N. Laura St. between the Mag’s Cafe building and Chamblin’s Uptown.
The building dates back to 1904 and after it’s renovated, it will have about 1,900 square feet on the ground floor for restaurant or retail use. The building will have a total of eight studio apartments on the second and third floors.
The city’s $2.56 incentive package approved in 2025 by City Council is about $2 million in forgivable loans and a 10-year $512,000 loan. The developer’s construction budget for the renovations is almost $3.8 million.
The building once had a Gus and Company Shoe and Luggage Repair shop on the ground floor but it has been vacant for more than a decade.
Juliette Balcony is on a stretch of Laura Street between James Weldon Johnson Park and Riverfront Plaza that the city envisions becoming a corridor where people stroll day and night with places to eat and shop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Laura Street corner redevelopment in downtown wins millions from city
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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