The plans to renovate the historic Ambassador Hotel in the north core of downtown are slated for a final review of the city next week.
The Downtown Development Review Board could discuss the $ 17.6 million renovation of the 98-year-old building at 420 N. Julia St.
In a report released on July 8, DDRB officials recommended the nine-member panel to approve the design, which does not alter the overall look of the hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Due to the historical classification of the building, the facade of the existing building will not be changed,” says the report.
AXIS Hotels plans to convert the property into a 127-room TRYP by Wyndham, though the employee report released July 8 shows the project as the previously announced LaQuinta Inn & Suites.
Steve Kelley, director of the Downtown Investment Authority for Downtown Real Estate Development, said on July 9th that AXIS had secured funding for the project through June 30th, meeting the deadline set by the DIA board of directors to complete the project contract with the Dissolve city.
A survey of the renovated Ambassador Hotel. It is now planned to be a TRYP by Wyndham.
The Board of Directors voted 7-0 on June 16 to give AXIS Hotels until June 30 to complete a $ 9 million mortgage that the company is negotiating with Direct Lending Partners of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
AXIS must commence the project by July 31st to keep its $ 1.5 million grant from the city trust fund for downtown preservation and revitalization.
The city council has yet to pass a law approving the extension of the development agreement.
The National Park Service, which regulates the restoration of buildings as national historic sites, approved the Ambassador project and awarded AXIS Hotels a Certificate of Appropriateness, according to the employee report.
The report states that the certificate relates only to the exterior work and the interior plans for the corridors and ceiling are pending approval by the National Park Service.
A picture of the historic Ambassador Hotel in the Downtown Development Review Board’s employee report.
In June 2019, the GDRB granted the project conceptual approval.
The hotel was completed in 1923 for $ 300,000 and was described as “Jacksonville’s first major downtown apartment building” in 1924, according to the staff report.
It was renamed the Ambassador Hotel in 1955 and received the National Historic Award in 1983.
AXIS subsidiary Augustine Development Group LLC is planning the redevelopment and restoration of three designated historic buildings, including the Ambassador, in a two-block area of the North Core.
Augustine Development is working through its subsidiary PEP10 LLC on a US $ 30 million 135-unit apartment retrofit for the 19-story former Independent Life Tower at 233 W. Duval St.
The third project proposed by subsidiary AXIS 404 Julia LLC would convert the 1950s central bank building at 404 N. Julia St. into the lobby of an eight-story 139-unit apartment building.
The three developments would share a parking garage with 487 spaces and provide space for the nearby Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department headquarters.
Augustine Development President Bryan Greiner did not respond to emails regarding the status of the project.
The north side of the Ambassador Hotel.
