An early twentieth century view of the Laura Road Trio. | State Archives of Florida
The three buildings making up the Laura Road Trio date to the years of Jacksonville’s rebirth after the Nice Hearth of 1901. The oldest is the Florida Nationwide Financial institution constructing (the Marble Financial institution), situated on the nook of Laura Road and Forsyth Road, which opened in 1902. It’s flanked by two Prairie College highrises designed by legendary Jacksonville architect Henry John Klutho, the Bisbee Constructing (1909) and the Florida Life Constructing (1912), two of the earliest “skyscrapers” in Florida’s historical past.
The Trio’s significance as a unit is larger than the sum of its components. The buildings’ distinctive configuration and site at one of many busiest and most walkable corners in Downtown Jacksonville makes them a lynchpin to the revival of the town heart Jaxsons have hoped for for many years. Sadly, since being shuttered within the Nineteen Eighties and 90s, the buildings have sat vacant and deteriorating.
Throughout a few years, metropolis authorities leaders, the historic preservation group and the enterprise sector have seen the good potential of the Laura Road Trio and have labored to craft plans that may convey new life to them. In 2002, the town bought the buildings with the intention of transferring them to a developer who may restore them. After they have been again in personal palms, the town continued to work towards redevelopment by authorizing a collection of beneficiant and forward-thinking incentives packages.
In 2010, developer Steve Atkins and Southeastern Group introduced the primary of many proposals that – with substantial funding from the Metropolis of Jacksonville – wouldn’t solely save and restore the Trio, however the close by Barnett constructing, and assemble new buildings and a parking storage throughout Forsyth Road serving the entire venture. City core advocates, The Jaxson included, have been optimistic.
The Forsyth Road parking storage was developed by VyStar Credit score Union.
Atkins finalized buy of the properties in 2013, however many of the promised redevelopment has by no means materialized. The Barnett was the primary section to start out, helped alongside by a $3 million mortgage from Jaguars proprietor Shad Khan’s Stache Investments. That partnership led to foreclosures in 2015 after two years of failed begins. The Barnett venture lastly bought off the bottom when the Metropolis of Jacksonville pumped $9.8 million in incentives into it, and it opened finally in September 2019. 5 years later, it stays the one a part of the broader venture that SouthEast Growth Group has accomplished.
Comparable points plagued the mixed-use parking storage on Forsyth Road that was deliberate to serve the Barnett, Laura Road Trio and the brand new buildings. SouthEast’s improvement settlement mentioned the storage should attain substantial completion inside three months of the Barnett, however no work had begun by the point the Barnett opened. The Downtown Growth Authority board partially terminated the settlement and VyStar Credit score Union stepped in to construct the storage, which opened in 2023, with some areas reserved for potential future use by the opposite buildings. Within the meantime, SouthEast turned its efforts to the Laura Road Trio.