June 2025 | Vanessa Caceres
The commercial real estate development firm Gateway Jax is planning to restore a historic hotel as part of its Pearl Square project, a multiuse development in Jacksonville’s urban core.
The Ambassador Hotel, located at 420 North Julia Street, originally opened in 1924 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1980s. However, the hotel has been vacant since 1998, when it was condemned due to disrepair.
It will become an upscale hotel in partnership with The Indigo Road Hospitality Group of Charleston, S.C.
The hotel will include about 100 rooms, a high-end bar and restaurant, conference space and a 487-space parking garage. It’s expected to open in 2027.
The hotel and several nearby land parcels, purchased in March for $17 million, will be part of the creation of an “18- hour” live-work-play environment for visitors, residents and businesses, along with a high-end hospitality experience, says Bryan Moll, CEO of Gateway Jax.
Pearl Square, Gateway Jax’s inaugural $750-million capital investment located at 515 Pearl Street, will span eight blocks and feature grocery-anchored retail and restaurant space, widened sidewalks, parks and 1,250 new residential units. The developer broke ground last October and had three floors of concrete poured by March. It’s slated to be ready next year.
Gateway Jax is expected to be a $2-billion capital investment spanning 25 blocks over the next 10 years. The firm was started by DLP Capital of St. Augustine and JWB Real Estate Capital of Jacksonville.
Indigo Road specializes in restaurants and hotels, including O-Ku in Jacksonville Beach as well as the upcoming Oak Steakhouse in downtown Jacksonville. It often brings its hotels and restaurants to urban redevelopment areas, such as Atlanta and Raleigh, N.C.
“In the next two to three years, this neighborhood will see a revitalization similar to what has happened in many other markets where we operate,” says Indigo founder and chief vision officer Steve Palmer.
Although Gateway Jax hasn’t yet committed to other hotel projects, they can’t be ruled out either.