The Laura Street Trio changed hands for $125,000
Plus a five-month squeeze on the Main Street Bridge starting Aug. 24.
Downtown's most stubborn empty buildings finally have a buyer, and the price is going to start arguments. School is back, the Main Street Bridge is about to shrink, and a grocery chain wants to sell you gas.
The long-vacant Laura Street Trio has changed hands, and the price is the part that stings. Becovic Management Group, an Indiana developer, won the downtown property at a foreclosure auction for $125,000. That is less than a starter house in most of Duval County. The buildings have sat empty for years. Now they belong to an out-of-state company that most people here cannot name. Nothing has been announced about what comes next for the site. If you have ever had an opinion about those buildings, you are not alone. This is the week to start watching again.
Florida will refund sales tax on impact windows and doors
Florida will give some of your sales tax back if you harden your house. The refund covers impact-resistant windows, doors and garage doors on eligible homes. Purchases from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029 qualify. Your home has to be site-built, carry a homestead exemption, and have a just value of $700,000 or less. One property per owner, and the refund is capped at $500. You will not see it at the register. You claim it afterward with the state forms and your receipts. The window to file runs through September 30, 2029.
Nearly 500 families packed a back-to-school giveaway on New Kings Road
Duval County classrooms opened Monday, and a lot of families got a running start on Saturday. Saint Paul A.M.E. Church on New Kings Road drew nearly 500 families to its annual Back-to-School Bash. The giveaway handed out free backpacks and school supplies. There were free haircuts too, which is the detail that tells you someone was paying attention. A fresh cut on the first day matters more than any adult wants to admit. Nearly 500 families is a serious number for a single church event. It is also a decent measure of what August costs around here.
Harris Teeter wants a gas station on Atlantic Boulevard
Harris Teeter wants to sell you gas along with your groceries. The chain is in permitting for a fuel center near its Jacksonville store on Atlantic Boulevard. That store is still under construction. The fuel center is only in permitting, so nothing is pumping yet. Grocery gas is a familiar play, and it changes how a corner moves fast. If you drive Atlantic Boulevard, this is one more reason that stretch will look different in a year. For now it is paperwork working its way through the city.
The AC Hotel downtown clears another review
Downtown is one step closer to another hotel. The city is reviewing plans for the parking structure of the AC Hotel by Marriott. The project has two buildings, and the garage is the piece in front of the city now. Parking reviews are not glamorous. They are also the boring paperwork that decides whether a project moves or stalls. Nothing is built yet, and nothing has opened. But a two-building hotel plan working through city review is real movement for that block.
United Rigging is being folded into CERTEX USA
A Jacksonville company just got bought, and the name on the door is changing. United Rigging has been acquired by Ascent Lifting. The two maritime and industrial supply companies will merge under the CERTEX USA brand. That is not a headline most people will notice over coffee. It should be. Rigging and lifting supply is port work, and port work is Jacksonville work. The port economy is a big part of how this city pays its bills. So a local name folding into a national brand counts as local news.
Main Street Bridge drops to one lane on Aug. 24
Your downtown commute is about to get slower. Starting Aug. 24, the Main Street Bridge drops to one lane heading south. Riverfront Plaza construction is the reason, and the squeeze could last up to five months. Five months is not a weekend detour. That covers the rest of summer, all of fall, and part of the holidays. The work starts on a Monday morning, which is its own kind of welcome. Southbound drivers should find a backup route this week. Figuring it out in traffic on Aug. 24 will be a lot less fun.