A square, reimagined
The story of how downtown Jacksonville's historic square is becoming a curated dining, shopping, and entertainment destination.
From fragmented buildings to one destination
The District began with a simple observation: downtown Jacksonville had good bones and a great square — but its buildings were working against one another. Older structures sat fragmented, leased one at a time, with no shared vision, no consistent standard of quality, and no real reason for a visitor to stay longer than a single errand.
The District changes that. We're repositioning a cluster of those buildings and reintroducing them as one cohesive destination: a single identity, a consistent standard, and a walkable experience designed end to end.
The goal was never simply a development. It's a place — somewhere people choose to spend an evening, a Saturday, a weekend.
"We'd rather hold a space for the right fit than fill it with the wrong one."
The District — Curation Principle
Curation is the whole idea. A square only works when its concepts complement one another — when a coffee shop sends people to the bookstore, when dinner leads to the rooftop, when a maker's studio gives the street its energy.
So The District is assembled deliberately. Every tenant is chosen for how it adds to the whole: foot traffic that's shared, not fought over; quality that's consistent, storefront to storefront; and a mix built to last well beyond opening day. Patience now, in service of a place that's genuinely good for decades.
A growing footprint on the square
The District is assembling a whole cluster of downtown buildings — 28,000 SF owned today, with another 37,000 SF under contract or in negotiation — into one walkable destination for dining, retail, beauty, and boutique hospitality.
- 65K+
- SF Footprint & Growing
- 19
- Spaces Now Leasing
- 96
- Parking (+400 Planned)
- 30+
- Boutique Hotel Suites
How The District comes together
A phased, deliberate rollout — built so the square gains energy with every stage rather than waiting on a single grand reveal.
Open now — the first building
Tulip Café, The Lounge Salon, and the first boutique hotel suites are open and welcoming guests today.
Leasing now — 19 spaces
Restaurant, retail, and creative spaces are leasing across the District, delivered whitebox-ready.
Fall 2026 — the next phase
The next wave of storefronts and seven more hotel suites open on the square.
Beyond — a living district
More buildings, 30+ hotel suites, 400+ added parking spaces, and ongoing programming keep The District growing.
Sonderman
The District is developed by Sonderman, a real-estate development group focused on repositioning overlooked properties into places of lasting value. Sonderman leads the acquisition, design, construction, and tenant curation behind The District.
Investors & capital partners. This site is for visitors and prospective tenants. Project-level and fund-level investment information is maintained separately by the development team at Sonderman.com.
Frequently asked questions
Be part of The District
Whether you want to visit, lease a space, or partner on what comes next — the square is just getting started.