Development plan unveiled for Jacksonville's Southbank

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- At a property on the Southbank, Jacksonville's skyline will change and the developer of what used to be called Healthy Town hopes the lifestyle will too.

It's the latest planned community hoping to attract a certain group of people. The plan is to extend the Riverwalk in a bid to invite people not only to live and play downtown but also to be active while they do it.

"If there's anything that 25-year-old's and 75-year-old's have in common, it's an interest in being healthy," said Peter Rummell, who's developing The District, a community previously dubbed Healthy Town, a property that will emphasize healthy living.

"The secret to it is physically we're building places where you can exercise, like the board walk. But the other secret is what I call software or programming," said Rummell. "It means whether your definition of health is walking on the boardwalk or doing 100 crunches, they'll be a way you can do that."

The project sits on an old JEA coal utility plant cleared of its industrial past. Rummell says it's in vogue to take huge swathes of land and develop communities with specific purposes.

"75 years ago, Riverside just kind of happened because the city got to that point and it just kind of grew one street at a time," he said. "But now there are people with the financial capability and wherewithal to put a couple thousand acres together and do something methodical. The best examples of that are places like Nocatee."

Nocatee in north St. Johns County is booming with homes and schools designed for young families.

Seaside in the Florida Panhandle created a classic coastal oceanfront community. Similarly, Celebration in Orlando caters to the magic of Disney.

"This idea of health combined with multi-generational living is something nobody has done," Rummell said.

Rummel says construction is expected to start in March.

"Five years from now when you want to meet somebody after work, you'll say, 'Let's just go to The District.'"

And when you do, he says you'll get a new kind of life downtown.

If everything stays on schedule, the first residents will move in within two years. Rummell says properties will range from affordable rental spaces to million dollar penthouse condos.

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