EJF Capital JV Breaks Ground on Multifamily Property in Jacksonville Opportunity Zone
A joint venture between EJF Capital LLC and Chance Partners LLC have broken ground on their multifamily development, The Jack on Beach in Jacksonville, Florida.
A joint venture between EJF Capital LLC and Chance Partners LLC have broken ground on their multifamily development, The Jack on Beach, a 295-unit community consisting of three, four-story buildings located in the St. Nicholas neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida.
The Jack, which spans nearly 10 acres in a qualified opportunity zone, will include more than 400 parking spaces and is expected to be completed in 2024. Synovus Bank is providing $43 million in construction financing for the project.
Opportunity zones were created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to spur long-term private investments in lower income areas by providing potentially significant tax benefits to investors.
The property will include smart home technology with keyless entry, WIFI thermostats, 1G high-speed internet, Energy Star rated appliances, and smart key access control to buildings, garages, and homes. The Jack’s amenity package will have co-working spaces, indoor and outdoor social areas, an outdoor pool and sundeck, a 24/7 fitness center, a dog park and pet spa, and a bike pavilion with a branded bike share program.
“The Jack is another transformative project in an opportunity zone that will meet strong demand for housing in the rapidly growing Jacksonville market,” said Asheel Shah, EJF’s senior managing director and head of real estate development. “EJF and Chance Partners see in Jacksonville a market that continues to attract talent from a variety of industries as they grow, ranging from healthcare and aerospace to leisure and hospitality.”
The Jack will be the fourth project in Jacksonville developed by Chance and EJF, following the opening of San Marco Promenade in 2019, The Exchange and Barlow in 2021, and Eastborough, which will open in early 2023. Each of the developments provide housing for the local workforce in Jacksonville’s St. Nicholas and San Marco neighborhoods.
“We are committed to revitalizing neighborhoods and ensuring that Jacksonville residents have safe, walkable communities close to shopping and other amenities,” said Jeff Rosen, principal with Chance Partners. “There’s such a diversity of communities, businesses, and service sectors in this city. The Jack is not only ideally located near the Baptist Medical Center and Wolfson Children’s Hospital, but will also provide housing for the local workforce of major employers in Jacksonville’s growing financial services, advanced transportation, logistics, biomedical, and manufacturing industries, as well as the military.”
The project team for the development includes general contractor The FaverGray Company, architect Dynamik Design Partners, civil engineer Kimley-Horn, and Pittman Landscape Architecture.
Chance Partners is a real estate firm specializing in the acquisition and development of infill, multifamily and mixed-use communities. Since 2010, the company has developed or purchased more than $800 million of assets ranging from multifamily and student housing to hospitality and retail in walkable locations throughout the Southeast.
EJF Capital LLC is an alternative asset management firm headquartered outside of Washington, D.C. that manages approximately $4.4 billion across a group of alternative asset strategies, as of June 30, 2022. Since inception, the firm has focused on regulatory event-driven investment themes including its strategy to invest in qualified opportunity zones.
