Opportunity Zone in Jacksonville is site of bank-financed apartment development

Two developers announced plans to build 486 apartments in Jacksonville on a nine-acre site in an Opportunity Zone.

Arlington, Virginia-based EJF Capital LLC and Jacksonville-based Chance Partners plan to start construction of the $86 million project in the third quarter and open the property in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The developers will cover construction costs with $51 million of financing from Ameris Bank with participation from Stifel Bank.

The three-parcel development site near downtown Jacksonville and the city’s Southbank area is part of an area certified as an Opportunity Zone under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The location of the two-building apartment project, called San Marco Crossings, is on the outskirts of the historic San Marco area of Jacksonville.

Another appeal of the location is its proximity to more than 23,000 health care jobs that pay an average annual salary of $63,000.

“Jacksonville is resilient real estate market that has exhibited favorable demographic trends and a strong business climate,” Asheel Shah, senior managing director of EJF Capital, said in a prepared statement.

Since 2010, the population of Jacksonville has grown 12 percent, which is faster than Atlanta, Miami or Tampa-St. Petersburg, EJF Capital said in press release. – Mike Seemuth