Committee backs Hilton hotel for College Park
- A city committee voted to recommend rezoning to allow a Hilton-brand hotel in the College Park neighborhood. - The Land Use and Zoning Committee approved ordinance 2026-0170 6-0 on April 21, with Rahman Johnson absent. - If the full council OKs it, the project could spur development and traffic changes in College Park (jaxdailyrecord.com).
A Jacksonville City Council committee moved a Hilton-brand hotel one step closer to College Park on April 21, backing a rezoning for the Arlington site. (jaxdailyrecord.com) The Land Use and Zoning Committee voted 6-0 to recommend Ordinance 2026-0170, with member Rahman Johnson away from the dais. The measure now goes to the full City Council. (jaxdailyrecord.com) The proposal would modify a 2021 Planned Unit Development, or PUD, at 903 University Blvd. N. to allow a hotel with up to 110 units on two outparcels at College Park. In Jacksonville zoning, a PUD is a custom rulebook for one property instead of a standard zoning category. (jaxdailyrecord.com, jacksonville.gov) JWB Real Estate Capital President Alex Sifakis said the planned flag is LivSmart Studios, a Hilton extended-stay brand. Hilton describes LivSmart Studios as apartment-style lodging aimed at guests staying 20 nights or more. (jaxdailyrecord.com) The hotel plan adds to a larger remake of the former Town & Country Shopping Center, a 1950s-era retail center at University Boulevard and Arlington Expressway. JWB bought the 18.27-acre property in August 2019 for about $5.1 million and later renamed it College Park. (jaxdailyrecord.com, jaxdailyrecord.com) The shopping center underwent a $3 million renovation in 2020, and Winn-Dixie opened there in September 2023. Jax Daily Record has described the project as part of Arlington’s “gateway,” and a 2024 project profile said the redeveloped center totals about 189,000 square feet. (jaxdailyrecord.com, jaxdailyrecord.com, jaxdailyrecord.com) Site plans attached to the rezoning show more than the hotel: a separate food hall building next to it and another future outparcel along University Boulevard. Earlier College Park concepts also included public open space and food-court uses on the property. (jaxdailyrecord.com, jaxdailyrecord.com) The Jacksonville Planning Commission already recommended approval on April 9 by a 7-0 vote, with commissioners Amy Fu and Ali Marar absent. A JEA service-availability letter for the project was issued in August 2025, which indicates utility capacity was being reviewed but not that construction was approved. (jaxdailyrecord.com) If the full council signs off, the rezoning would clear the land-use step for a hotel at one of Arlington’s busiest commercial intersections. The vote would not, by itself, mean rooms are ready to open. (jaxdailyrecord.com, jaxdailyrecord.com)
