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Jacksonville St. Johns Town Center growth: from 15 retailers and restaurants to 116

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Similar to Jacksonville’s population size, the St. Johns Town Center has transformed and tripled in size since it first opened.

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The Simon Property Group went from 13 retailers and restaurants in 2005 to now 166 in 2024.

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“From an economic standpoint, we’re very proud to be here and contribute the way we can,” Sean Carroll, General Manager for the St. Johns Town Center, said.

Carroll said as the population continued to grow, so has the retail space. He believes having a flourishing central area of Jacksonville makes it more enticing for businesses and corporations to come to the River City.

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“Our tenant mix has also gotten phenomenally better over the last couple years,” Carroll said. “We’ve had some great additions.”

The latest addition: the AC Hotel Jacksonville St. Johns Town Center. The four-story hotel, the Marriott property had 118 rooms.

“We started 2018-2019 with planning and approval and kind of the starting phases with developments,” Hope Jenkins said. “[We] went through a pandemic and broke ground finally.”

Hope Jenkins is the General Manager for the new Marriott property. It’s been a highly anticipated hotel with the planning dating back six years. Construction took slightly longer because of the pandemic. But, the hotel officially opened to guests on March 6.

It has a fully-stocked bar and full menu, along with a state-of-the-art fitness enter and pool. Jenkins welcomes both guests and anyone shopping in the Town Center to stop by and enjoy the lobby area.

“I’m really excited to see everything continue to evolve,” Carroll said.

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