Past Meets Present: Union Terminal Warehouse Now Home to 228 New Apartments

Recycle-reuse-repurpose has become a mantra for many. The recently completed massive overhaul of a 1913 warehouse brings hip, urban energy and unique new loft apartments to downtown Jacksonville, Florida.

Union Terminal Warehouse (UTW) has been upcycled, updated, and upgraded. Ryan Akin, Development Manager and Partner with Atlanta-based Columbia Development, led the years-long revival of the historic property. He explains factors that drive redevelopments like Union Terminal Warehouse.

“It results from assets whose value has depreciated due to a change in users or uses,” says Akin. He shares that redeveloping a property to its current highest and best use is the path to return on investment.

Once known as the largest warehouse building in Jacksonville, the 330,000-square foot, four-story Union Terminal Warehouse was the ideal blank canvas for multifamily rental redevelopment. The $73 million project spanned about six years, resulting in a total of 228 apartments as well as a variety of creative and commercial spaces.

Union Terminal Warehouse is a standout in a sea of boring, ‘vanilla box’ apartments that are all virtually identical. Apartment homes at Union Terminal Warehouse are anything but cookie-cutter.

“You can go into a stick-frame apartment building just about anywhere in Jacksonville, walk into an apartment and do a 360-view,” Akin says. “If you didn’t have any windows to see what the context was, you could be anywhere in the southeast because it just looks the same.”

“When you come to a building like Union Terminal Warehouse, it’s unmistakably different, irreplaceable, and unique. It has a story and a past, and an authenticity that oozes out of the walls that you just don’t get when you walk into a ground-up, new development,” explains Akin.

Offering the “ultimate urban living,” UTW blends abundant amenities with artistry. Thanks to preserving some of the historic design elements throughout, each apartment is uniquely unique. The inspiring setting holds great appeal.

“No two apartment units are the same here,” Akin says.

The developer also wants residents to know that even though the building is historic, all systems are new: mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. UTW has a new roof, too, but the windows are particularly noteworthy. Units are bathed in abundant natural light thanks to the walls of windows.

“The windows were a huge component of this building,” Akin recalls. “Restoring them to an architecturally accurate historic replica meant they had to be custom-made.”

He says they are aluminum but fabricated to resemble the old, wood windows found in the 1913 warehouse. Every UTW unit has “at least one of these giant windows; corner units are surrounded by them,” Akin adds, noting the energy efficiency of the new double-pane windows.

Akin wants residents to understand the benefits of the marriage between the storied past and the modern present. Even though the UTW building shell is original, everything inside has been made modern.

“It’s a highly amenitized, Class A apartment building,” notes Akin. “It has old walls, floors, and ceilings, but everything else is new.”

“It’s important for residents to know it’s a safe environment for them to live and occupy,” he adds, meaning things that plague old properties, like lead pipes, aren’t found at UTW.

With a variety of sizes, square footages, and an astounding 34 floor plans, UTW is big on renter options.

“I’d say there are 228 floor plans,” laughs Akin, speaking to the nuanced differences between identical apartment types.

Available UTW apartments range from studio to three-bedroom units. Studio apartments measure from 539 to 688 square feet. One-bedrooms range from 620 to 750 square feet. A two-bedroom spans 925 to 1,332 square feet, and the largest is the three-bedroom, coming in at 1,350 to 1,521 square feet.

Union Terminal Warehouse held its official ribbon cutting in early March 2025. The first UTW residential occupant moved in just prior to the celebration and grand re-opening. Currently, UTW is approximately 40% occupied, meaning potential residents still have the opportunity to lease brand new, never-occupied units.

Pegasus Residential is the on-site leasing arm of Union Terminal Warehouse, with an office on the first floor. Property tours can be self-scheduled online at https://www.utwjax.com/. Photos, Availability, Move-in specials, incentives and more may also be found on their listing on ApartmentHomeLiving.com.

For those who can’t get there in person, Matterport virtual tours are also available, offering potential renters a walk through the space with full 360-degree views from floors to high ceilings.

Billed as “luxury lofts,” these homes go beyond the cool factor. They are steeped in desirable features and amenities.

UTW apartments have open, contemporary layouts with soaring ceilings from nine to 12 feet. In-unit appliances include a washer and dryer. Kitchens are the stuff of HGTV dreams: tile backsplash, quartz countertops, stainless steel sink with disposal. A microwave, dishwasher, and range oven complete the kitchen appliance package.

Bedrooms are spacious and include walk-in closets. Sealed concrete floors, USB charging ports, a living room ceiling fan, and roller shades for the large, impressive windows are also found in UTW homes. Ground floor units enjoy walk-out porches.

Ideal for creatives and those seeking a live/work environment, UTW also has commercial spaces on site. Like the residential units, they are completely modernized yet retain the character of yesteryear. A charming red rooftop water tower remains, both a striking visual and a nod to its history.

Union Terminal Station residents also enjoy a variety of community amenities. City views abound on the rooftop terrace with grill station. Work it off at the on-site fitness facility. Technology-friendly, UTW has Wi-Fi, a podcast studio, telecom rooms on each floor, site security including cameras and access control, and electric vehicle charging stations. There’s also an off-leash park for pups, access to Hogan’s Creek, a DIY shop space, lounge, catering kitchen, bike storage, and much more.

Intentionally designed with affordability in mind, Union Terminal Warehouse is considered workforce housing. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan called UTW “a pure mixed-income housing development that will offer affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing for our community.”

Akin explains while affordability is subjective, there are definitions for such set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These are specific to the Area Median Income (AMI) of Duval County, home of Union Terminal Warehouse. HUD defines affordable housing as spending less than 30% of income on housing.

Union Terminal Warehouse enjoys a designation as a local landmark for the City of Jacksonville. Akin says it is also on the National Register of Historic Places. More than just bragging rights, this translates to savings for renters.

“The (UTW) project benefited from financial incentives that reduced the amount of additional capital that had to be contributed,” Akin explains. “Ultimately, that finds its way to having lower rents than would otherwise be necessary to restore a building like this.”

The local landmark designation came with a 10-year real estate tax exemption, reducing the tax liability for a decade, another thing that helps allow lower rents, according to Akin.

Union Terminal Warehouse has that all-important real estate factor: location, location, location! These downtown Jacksonville loft apartments enjoy easy access and proximity to city amenities and communities.

Located at 700 East Union Street in Jacksonville, Florida, UTW is central to many areas around downtown Jax, as the locals call it.

Akin explains that UTW has a residential district to its north. The central business district is to the west. To the east is the stadium district, and to the south is the St. John’s River and riverfront area.

Akin notes a prized UTW amenity that eludes many other city apartments: parking. Thanks to its warehouse history, Union Terminal Warehouse has abundant surface parking, a convenience for residents.

Columbia Ventures has plans to develop another multi-family apartment property as a neighbor to UTW. That project will be ground-up construction with more workforce housing as the goal, per Akin. The timeline is to be determined.