Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla

Jacksonville, Florida

Michael Baker, as part of a joint venture team, provided design services for a state-of-the-art regional transportation center in the LaVilla neighborhood in Jacksonville’s downtown district.

The $57.5 million combined mass transit hub improves the flow of traffic by integrating multiple modes of transportation, including local and regional bus networks, taxis, rental car services, elevated rail service, bike share, car share, and any future rail service. The elevated urban plaza also features a large open area with mixed-use retail opportunity.

The team’s innovative and progressive JRTC design presents a shared vision for a modern transit facility that sets the stage for future development in the area. In addition to uniting transportation entities, the design accommodates and encourages future active modes of transportation. Widened sidewalks and new walking and bike paths linked to the existing roadway system provide convenient access to the JRTC building, surrounding neighborhoods, and nearby historic convention center. In addition, the design includes accommodations for future autonomous vehicle usage.

The functional and full-service design serves thousands of travelers expected to pass by and through the new center each day. The JRTC design introduces the use of guided portals called gateway features to ease traffic congestion by smoothly transitioning a high volume of fast-moving vehicles into a network of neighborhood streets and transit drop-off points. The addition of new gateway features helps to create more predictable traffic flow patterns, allowing for seamless connections to the high capacity I-95 and I-10 systems.

The JV team provided full transit architecture and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design; urban planning; construction administration; civil engineering; transportation engineering; landscape architecture; and site design services.

The regional transportation center was constructed in two phases. The first phase, construction of the 10,000-square-foot Intercity Bus Terminal, was completed in April 2018. The second phase included construction of the 66,000-square-foot JTA Administration Building and was completed at the end of 2019.