One of Jacksonville Beach's most enduring landmarks may be on the verge of a dramatic second act.

A Jacksonville-based real estate development firm has stepped forward with ambitious plans to breathe new life into the century-old Casa Marina Hotel, a property that has anchored the beachfront community since the mid-1920s.

The Casa Marina Hotel redevelopment effort is being led by a firm with deep roots in Northeast Florida, one that has signaled its intent to honor the building's storied past while positioning it for the next hundred years.

The announcement carries real weight in a city that has watched its historic fabric erode under the pressure of rapid modernization.

Officials confirmed the development group plans to acquire the hotel from its current owner, who purchased the property more than two decades ago.

The vision for the Casa Marina Hotel centers on historic hotel preservation — keeping the character and soul of the original structure intact while layering in updated amenities that today's travelers expect.

It is a delicate balance that few developers manage to strike without sacrificing one for the other.

The hotel, located at the southern edge of Jacksonville Beach's First Street corridor, is expected to temporarily close at the start of 2026 as redevelopment work gets underway.

But the scope of the project extends well beyond the hotel itself.

Across the street, a five-story mixed-use development is planned for a roughly one-acre site in the Town Center district, a corner that has long been considered underutilized given its proximity to the beach.

That building would include ground-floor retail space, a parking structure, and additional surface parking — with the upper four floors reserved for either roughly three dozen condominiums or a hotel with more than a hundred rooms.

The choice between condos and a hotel will likely define how the block feels for decades to come.

Rezoning conditions tied to the project prohibit standalone bars, lounges, or nightclubs from occupying the retail space, though a licensed hotel operation would still be permitted to include a bar within its restaurant.

The project team assembled for this effort includes architecture firms, hospitality management specialists, and legal counsel — a lineup that signals the seriousness of the undertaking.

Jacksonville Beach is no stranger to development momentum right now, with hundreds of millions of dollars in mixed-use projects reshaping former commercial sites across the city.

The Casa Marina redevelopment stands apart from those efforts precisely because it isn't starting from scratch.

Preserving a building that has been part of the community's identity for nearly a century demands a different kind of care — and a longer view of what Jacksonville Beach is meant to become.

Local leaders and residents will be watching closely as the project moves from announcement to groundbreaking, with many hoping this becomes a model for thoughtful, community-centered growth along the First Coast.