Project Spotlight: The HUB Brooklyn

Look to the future with RPC as we introduce a visionary, multi-use hospitality project and highlight how we’re helping to make it a reality.
Key Takeaways:
- The HUB Brooklyn is a vibrant addition to Jacksonville, set to become a popular destination for locals and visitors.
- RPC General Contractors brings expertise and passion for building restaurants and retail spaces to this standout project.
- We can help turn your vision into reality, whether you’re a seasoned restaurateur or a budding entrepreneur!
Florida has no shortage of places to expand your culinary horizons, from coffee shops and cocktail bars to facilities large enough to blend dining with events.
RPC General Contractors are proud to be an integral part of a special project that combines all these experiences in a single location.
Get ready for the HUB Brooklyn: A mixed-use space planned to open later this year at 400 Riverside Avenue and Forest Street in Downtown Jacksonville, offering several ways to mix food and drink with professional and social events.
RPC was selected as the perfect Jacksonville commercial contractor for the job (and we’re neatly close by with our home office located in the area’s northernmost beach town).
Let’s look ahead at this exciting development and explore how RPC’s extensive restaurant experience will help the HUB Brooklyn realize its unique potential.
The Key Players in The HUB Brooklyn
Conceiving, funding, and realizing a project like this requires a seasoned and diverse team of professionals; one that can combine inspiring concepts with excellence in execution in every area of design and construction.
The HUB Brooklyn can boast:
- Cronk Duch Architecture LLC: The designers of the HUB Brooklyn. Clifford Duch and Joseph Cronk are no strangers to Jacksonville construction, having worked together at the Jacksonville-based Haskell company.
- CD+urban LLC: A Cronk Duch studio and the developers of the HUB Brooklyn, specialists in realizing projects in re-emerging neighborhoods.
- Mark Janasik: Owner of the Restaurant & Hospitality Investment Group (RHIG) and Southern Grounds, a coffee and dining experience that currently has five Florida locations. Mr. Janasik is also a co-developer on the project.
- RPC General Contractors, Inc.: Our second-generation, full-service construction company is the contractor for the HUB Brooklyn, adding our 38 years of experience, vision, and excellence along with our deep knowledge in all areas of restaurant planning and construction.
The team’s pedigree and shared commitment to the highest quality of work is sure to get the HUB Brooklyn off to the best possible start!
A Quick Timeline of The HUB Brooklyn
The final design plans for the three-level HUB were approved back in October 2020 by the Downtown Development Review Board.
Two years later, Mr. Janasik and RHIG secured the 0.21-acre corner lot in Downtown Jacksonville for $285,000.

First, construction permits were issued in early January 2023, with retail enhancement funding being granted in October of that year.
After inspection and pandemic-related delays, the HUB Brooklyn finally broke ground on November 14, 2024, in Downtown Jacksonville.
The goal is to open to the public in Q4 2025.
Your Sneak Peek at the Completed HUB Brooklyn
As one of the expert teams involved in realizing the HUB, RPC can provide an early bird tour of the site.
The unique design of this three-level, mixed-use restaurant will let patrons enjoy:
- Rustic, Aegean-inspired wood-fired food at the Alder & Oak restaurant.
- Beverages and more at the 1,534 square foot Southern Grounds coffee shop with patio space.
- Cocktails and small plates in the rooftop Sky Bar.
- Sweets and savories at the Blueberry Bakery.

The second-floor event area will cover 1,318 square feet, with a further 2,593 square feet of space available outdoors.
The minds behind the HUB want its event spaces to support local initiatives alongside the community’s artists and entrepreneurs.

The HUB Brooklyn will further differentiate itself from the competition by providing more well-shaded outdoor dining spots than the average Florida restaurant, a design feature that will help keep patrons comfortable while promoting energy conservation at the HUB.
Cronk Duch has also expressed its wishes to add further tree canopy shading to the sidewalks as part of its wider commitment to sustainable, organic growth in the Brooklyn community.
Access to the HUB Brooklyn is envisioned to be almost universal, in keeping with its core principle of being an inclusive space. The goal is to allow patrons to walk in or park bikes, cars, and even boats before settling down to enjoy their visit.
The Special Contributions RPC Will Make to the HUB Brooklyn
An important visual aspect of this project is its intent to draw on the Brooklyn area’s architectural heritage by emulating mid-twentieth-century buildings.
You might say it’s sort of an exercise in historical preservation.
Even though the HUB Brooklyn will be a new construction—and thus bypass many of the specialized steps necessary in working with historical buildings—a large part of its purpose is to stand as an oasis of bygone character amid the surrounding urban towers.
We’re already experienced in such history-centric work at RPC, having previously helped bring the historic Saint restaurant successfully into the new millennium while respecting its structural profile, cultural heritage, and future-facing vision.
And the HUB Brooklyn is as forward-looking as it is reminiscent of yesterday’s aesthetic. Again, RPC’s extensive work in diverse restaurant design makes us the perfect construction partner to realize the modern aspects of the HUB while appreciating its nods to the past.
We also understand every moving part of that essential restaurant combination: aesthetics and functionality. From seating to washrooms, floor capacity to kitchen flow, our ability to share a client’s vision while making the practical reality as perfect as possible has repeatedly made us the Florida restauranteur’s contractor of choice.
Thinking About a Commercial Construction Project of Your Own?
We hope this advanced look at the HUB Brooklyn has you just as excited about the project as we are to work on it.
It’s also an inspiring example of how much positivity and investment are being focused on the Jacksonville area’s commercial potential in the coming years.
Are you a restaurant and retail store owner with a vision? If so, it can be a challenge to find Jacksonville commercial contractors you can rely on.
Partner with RPC for your next project and make 2025 your year by sending us a message, giving us a call, or visiting our Atlantic Beach office. We’d love to hear from you!