If there's an "it" place to live, work and play, it's Tinseltown/Town Center, especially the area known as Tinseltown, located near the intersection of Southside Boulevard and Gate Parkway. The latest up and coming section of Jacksonville has blossomed into a dynamic shopping, dining and business center with lots of apartments and condos, giving this area a younger demographic than the more established Southside areas to the south and east. It's also home to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida's massive headquarters, and the closely neighboring corporate campuses of Merrill Lynch and Chase.
The Tinseltown center is all-inclusive: Movie Theater, restaurants, specialty shops and thriving nightlife. Right across Gate Parkway, there's Tapestry Park, the area's newest village-like development, built in 2008 with a quaint cobblestone main street. Tapestry Park has become the destination for those looking for upscale apartment living, and luxury condos, as well as a passion and taste for discriminiting cuisine such as the Three Forks Restaurant and the Lime Leaf Thai restaurant. Many condos are situated over the retail businesses, giving it the feel of a small urban oasis, just minutes from everything.
The crown jewel of Jacksonville shopping and dining is the St. Johns Town Center minutes from Tinseltown. The Town Center is a 1.1 million-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center offering a gazillion retail, residential, hotel and dining choices, from mid-point to high end. Tiffany's, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers, you name it we have it. Restaurants everywhere: Maggianos, Capitol Grille, Cheesecake Factory, J. Alexander's, Mitchell's Seafood, Seasons 52 and many, many others. Right across highway 9A from the Town Center is one of Florida's most prominent public four year institutions, the University of North Florida.