The upscale
310 West Church Street Apartments in 1924. Designed by
Hentz, Reid and Adler architects, the six-story brick building was constructed in the
Georgian Revival architectural style, with
Beaux-Arts elements, in an "H"-shape to provide windows in all of the units. The main entrance is fronted by large rusticated ashlar stonework, set with a scroll keystone. In 1970, the hotel was purchased by Sam Easton, later a principal in the Jacksonville real estate firm Easton Sanderson & Company. Over the years the hotel fell into disrepair, as Jacksonville's downtown went into decline. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was converted into a low-rent
single room occupancy hotel, with rooms rented by the week, and finally closed in 1998. Gateway Jax Inc. bought the building and the rest of the block, including the adjacent Central National Bank building in February 2025 for $17 million. In April 2026, Gateway announced plans to renovate the Ambassador as a boutique hotel, at a cost of $50 million. They renamed the property the
Hotel Merrydelle, after local artist Merrydelle Hoyt. They plan to reopen the hotel in 2027, as part of Marriott's Tribute Portfolio brand. ==References==