Dasher Hurst Architects

03/25/2026

Dasher Hurst was thrilled to attend the grand opening of the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens new entrance and manatee exhibit—marking the culmination of nearly five years of vision and leadership by Glenn Dasher from Dasher Hurst and Cullen Richart from the Jacksonville Zoo.
The project reimagines the visitor arrival experience, anchored by a new manatee exhibit at the heart of the entry sequence. Guests are welcomed through an expansive plaza shaded by a sculptural, sail-cloth canopy, creating a memorable and dynamic first impression.
The new entrance is framed by expanded amenities, including retail and event spaces to the north and a new foodservice facility to the south—enhancing the zoo’s capacity to serve both daily visitors and private events.
This transformative project was led by Dasher Hurst Architects in collaboration with:
• Danis Construction
• Prime AE (Civil & Landscape Engineering)
• Keister Webb Engineering (Structural Engineering)
• Powell & Hinkle Engineering (MEP Engineering)

We’re honored that the project received the 2024 AIA Jacksonville Chapter Design Excellence Award

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween from Dasher Hurst!

10/30/2025

10/30/2025

DHA has had the privilege of partnering with Clay County over the past several years on a wide range of civic projects. In anticipation of significant population growth driven by the new Outer Beltway, the County launched an initiative to enhance emergency response times and better serve its residents.

As part of this effort, DHA has designed two new fire stations, with four additional stations currently in development. The first of these, Fire Station 20, was completed in June 2025 by Ajax Building Company and is located along SR 16 in Green Cove Springs. The 19,000-square-foot facility accommodates five apparatus bays and provides living quarters for 15 firefighters per shift.

Designed with functionality, resilience, and community in mind, the building includes a training room accessible to all County staff, a commercial-grade kitchen featuring durable stainless-steel cabinetry, and a dedicated fire tower that allows firefighters to train for multi-story rescue operations.

A particularly meaningful element of Fire Station 20 is its memorial plaza, which features structural steel artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center in New York City. These pieces are thoughtfully preserved and displayed in honor of the first responders who heroically gave their lives on September 11, 2001.

09/30/2025

Dasher Hurst was honored to receive four awards at the AIA Jacksonville Awards Gala earlier this month. In fact, we won two of only four Awards of Excellence given out at the ceremony!
KLS Martin Manufacturing Bldg: Award of Excellence
Union Terminal Warehouse: Award of Excellence
KLS Martin Monument Stair: Craftsmanship Award
Julia Epstein: John Dyal Award

We're so proud that Julia Epstein has been recognized with the John Dyal Award for leadership and service to the Chapter. Her enthusiasm for the profession and boundless energy is inspirational to everyone in our firm and the chapter. Way to go Julia!

03/13/2025

Construction is really moving quickly on the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens new entrance! I can't wait to see them set the curved acrylic panels for the Manatee Pools later this month!

This project began design in 2021, with construction kicking off in 2024.
The ambitious program of this project includes:
New main visitor's arrival plaza and entrance for the Zoo featuring a large steel overhead canopy
Gift Shop Retail and Administration Building
Commercial Foodservice Facility for Catering & Cafe
New Manatee Exhibit including multiple pools and rehabilitation facility

Construction is expected to be complete in 2025!
Credits:
Danis - Construction Manager
Keister Webb - Structural Engineer
Powell and Hinkle Engineering - MEP Engineers

03/07/2025

It's not every week that we get to attend two ribbon cutting ceremonies for our projects, but this week has been special.

Today, the Union Terminal Warehouse opened it's doors after a six year development effort. This project is an exciting adaptive reuse of a 330,000 square foot five story warehouse, built in 1913. DHA, working with Columbia Ventures, developed a plan to convert the 5 story concrete warehouse into 228 Apartments and 45,000 sf of commercial space. The commercial spaces include office & retail on the ground level, as well as industrial maker spaces in the basement for artists and artisans use.

The project is located at the intersection of Jacksonville's Springfield, Ballpark, OutEast, and Downtown neighborhoods. These types of mixed use projects are special to DHA because of their ability to create a new neighborhood hub that benefits not only its residents, but the greater community as a whole.

Congrats to all involved including:

Atlantic Engineering Serviecs (Structural Engineering)
IMEG Corp., formerly McVeigh & Mangum Engineering (MEP Engineering)
Winter Park Construction

03/04/2025

After four years in development, DHA was very excited to attend the ribbon cutting today for the Riverside Presbyterian Day School's (RPDS) new Mary Lou Davis Family Life Center! This project is special to Dasher Hurst since it is located steps away from our office in the 5 Points neighborhood.
The building contains a new gymnasium, and a new gateway feature was constructed to signify the front door to the campus.
We also re-oriented the outdoor play fields to create a new full size flag football field and running track!
It's a lot of fun to see the kids get so excited about their new facility!
Credits:
Crabtree Construction
IMEG Corp., formerly McVeigh & Mangum Engineering (SMEP Engineering)
Goodson Bergen (Civil Engineering)

04/05/2024

It's a good thing they provided instructions!

04/05/2024

Today was Substantial Completion day for the Clay County Knowles Pit Public Works Building. It was a pleasure working with the County (Gene Price & Daniel Loos) and with Thomas May Construction! The punchlist was very minimal, a sign of a job well done!

04/05/2024

It was an exciting day at our Episcopal School of Jacksonville project! This past Thursday, Dasher Hurst Architects was able to tour the soon to be Center for Science and Student Life for the school. This new three-story facility will host a new dining hall, state of the art kitchen, advanced science and technology STEAM labs, and an executive meeting room equipped with the latest technology. We cannot wait to see this one finished up!