The Downtown Investment Authority board approved a parking agreement March 16 for Mayo Clinic Jacksonville tied to the medical system’s pending lease with the city for general office, administrative and clinical research in the Ed Ball Building.
Additional documents refer to patients visiting the site.
The board voted 7-0 to sign off on the agreement, which DIA CEO Lori Boyer said will be included in City Council legislation that will finalize Mayo’s lease terms.
The DIA resolution includes the description of the project in 3,072 square feet of ground-floor space in the Ed Ball Building at 214 N. Hogan St. It appears to be the former bank branch.
Boyer said the medical system is not asking the city for a discount or change to the parking rate structure.
“So, their monthly parking rate would be the same monthly parking rate that everyone else pays, and their hourly parking rate for people who come on an hourly basis would be reimbursed at that same rate,” Boyer said.
“They will just have a ticket system whereby they’ll pay us on a monthly basis for all the hourly tickets that were collected.”
The DIA operates and regulates city-owned parking garages and street meters Downtown and is authorized to approve and manage long-term parking agreements and contracts.
Boyer told board members Mayo negotiated the lease terms with the city’s real estate department and the Office of General Counsel drafted the parking agreement.
A public records request for the documents March 14 shows Mayo and the city are considering a five-year lease with an option for two five-year renewals.
Responding to an email about the lease, Mayo Clinic Communications Manager Kevin Punsky said the medical system does “not have any further details to share at this time.”
A Feb. 28 memo from city Public Works Real Estate Division Chief Renee Hunter and Public Works Department Director John Pappas and a draft of the parking agreement describes access for Mayo patients.
“The agreement terms include providing Mayo employees with monthly access cards to the Ed Ball Garage and establishes a parking validation program providing free hourly parking to Mayo patients,” the memo says.
Boyer said Mayo will reimburse those costs to the city each month.
When asked by board members March 14 what the facility will be, Boyer called it “a clinic.”
A bill approving the lease agreement has not been introduced to the Council, but Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Vice President Kent Thielen signed the agreement Jan. 1 and the lease document’s cover page is dated Dec. 30, 2021.
An exhibit attached to the lease shows Mayo will pay $49,152 in rent for the first year, increasing annually to $55,296 by the fifth year of the agreement.
Mayo has been expanding its Florida operations in Jacksonville in recent years because of what the medical system says is increasing patient demand for complex care.
This would be Mayo’s first location in Downtown Jacksonville.