Saying the progress of Downtown redevelopment has been “at best, debatable” since the Downtown Investment Authority was created, Jacksonville City Council President Ron Salem is creating a special committee to examine the DIA’s efficacy and explore what other cities have done to revive their downtowns.
In an April 29 memo, Salem says the purpose of the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown is to generate solutions to spur “proper and healthy economic growth.”
“While the variables can be attributed to fluctuations of Downtown, such as market-forces, geo-political shifts or mother-nature herself, the things that the City does have control over, such as Downtown-dedicated resources, time and funds, should be examined,” the memo states.
Council member Kevin Carrico will chair the special committee, which will meet twice a month. Other members include Rory Diamond, vice chair; Joe Carlucci; Reggie Gaffney Jr.; and Chris Miller.
Salem is seeking recommendations from the committee by June 30, adding that he hopes the charge of the panel will be extended by the next Council president. The changeover in the president position takes place on July 1.
In a statement, Mayor Donna Deegan said her office had been working with the DIA to "evaluate its current challenges while also celebrating its successes." She said it was "certainly within the purview of the City Council" to examine Downtown progress and said the matter is "an important conversation we should have as a community."
About the DIA
The CEO of the DIA is Lori Boyer. A former Council member, she began that role in 2019. Her annual salary is $221,550 and her contract expires in June.
The DIA was created in August 2012 when the Council enacted the Downtown Investment Authority Act. The legislation established the DIA as the sole public economic development agency for Downtown and the overseeing agency for the two Downtown Community Redevelopment Areas, identified as the Southside and Northbank CRAs.
A CRA is a special district that receives tax increment revenue, or the taxes received through an increase in property values within the CRA footprint. CRAs were created under state law to spur redevelopment of blighted areas by reinvesting the tax increment revenue within their boundaries.
The DIA is overseen by a nine-member board whose members are appointed by the mayor and Council president, and confirmed by Council.
The DIA also oversees the Office of Public Parking, which manages city-owned parking lots and garages. DIA staff also serve the Downtown Development Review Board, which essentially acts as a planning commission for Downtown on matters involving the Downtown overlay of zoning and land use matters.
In Salem’s memo, he says the committee’s discussions of Downtown redevelopment should include DIA staff and board, Downtown stakeholders such as nonprofits and Downtown ambassadors and developers, particularly those who own property in the CRAs.
Laura Street Trio
In recent months, much of the media attention on Downtown has focused on the Laura Street Trio, a group of historic buildings that has been subject to several failed attempts at redevelopment.
On April 17, the DIA voted in favor of a resolution allowing developer SouthEast Development Group to return with a new proposal after SouthEast and the DIA staff hit loggerheads March 29 in their latest negotiations.
In the resolution, the DIA recommends to Council that it reject a proposal from SouthEast principal Steve Atkins that includes a Capital One loan with an unconditional guarantee by the city. According to DIA documents, the guarantee could subject the city to more than $265 million in debt liability and trigger a downgrade in the city’s credit rating. In addition, DIA staff said the city Office of General Counsel advised that the guarantee was unconstitutional.
Atkins told the board that the guarantee is not unconstitutional and that he can bring forward a package that will work for both the city and his group.
In January, Council opted not to vote on legislation introduced by Council member Matt Carlucci to help fund the Trio restoration, which included a package of incentives and, in a first for the project, a “city participation loan” with the unconditional guarantee for the Capital One loan.
Instead, Council sent the legislation back to the DIA with instructions to work on a new agreement. DIA presented Atkins with three options. None of them contained the city participation loan.
According to the DIA, Atkins called them “nonstarters” in an email and offered “an only slightly modified proposal from Capital One that required an unconditional City guarantee.”
Rise Doro setback
Downtown revitalization suffered what Mayor Donna Deegan described as an “extraordinarily disappointing” setback in January when fire swept through the nearly completed Rise Doro mixed-use project at 960 E. Adams St. near Bay Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard.
The $65 million apartment building was declared a total loss, and the wood-framed portions of it were demolished to prevent the structure from collapsing onto adjacent buildings.
Rise Doro, which had begun leasing units and had scheduled move-ins, would have been the first major residential development in the Sports and Entertainment District. Downtown supporters hoped it would jump-start similar projects.
Instead, what’s left of the eight-floor building stands unrestored today, with black soot marks visible on the upper floors of the concrete portion of the project where the fire broke out. Developer Rise: A Real Estate Co., said after the fire that the building was insured and that the company planned to build back on the site if possible.
Downtown projects
Other Downtown projects have moved forward.
A May 6 ribbon-cutting is scheduled for the 1.3 million LaVilla Link of the Emerald Trail system, a 30-mile system of trails and parks planned for the center of Jacksonville. The $8.9 million LaVilla Link, also known as the Model Mile, features a 14-foot-wide concrete pedestrian/bicycle path, shaded porch swings, an observation deck overlooking a pond along Lee Street, native plantings and painted surface designs in geometric patterns.
In a progress report to the DIA board on April 17, Boyer told board members to expect “a lot of openings” in the next six months. Among the items that Boyer said were nearing completion were:
• A grand opening is set in early May for the Home2 Suites by Hilton Jacksonville Downtown, which opened April 5. The six-story, 100-room extended-stay hotel is at 600 Park St.
• Lofts at Cathedral, a 120-apartment development at 325 and 327 E. Duval St. Boyer said the $26 million project, which includes a $5.45 million renovation of the former YWCA building, could be completed in June. Vestcor Co. is the developer.
• Residents have moved into units at Johnson Commons, the 91-town home development adjacent to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority headquarters in LaVilla. Corner Lot Development and JWB Real Estate Capital are partnering on the $23 million project, where buildings are under construction as units begin to fill up.
• The state park portion of Artist Walk, a plaza area under the Fuller-Warren Bridge in Riverside, is nearing completion. The $8.8 million plaza will include a skateboarding facility, a stage and turf lawn.
• Artea, a 340-apartment transit-oriented development on the Southbank, is nearly 100% topped out. Corner Lot broke ground in April 2023 on the four-story development on property owned by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority near the Kings Avenue parking garage and Skyway station.