The Jacksonville City Council will consider extending an incentive agreement for a project that would double the liquid natural gas storage capacity at the JAX LNG Dames Point Road facility.
On Aug. 26, the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee agreed to a request from the city Office of Economic Development to introduce legislation to extend the city’s agreement with JAX LNG LLC for a property tax incentive capped at $5.3 million for the expansion project.
Council approved the incentive agreement in October 2022. JAX LNG LLC is a 50-50 joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway Energy GT&S subsidiary Pivotal JAX LNG LLC and NorthStar Midstream.
Joe Whitaker, business development project manager for the OED, said the project had encountered delays related to supply chain issues from the pandemic. Work was expected to launch this past June and be completed by December 2027.
Whitaker said JAX LNG had already been granted two six-month administrative extensions.
He said the company was confident the project would be completed.
“It’s a $124 million project, so we’d like to see that happen,” he said.
According to OED documents, JAX LNG LLC plans to invest $66 million in real estate improvements and $58 million in machinery, equipment installation and upgrades to its facility at 9225 Dames Point in North Jacksonville along the St. Johns River.
The 2022 Council action provided a 10-year, 50% Recapture Enhanced Value grant, a property tax refund, tied to the creation of 10 jobs by December 2027.
JAX LNG was established in January 2015, city records say. According to the company’s website, the facility supplies TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s dual-fuel container vessels.
The first phase of the facility was completed in 2018.
In a May 2022 news release, Richmond-Virginia-based Pivotal LNG Inc. said natural gas storage would increase from 2 million to 4 million gallons and liquefaction would rise to 360,000 gallons per day.
In other action, the MBRC OK’d a request from OED to transfer funding within the Northwest OED Fund to provide a $100,000 Business Infrastructure Grant to Island Tropics Restaurant & Lounge, 2527 N. Main St., to expand into a nearby building. The restaurant plans to operate a banquet space the building at a total investment of $1 million, OED documents say.
Five new full-time and four part-time jobs will be created for the new operation.