The code-named Project Blue Sky, which matches the description of Jacksonville-based Haskell, will receive $4.25 million in city incentives to relocate within Downtown under final action Dec. 10 by the Jacksonville City Council.
Council voted 17-1 in favor of the incentive package, which comprises:
• A $2.3 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant for 75% of the increased real and personal property taxes generated by the project site over 15 years. A REV grant is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development or property enhancement.
• A Local Training Grant of up to $1.2 million, or $2,000 for each of 600 jobs the company will retail through its relocation.
• A Local Targeted Industry Employment grant of up to $750,000, based on $5,000 per job for 150 positions the company has pledged to add over up to five years.
Council member Rory Diamond voted against the incentives, and member Jimmy Peluso was not present for the vote. There was no discussion on the legislation containing the incentives, Ordinance 2024-0946, which had previously been debated and approved by Council committees.
As reported Oct. 9 in the Daily Record, descriptions of Project Blue Sky in city documents match Haskell, the global architecture, engineering, construction and consulting company headquartered at 111 Riverside Ave. on the Downtown Northbank.
City staff reported that the company had negotiated a 12-year lease with options for two five-year extensions for a new location where, according to the city, it plans to invest $20 million on improvements for new offices.
The incentive request doesn’t identify the new site, but a building that would accommodate those needs is 701 San Marco, the former Prudential building at 701 San Marco Blvd.
Under terms of the incentive deal, if the company decides against extending the lease, the REV grant would end after the 12-year term expires.
On Nov. 20, the Downtown Investment Authority board voted 9-0 to recommend a previous version of the package that included a $1.3 million City Training Grant. That incentive was subsequently reduced to reflect a reduction in job retention by Project Blue Sky, from 650 to 600.
After advancing to Council, the package was further negotiated to extend the payment period for the City Training Grant and Local Training Grant.
Those changes reflect concerns among some Council members that the city needs to curb its commitments for incentives. Members Will Lahnen and Nick Howland have been particularly vocal on the matter, citing projections by Council auditors of budget deficits of up to $105 million in the next five years due largely to recent high-priced expenditures such as the EverBank Stadium deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars and raises for police and firefighters.
The two have been urging the city to structure incentive deals more heavily with REV grants, in which the city forgoes some new tax revenue but still receives more than it would on unimproved properties.
Incentives such as the City Training Grant and Local Training Grant, a type referred to as cash grants, involve direct payments from the city’s general fund. Council members like Lahnen and Howland prefer REV grants because they provide revenue while helping preserve the general fund.