In 2024, the Laura Street Trio was the subject of a failed City Council ordinance, a new development partnership, an acrimonious breakdown in negotiations on a redevelopment agreement, an intervention by a special Council committee and a potential sale.
It was a dynamic year for the historic property, and Steve Atkins was in the middle of it.
The year opened with Council considering an ordinance that would have provided Atkins, the Trio’s owner, with $60.5 million in incentives to redevelop the buildings into a hotel, restaurants and apartments.
As the year closes, Atkins may soon be out of the project altogether after 11 years of ownership.
Jacksonville-based Live Oak Contracting is working to purchase the Trio after joining Atkins as a partner in August 2024. The city says Live Oak has given an assurance that if the sale goes through, Atkins will no longer be part of the development team.
The potential transaction came about after Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration announced it was permanently cutting off talks with the current development team. In making the announcement, the city said Atkins had delivered a new proposal that included an increased amount of city incentives – an unpleasant surprise to Deegan officials and Council members who hoped that Live Oak’s involvement would reduce Atkins’ reliance on city funding to make the project work.
In tandem with the announcement, the city refiled a foreclosure lawsuit on the property, alleging that Atkins owed more than $800,000 in fines for code violations stretching back several years.
Atkins’ company, SouthEast Development Group, responded by saying he was done talking to Deegan’s administration and would only negotiate with Council. Atkins claimed SouthEast had worked diligently toward a solution only to be cut off by the city. He also accused the city of using incidents of vandalism and graffiti as the basis for the suit.
Council member Kevin Carrico, chair of the Council Special Committee on the Future of Downtown, took the initiative and helped broker a deal in which Live Oak would purchase the Trio if the city would give the developer time to correct the violations.
Ron Salem formed the committee in June as one of his last acts as Council president. Salem’s assignments to the committee included exploring what could be done with the Trio.
The city and Live Oak are in talks on an agreement on the foreclosure suit that allows the developer to purchase the property. If the sale occurs, Live Oak would then begin talks with the Downtown Investment Authority on a new redevelopment deal.
The Trio comprises the First National Bank Building, Bisbee Building and Florida Life Building at Laura and Forsyth streets.
The structures were built from 1902 to 1912 and are among the last remaining unrestored buildings constructed during the years immediately following the 1901 fire that destroyed much of Jacksonville.