QuoteDOWNTOWN
Construction on major downtown projects are set to begin in 2016, and the city could ink deals to revitalize other prominent spaces.
Everbank Field will be the home of a new amphitheater and indoor practice facility. The $90 million project, which the city and Jaguars owner Shad Khan split, is expected to be completed in the fall.
Across the St. Johns River, construction on the first phase of the Southbank's major new development, The District, - Life Well Lived – Jacksonville, is set to begin this summer. That phase will include two five-story apartment complexes.
Meanwhile, the city will likely decide whether to approve – and invest millions into – an ambition plan to redevelop downtown's vacant Laura Street trio and Barnett Bank buildings.
Steve Atkins, whose Southeast Group owns the four buildings, has proposed a $77 million redevelopment project.
His plan includes installing a two-story office for Chase Bank, five floors of commercial space and 110 one-bedroom apartments at the Barnett National Bank Building. A 131-room Courtyard by Marriot Hotel would occupy the Bisbee and Florida Life buildings, and a new building would be built at the corner of Laura and Adams streets that would include a rooftop bar, a Centerstate bank branch and a small grocery store.
Atkins' plan also calls for the city to invest $8 million into the project. The Downtown Investment Authority must review the project and make a recommendation to the city council.
Questions still remain on plans for the downtown Jacksonville Landing and the long-vacant Shipyards land.
The Downtown Investment Authority is currently developing a master plan for the Landing. The city owns the land and leases the space to the Sleiman family, which owns the two-story riverfront mall.
No decision has been made on the final plan. In the meantime, the city has sued the Landing's owners related to an ownership dispute over a parking lot next to the mall.
City officials haven't released any new details regarding the Shipyards development. Khan unveiled his vision for the 46-acre, city-owned site in February and former Mayor Alvin Brown unsuccessfully pushed to finalize a deal in the final weeks of his administration.
Since then, the city has released no new details about the development and has moved the site of the indoor practice field, a key part of Khan's shipyard proposal, next to Everbank Field.
Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/2015-12-30/story/big-issue-face-mayor-lenny-curry-city-hall-year-ahead