Rather than RFPing the full parcel, will be roughly 1/3rd of the old Courthouse site.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/feb/02/dia-seeking-proposals-for-redevelopment-of-former-duval-county-courthouse-site-on-riverfront/
Looks like the Corner Lot (https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2026/04/01/hotel-and-culinary-school-proposed-on-downtown-jacksonville-riverfront/89421512007/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=69cdaa8b444bac000194d4c4) is cooking up a proposal for the one-third of the Old Court House site.
QuoteCorner Lot proposes hotel and culinary school on old courthouse site
A riverfront development anchored by a culinary school that has sent more than 50,000 graduates into the workforce around the world will go before the Downtown Investment Authority board this month as a potential development on the old county courthouse site.
The culinary school is code-named Project Caymus and was not identified when a Downtown Investment Authority evaluation committee got first crack at reviewing the proposal on a city-owned site between the St. Johns River and Bay Street.
The description of Project Caymus resembles the famed Culinary Institute of America. Wade McArthur, property disposition manager for the investment authority, said Project Caymus is a "preeminent educational-focused institution which will establish its Southeast presence within the development."
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Corner Lot Development Group, based in Jacksonville, is teaming up with Aspect on the proposal for constructing two buildings on about eight-tenths of an acre. The land is roughly one-third of the property where the old county courthouse once stood.
The estimated total development cost would be $160 million for a four-story building on the riverfront and a 14-story tower behind it at 330 E. Bay St.
The taller building would contain a 160-room hotel, 17,000 square feet of conference space and ground-floor restaurant and retail space facing Bay Street.
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The four-story building on the riverwalk would have 25,000 square feet for Project Caymus including academic and administrative operations, professional development, continuing education programs, culinary demonstrations and teaching kitchen facilities
The other half of the four-story building would be available for tenants whose mission is similar to the school such as food entrepreneurs, hospitality companies, culinary media and professional service firms.
That building would have two ground-floor restaurants, a covered outdoor dining, a "restaurant promenade" and a place for "quick bite eats" at a cafe. The proposal also envisions a riverfront rooftop bar with views of the marina and St. Johns River along with an open-air lounge with river views.
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[DIA CEO said,] "I think this project really is contingent on Project Caymus and if that does not move forward, I think the rest of the project becomes very difficult," he said during the evaluation committee meeting.
The proposal shows the developer would ask the city to provide the land for free and also provide 20 years of property tax rebates for 75% of the city property taxes generated by the new development.
The proposal says the developer would work with the city to find additional funding sources such as New Market Tax Credits, federal and state assistance, and a city completion grant to close the financing gap for the development.
The developer also says it would need 360 parking spaces next to the development.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cities/Jacksonville/Development/Urban-Project-Renderings/i-LGww9TN/0/MVJr4rwmRWNNMgvB3QLwDdstMkbwXfG5DMzWFZJKK/L/20260401_FOB_site_plan_t850-L.png)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cities/Jacksonville/Development/Urban-Project-Renderings/i-xSrgK82/0/KsFXSXwVZBPR49Wcgcc8xKqMdCNv8wCsGR5mDtKmS/XL/20260401_FOB_marina_view_t1100-XL.png)
CIA considering coming to Jax is the worst kept secret in town. Heard it is heavily dependent on major league incentives.
As much as this would bring vibrancy to Bay street, I don't agree with breaking up that site. If Jax wants to have a respectable convention center, this is the place to do it. Utilize the existing convention hotel with 100,000 square feet of meeting space and add a grand exhibit hall. Don't make a $200M problem into a $2B problem by trying to put the convention center on the jail site. You can fit an almost 100k exhibit hall on just the western block of the property. If it's determined that will support the convention needs of the next 50 years, then do that and proceed with the CIA project. Otherwise I don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze.
^It is a weird location. At the very least, shift to the opposite side of the block, so that you'd preserve two large parcels being immediately adjacent to one another. But being the broken record over the years, this is something that a real master plan would have addressed decades ago.
I think breaking it up was genius and putting this in between the two remaining parcels does make them more attractive.
^Not for a convention center exhibition hall or something that may need large contiguous space. The block across the street is also still tied with Hyatt and their first right of refusal. So whatever goes there is going to linked to that previous deal and what makes best sense for Hyatt's viability
I still think Shad has a dream of hosting the convention center near the stadium. Buying the fair grounds, developing the 4 seasons, supporting the MOSH move, upgrading the stadium, throwing dollars at Eastside upgrades, planning still for an entertainment complex... all ingredients for building a case for hosting a convention center in that area.
^That's all opinion....which is why things like master plans are needed, so that all public and private investment can swim in the same direction. Otherwise, we'll keep going in circles and spend another 40 years talking about dreams of revitalizing downtown.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on April 02, 2026, 12:51:46 PMI still think Shad has a dream of hosting the convention center near the stadium. Buying the fair grounds, developing the 4 seasons, supporting the MOSH move, upgrading the stadium, throwing dollars at Eastside upgrades, planning still for an entertainment complex... all ingredients for building a case for hosting a convention center in that area.
The more likely scenario at this point is the current jail site. After we find $500+ million to move it, then we can look for the $500+ million for a convention center.
Good thing UF won't be doing much to the Prime Osborn for at least 5 years :)
Quote from: tufsu1 on April 02, 2026, 03:44:35 PMQuote from: jaxlongtimer on April 02, 2026, 12:51:46 PMI still think Shad has a dream of hosting the convention center near the stadium. Buying the fair grounds, developing the 4 seasons, supporting the MOSH move, upgrading the stadium, throwing dollars at Eastside upgrades, planning still for an entertainment complex... all ingredients for building a case for hosting a convention center in that area.
The more likely scenario at this point is the current jail site. After we find $500+ million to move it, then we can look for the $500+ million for a convention center.
Good thing UF won't be doing much to the Prime Osborn for at least 5 years :)
If the City goes with Shad, no pressure anytime soon to move the jail for $500 million to a billion to get the convention center done. When money is tight, politicos love to kick the can down the road and the jail is a great project for doing so. Unless a court order requires it ;D .
^The Jags have said nothing in years about there being a convention center at the stadium. By the time this city gets around to building a real convention center, we'll all be dead. May as well put a box up at the Hyatt because it will fill the need for another +30 years.
Hold up—wasn't the original plan for the jail a true PPP where the private sector builds it and the city leases with a buyout option? That structure would actually make sense- as it gives them the room to build a convention center while pushing jail finances down the road. What happened to that framework?
On another note, I'm genuinely concerned about what it signals that we only got one proposal for this kind of work. Is Jacksonville really that far off the radar for national developers? I get that we're not New York or Chicago, but this isn't some obscure municipal services contract. If this was Tampa, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver, or Austin putting out similar RFPs, you'd have 3-4 serious bidders competing against each other just for the privilege of working on prime real estate. That's the heat we should be chasing.
When are we actually going to see developers actively bidding against themselves to land pieces of Jacksonville's best real estate? That's the inflection point we need.
On the design side—I'll admit it looks solid. But the financing structure is what concerns me. It feels like the city is getting fleeced on one of the last truly valuable riverfront parcels. Meanwhile, you've got a developer (Corner Lot) trying to land prime real estate for free while racking up massive incentives on 0.8 acres? That's a bad optics problem, not to mention a fiscal one.
We should be getting significantly better terms on iconic downtown riverfront parcels. Full stop.
Quote from: MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain on April 02, 2026, 08:05:09 PMOn another note, I'm genuinely concerned about what it signals that we only got one proposal for this kind of work.
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We should be getting significantly better terms on iconic downtown riverfront parcels. Full stop.
The criteria of the RFP was likely determined by the proposed project, not the other way around.
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"Should"? The market speaks. It's very difficult to get the appropriate financing/ROI for large, quality projects in many parts of Jax, including the Northbank of Downtown, without some form of incentives filling that gap. Of note: everything is more expensive than it was a few years ago, including building large projects.
Quote from: MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain on April 02, 2026, 08:05:09 PMHold up—wasn't the original plan for the jail a true PPP where the private sector builds it and the city leases with a buyout option? That structure would actually make sense- as it gives them the room to build a convention center while pushing jail finances down the road. What happened to that framework?
There's never been an official plan for a new convention center or a method to finance its construction. It something this town has talked about as far back as the Delaney administration two decades ago. It may take a decade to resolve the jail issue alone, much less figure out how to finance what comes to that property next.
Quote from: MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain on April 02, 2026, 08:05:09 PMOn another note, I'm genuinely concerned about what it signals that we only got one proposal for this kind of work. Is Jacksonville really that far off the radar for national developers? I get that we're not New York or Chicago, but this isn't some obscure municipal services contract. If this was Tampa, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver, or Austin putting out similar RFPs, you'd have 3-4 serious bidders competing against each other just for the privilege of working on prime real estate. That's the heat we should be chasing.
Anecdotal, but a friend of mine who runs a big regional civil engineering firm and who is from Jax tells me that no, Jax is not on the radar for national developers (I've asked....frequently). Jax doesn't come up at conferences as much more than an afterthought and is pretty quickly dismissed (unless it's for a strip mall or retail development or storage unit facility far from the core, on cheap land).
If Jax wants to improve downtown then they're going to aggressively have to take control of it themselves. National developers are not coming in to save it.
I'd argue that national developers are already here, but historically downtown revitalization has been more of a politically connected opportunity/obstacle thing to the development community, than market driven. This from conversations I've personally had with individuals in the development industry over the years, as well as things I've witnessed in the field and related professions like planning, architecture, engineering, etc. fields. However, I'd also argue that national developers aren't saving any downtown nationwide. The best places have local money, ambition and passion following into them.