Khan's Jacksonville Shipyards Plans Revealed

[downtownbrown]

It's a complete non-starter.  The guys says No Riverwalk because 2/3 of it will be a "restricted area".  Go away.

[copperfiend]

Yep. We are being punked for sure.

Watch...city of Jacksonville going to think this is real..

I have no doubt the News4Jax comments section will get behind it

[edjax]

I think this guy  must have looked at the calendar wrong and thought today was April 1st. Regardless. Hit the road jack.

[Downtown Osprey]

Wow, that made for a good laugh.

[Tacachale]

Hmm. If this guy has that kind of money and just wants incentives, there are plenty of other waterfront areas he could buy. Even Downtown. The whole Ford plant went for just 4 million.

But it does show that once it's out there, there's more interest in the property than we tell ourselves.

[thelakelander]

Yep. We are being punked for sure.

Watch...city of Jacksonville going to think this is real..

Seems like an appraisal to determine the property's value is in order. Assuming it's in the $40 million range, if the guy is willing to pony up the cash on the front end, then it's time to turn to Khan and see if he's willing to up his offer to something comparable. If not, then with the public on the hook to clean the property up, we could be looking at a $70-75 million difference. That's a huge number to for a broke city.

If both of these dudes are serious, then I'm not picking and choosing. Norfolk Elizabeth River/Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, here I come! I'd consider attempting to sell that contaminated piece of industrial dirt and work with Khan to revamp his proposal to address Metropolitan Park, the area formerly known as Kids Kampus and the surface lots around EverBank Field. Then that Shipyards cash earned can be used to help the underfunded DIA get a few other downtown proposals and desired projects off the ground.  If yacht guy isn't serious, then so be it, no loss on Jax's end.

Hmm. If this guy has that kind of money and just wants incentives, there are plenty of other waterfront areas he could buy. Even Downtown. The whole Ford plant went for just 4 million.

But it does show that once it's out there, there's more interest in the property than we tell ourselves.

The Ford plant wouldn't be suitable for a large repair facility. Since Crowley recently announced that they may be abandoning their Talleyrand terminal, that property could be worth looking at. With that said, Tacachale is on point. There probably is more interest in the property than we tell ourselves. So we should think long and hard about simply giving it away.

[KenFSU]

Ennis, the DIA pushed for an expedited appraisal at today's meeting.

I believe they hope to have it completed within 30-45 days.

[Ajax]

Business might have just picked up.

Looks like there is a competing developer planning to bid on Shipyards site.

$1.4 billion investment, and the developer claims he would not only buy the land, but pay for the cleanup.

"Jacksonville Mega Yacht Club" is his plan.

A combination of public space, market, and mega yacht repair facility.

Courtesy Stephanie Brown, WOKV, who's live tweeting the DIA meeting.

But will there be an iconic observation tower with an aquarium and suspended practice football fields and ferris wheel with zip lines? 

[ProjectMaximus]

I won't address the validity of this kind of venture (the Mooneyhan factor let's call it) but I will say this would have tremendous benefits to the city if it became a reality. Having a few dozen Khans floating around downtown Jacksonville? Heck, it could make some of Khan's plans somewhat feasible.

The Mullen guy supposedly has a home in Jax. Says woukd move HQ to Jax. Has 85 employees now. Expect 250 in 18 months and 5k in 5 years.  Hmmm. Seems even more pie in sky than Khans pretty pictures.

With $1.4 billion to spend it's actually believable...if that money is actually there.

And how does it make sense to move your mega-yacht shop to Jacksonville, where there is exactly one owner of one "mega-yacht" who stays here part time, from South Florida, where there are many more mega-yachts in-and-out of there year-round?

He says this is the closest to South Florida where he can get insurance for this type of operation during hurricane season. I guess our geographic location pays dividends once again.

[acme54321]

If he truly wants to buils a shipyard for mega yachts it would seem there would be other sites in town that would work.  Somewhere along Talleyrand?  Crowley's terminal?

[thelakelander]

I can't think of any site along Talleyrand outside of Crowley's terminal that isn't already in use and suitable for ship repair.  What else is out there?

[acme54321]

From looking at Google Maps there are a few vacant industrial sites along the river.  None that have anything left on them.  I'm sure they're just as contaminated as the shipyards though.

[I-10east]

^^^Good point. I don't know why both proposals are in competition for the same piece of real estate. I can't wait the see the 'super yacht' proposal that will be city money-free. It's interesting that the second plan calls for an 'international festival marketplace'. Sounds familiar like the Landing just west of the site.

[thelakelander]

Honestly, it's easier to find an alternative site for what Khan is proposing than it is for something that this particular site was built for. Going up Talleyrand, the biggest empty piece of dirt is the old Wilson & Toomer fertilizer plant near Deer Creek. It's contaminated and has been tied up in court for years. Then there is the old Bentley Shipyards site just south of the Mathews. However, whenever the Mathews is replaced, this property will disappear. Outside of that, you'll have a hard time finding industrial land with as much waterfront frontage that can easily accommodate a drydock or two for ships Khan's size. So I can see why the shipyards would be attractive for maritime related uses. I'm not attached to either proposal but if one is willing to pay and clean the property up, it's certainly worth serious consideration (assuming it's valid of course).

[avonjax]

Sorry folks, I don't buy into any of this. Where was this guy? And Lakelander my only question is if there is more interest in the site than we think, where has everyone been? Like my comments on the other thread I know Khan is not spending a lot of his money on his plan but I think he can attract serious people to invest. And I will repeat my frustration; the shipyards closed 23 years ago and 15 years after the first "plan" nothing has happened except the loss of the River City Music Sheds.