Issues remain between city, Shad Khan over The Shipyards property

[Steve]

I had been getting the impression that the City and Khan were at an impasse over remediation cost and the City investment.  But I just heard from an insider that in fact, the city and Iguana are moving rapidly to some kind of deal.  Lamping is scheduled to give his state of the Jaguars talk next month.  I'm optimistic.  And don't forget, the USS Adams folks are still full speed ahead.

Khan did just give Curry's political fund $100k. Though that amount of money is a drop in a bucket for Khan, people like Khan don't write checks like that because they are nice people.

[vicupstate]

I had been getting the impression that the City and Khan were at an impasse over remediation cost and the City investment.  But I just heard from an insider that in fact, the city and Iguana are moving rapidly to some kind of deal.  Lamping is scheduled to give his state of the Jaguars talk next month.  I'm optimistic.  And don't forget, the USS Adams folks are still full speed ahead.

Khan did just give Curry's political fund $100k. Though that amount of money is a drop in a bucket for Khan, people like Khan don't write checks like that because they are nice people.

Correct, they do it because they expect something in return.

[FlaBoy]

Without a doubt. Khan is not a philanthropist in these deals and we have seen that time and time again.

That said, it would be nice to see the city bite the bullet and clean up the shipyards so it can be used for some sort of purpose. If they can't get a deal done with Khan, just make it a temporary green space for people to use along the river.

[Downtown Osprey]

It's honestly just mind-boggling to me how we can have such prime real estate sit and rot away. Unbelievable we still can't get something done.

[Tacachale]

I'm more optimistic of something beneficial happening now that Khan is moving the practice field and amphitheater off the property. That was the main reason he wanted it to begin with. Now we can focus on building something that really works for the space.

[Marle Brando]

Yeah ever since the amphitheater deal went down I've always felt that it directly had something to do with the Shipyards deal behind closed doors. I admit I was all in on the practice fields being a part of the original plan but I believe the city, and many citizens believed the land, if given away, could be put to much better use and return on investment. Khan and the city agreeing on the amphitheater deal will trickle down into shipyards negotiations no doubt. Now with the least tax revenue producing part removed from the Shipyards equation, they can really get down to business if they haven't already.

[spuwho]

It's honestly just mind-boggling to me how we can have such prime real estate sit and rot away. Unbelievable we still can't get something done.

The property is in fact not "prime". It is polluted river front acreage.

Even the most valued of properties can go undeveloped for many years.

Block 37 in Chicago sat vacant in the center of town for over 25 years with over 5 failed development deals before something took.

It wasnt polluted, sat on top of a subway and was across from the flagship Marshall Fields (now Macy's).

Some times certain spots will take longer than others.