Its time for the Laura Street Trio owner to bow out

[fsu813]

Finally, they bowed out.  The Becovic Group took over today. Pearl Street gets all the press right now (rightfully so) but I still think Laura Street is just as important. Hopefully the Trio can be redeveloped with haste, European Street Cafe opens up soon, we get new a tenant in the old Bread and Board spot, the Starbucks comes online in the BOA tower, Mags' Cafe gets replaced, Oak Steakhouse finishes up, and Pour Taproom can hold on. We might actually have a little bit of vibrancy in the heart of downtown.

The battle for the necessary incentives should be interesting.

[Ken_FSU]

^If I'm the Finance Committee, I'm prioritizing 100% of my major cash completion grants into a small handful of projects over the next five years that have the ability to truly move the needle:

- Gateway N7 Publix/Residential
- Laura Street Trio
- Snyder Memorial
- Independent Life
- Sports and Entertainment Complex

I'd also continue playing reasonable ball on other Pearl Square projects to help them build critical mass, and agree with Simms that something like corporate relocation grants to bring high wage jobs into Jacksonville could help create more demand for high end residential downtown.

TERRIBLE time to take our foot off the gas on the Northbank, but I also see no reason to keep throwing cash grants at projects on the Southbank or the River and Post hotel in Riverside. They can be good projects, but if we prioritize everything, we succeed with nothing.