Riverfront Jacksonville: $1.1 billion Master Plan

[thelakelander]

Interesting!

[heights unknown]

Wtf.  They have to be doing that to give some insider bidder an advantage right?  I mean otherwise that's just idiotic.

Atkins?

[tufsu1]

^ I seriously doubt it.

I can attest that the RFP is garnering attention/interest.

[Ken_FSU]

Hate to be the guy constantly bashing the DIA, but yet another head scratcher on the Brooklyn Home2 Suites incentives deal from tonight.

DIA board moves toward Brooklyn Home2 Suites incentives

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/dia-board-moves-toward-brooklyn-home2-suites-incentives

The Downtown Investment Authority board wants an incentives package for the proposed $17.31 million Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Brooklyn, despite DIA’s staff position that the project is financially viable without city help.

The DIA board declined a request Nov. 17 by Kelco Management and Development Inc. and Corner Lot Development Group for a property tax refund on their proposed six-story, 100-room hotel and restaurant at 600 Park St.

The companies are developing the hotel under Kelco Brooklyn LLC.

DIA CEO Lori Boyer and Director of Downtown Real Estate Development Steve Kelley recommended the board deny the Recapture Enhanced Value grant, a refund on property taxes, because they said the project did not qualify.

The board voted 5-1 to direct DIA staff to return with a deal that would give the developer financial assistance to equal a REV grant.

After the meeting, Boyer said that would be a $2,385,219 cash grant.

She said the incentive likely would be paid to the developer over several years after the hotel is completed.

The staff report, prepared by Kelley, says the developer did not provide proof of a financial gap requiring an incentive. The report said the Home2 Suites would negatively impact existing the occupancy rates of existing Downtown hotels.

What?

Shoot down incentives on the back-end out of principal but then give the developer an equal cash handout instead??

[thelakelander]

I'm kind of confused to why staff appears to have been against this project from the start. It's telling that this project is actually looking better than many promoted by staff in Brooklyn, despite the objections.

[tufsu1]

^ from what I can tell, the development does not qualify for a REV grant as the financial numbers don't show a loss....so board members are asking that staff find a way to offer the equivalent of a REV grant in some other incentives.

[jaxlongtimer]

Is Brooklyn not at the point where it has enough momentum to not require further incentives?  How long must taxpayers subsidize developers before we reach an end point.  The staff says this project doesn't need support to be viable, so why the push for incentives?  When does this treadmill come to a stop.

There are lots of businesses in town spending millions to better themselves and they never ask the City for a penny.  Why are developers treated better?  Donations to the right political campaigns have much to do with this?

The only incentives I can favor are to maybe improve some infrastructure that also benefits the larger community and for historic preservation that is difficult and expensive to accomplish but is important to our community's character and preserving its legacy thus benefitting a wider audience than just the recipient.

[jaxoNOLE]

Incentives should close the gap between a developer's utility function and the community's utility function, economically. Developers' utility functions are defined by the realities of the business world, whereas the community may have positive economic utility on a project that loses financially (public transit is an age-old example). So the question in my mind is...why should COJ value this project so highly? If it stands on its own financially, what risk is there to withholding incentives? Do they fear a developer walking away from a positive ROI deal?

[landfall]

We thinking its curtains for this already?

[thelakelander]

Master plans involving properties you don't own or control are hard to pull off and rarely come to fruition as initially envisioned. In a downtown area, public engagement, buy-in and support are very important as well. From what I've heard from many on the street, I get the impression people really want to see the Trio get underway moreso than anything else. With that said, DT Jax is full of surface parking lots and underused buildings. Even with rapid growth, this will be the case for years to come. So many of the things identified in this plan will still have an opportunity to one day come to life in some shape or form.