by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Toney Sleiman bumped up against a major problem facing the Landing as he made his way to Thursday morning’s meeting of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
“I parked at the Landing because I couldn’t find a place near the City Hall Annex,” he said.
Then he went inside the building, where the JEDC would discuss his bid to replace the Rouse Co. as the Landing’s management firm.
About 20 people were in line, waiting to pass by the security desk. Sleiman asked the group if any of them had parking problems, too. They all had.
“You can make downtown successful with parking,” said Sleiman. “Parking is very important. It’s the key, not just for the Landing but for all of downtown.”
After a short presentation and a minimum of discussion, the JEDC unanimously approved Sleiman Enterprises as a “qualified rental operator,” a required step before the company can take over management of the Landing.
“We’re going to do a lot,” said Sleiman, a principal and developer with the company. “We’re going to turn it around.”
Merchants have complained that pedestrian traffic has been light, and there are too many vacancies at the Landing, a point brought home by Sleiman COO and CFO Barney Smith during his presentation to the commission.
Photos showed locked doors, Closed for Business signs and upside down stools on an empty food bar.
“I’m dead serious,” said Sleiman. “I’m going to change it. We’re brewing with excitement over this project.”
With the JEDC’s recommendation, some relatively minor due diligence items have to be examined before a closing date can be set with Rouse.
It can’t happen soon enough for Sleiman.
“I’m ready to go,” he told the JEDC. “I don’t want to wait [for closing]. We can wait until October, but we’re ready to move forward now.”
Jacksonville Beach mayor Bob Marsden, an ex-officio adviser to the JEDC, endorsed the request. Sleiman Enterprises was responsible for reviving a blighted area in the beach city and has become its developer of record.
“I would highly endorse him personally, and the City will also without reservation,” said Marsden. “He is going to enter into an agreement [for] the Landing; he will make it happen. He will bring improvement and success to the Landing.”
Sleiman has been visiting the Landing regularly over the past six months, he said, “climbing on it, walking around it, studying it.”
Some of the changes, he said, are pretty obvious. More entertainment, more traffic, more stores that shoppers want to patronize — all in a more inviting, accessible area.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that downtown office vacancy is pretty bad right now,” he said.
If an executive wants to move his business downtown, Sleiman said, he may be ready to close the deal until he learns parking for his employees is “four blocks down and three blocks over. Then he goes back to the suburbs.”
Parking is available, he said. The lot at the Humana building, land on the east side between the bridge and the Daniels Building, space between the T-U Center and the Landing. There’s also some space in the service area of the Landing.
“If you look at the big lot next to the Humana building, let’s make it happen somehow,” said Sleiman. “Private-public partnership, get everybody downtown involved. Let’s do a 3,000-4,000 space parking lot downtown.”
Sleiman plans to use glass to open up those parts of the Landing that are walled off to the outside, “which makes it very unfriendly to walk up to.”
Although he has been told it’s not possible, or feasible, he still intends to put in a marina.
“I’m putting it in,” Sleiman insisted. “‘Ain’t’ isn’t in my vocabulary.”
An entertainment barge with a bandstand and cover for bad weather should bring in more people who will also stick around after the shows end.
“I went to a concert down there not long ago, maybe 500 waiting around for the music to start,” he said. “You know what happened. It started to rain. The band takes their stuff apart, puts it in the van and drives off. Then all the people leave.”
He’s still amazed that no sound system has been installed and plans to correct that soon.
The band stage itself will be replaced and used as a standing area for visitors. It will be replaced with stadium seating for 4,000 to 5,000 spectators.
“We could also use it for Easter sunrise services,” he said. “Would that be beautiful to be out there on Easter morning?
“I also want to help the Hospice of Northeast Florida, so they can use it for fund raising. And I want to help Fresh Ministries, which does so much for the downtown area.
“We can open the mall area to Boy Scouts, who could camp out there for the weekend. They’ll be in there shopping, eating and drinking.”
When visitors get a chance to see the new Landing, Sleiman said, word will spread. And the need for all those parking spaces will be obvious.
“The Landing is obviously a critical component in the success of downtown,” he said. “First thing I’ve got to do is get people down there. Then all the businesses will be doing good.
“Then I’ll go after the retailers who have doubts and have them talk to the tenants. All they’ll have to do is tell the truth.”