Jacksonville-area business professionals and civic leaders will travel to Toronto this week for JAX Chamber’s 37th annual Chamber Leadership Trip, a three-day tour focusing on downtown development.
It’s the second time the chamber has visited Toronto, although this time with downtown the sole focus. The first Toronto visit was in 1993.
Incoming chamber Chair John Peyton, a former Jacksonville mayor, is leading the 140-member group on the trip.
“Toronto has had a really strong resurgence in the last 10-15 years,” said Peyton, president of Gate Petroleum Co. and mayor from 2003-11.
Since the last trip, he said Toronto has experienced “a new vibrancy that has been transformational.”
“We think at this particular time in our history, our Downtown is prime for exponential growth,” Peyton said.
Peyton said attendees will stay at the 211-room Four Seasons Hotel Toronto owned by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan. The 55-story hotel also includes residences.
Khan will host an invitation-only reception Wednesday for some chamber members, investors and trip sponsors.
He will address the entire delegation, along with Toronto Mayor John Tory, that evening at dinner.
“Shad’s going to talk about his thoughts on Toronto and Jacksonville,” Peyton said.
Mayor Lenny Curry said last week he would attend for about a day and a half.
Curry said he’s interested to see how Toronto’s civic leaders “coalesce around a purpose and a cause they can accomplish.”
“Look, we can have a vision, we can have a dream,” Curry said Thursday. “The question is, how do you execute the vision and the dream?”
JAX Chamber spokesman Matt Galnor said the trip will cost $3,200 for chamber members and $3,100 for individuals representing the city or nonprofits.
That cost includes airfare, some food, lodging and programming.
Using those figures, the estimated cost to the city for eight government officials is $24,800, although a city spokeswoman declined to provide a specific amount, saying the final cost would be determined after the trip.
A downtown focus
An agenda shows programming runs Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning and centers on waterfront activation, downtown housing and placemaking.
Peyton said Toronto has spent energy on its waterfront, an area of focus for City Council member Lori Boyer, who will moderate a waterfront activation presentation by a Toronto senior planner.
Another focus will be encouraging people to live Downtown.
“They’ve had huge success with increasing their housing count downtown and their placemaking,” Peyton said.
Jacksonville attorney and Downtown development advocate Bob Rhodes will moderate a Thursday presentation on downtown housing.
That will be followed by a talk on placemaking moderated by Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Executive Director Tony Allegretti.
The group also will tour downtown venues.
As chair-elect, Peyton chose the destination.
He said he took into consideration Jacksonville’s potential Toronto connections, specifically Khan.
“What really got my attention is that Shad Khan made a significant investment there last year,” Peyton said.
In September 2016, Khan bought the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto for an estimated $171.6 million from Saudi Arabia-based Kingdom Holding Co.
Jaguars President Mark Lamping also is taking the trip and will speak at a Friday lunch presentation focused on Jacksonville projects.
He will be joined by Steve Betz, president of Danis Construction, and Downtown Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace.
Lamping is president of Iguana Investment Group of Florida, Khan’s development company that is negotiating an economic development agreement with Wallace and the DIA to develop the 70-acre Shipyards and Metropolitan Park property along Downtown’s Northbank. Danis Construction has worked with both parties on Downtown projects.
Khan proposes an estimated $500 million mixed-use development that would tie in to the sports and entertainment district.
Lamping’s presentation will be followed by one hosted by Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby at Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame to discuss how sports and entertainment can enhance a downtown.
City attendees
Among city officials attending are Curry, Boyer, Sports and Entertainment Officer Dave Herrell, Director of Strategic Partnerships Dawn Lockhart, Director of Public Relations Marsha Oliver, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Ali Korman Shelton and Office of Economic Development Executive Director Kirk Wendland.
The DIA, led by Wallace, is the governing body for the Downtown Community Redevelopment Area and is funded through the city’s general fund.
Other members of city government also are joining, but not in their civic capacity.
Council member Greg Anderson is traveling in his role as EverBank Financial Corp. director of community development.
Jacksonville’s independent authorities also will be represented.
Jacksonville Aviation Authority Chief Administrative Officer Rosa Beckett, Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford Sr., JaxPort CEO Eric Green and JEA Chief Public Affairs Officer Mike Hightower and Chief Customer Officer Kerri Stewart are on the list of attendees.
While education is not a focus, representatives from local public schools and area universities are sending members.
The attendee list includes Pat Willis, interim superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, along with Duval County School Board Chair Paula Wright, Vice Chair Ashley Smith Juarez, and board member Lori Hershey.
Jacksonville University President and JAXUSA Partnership Chair Tim Cost will attend, as will Florida State College at Jacksonville President Cynthia Bioteau and Edward Waters College President Nat Glover Jr.
Other attendees include representatives from the construction, banking, medical and nonprofit industries, along with restaurateurs and other business owners.
An open canvas
Council Vice President Aaron Bowman is attending as senior vice president of JAXUSA Partnership, the economic development arm of the chamber.
Bowman said Toronto presents a timely look at how a city can funnel energy and capital into revitalizing an urban core.
“We have a lot of open canvas right now,” said Bowman, referring to mixed-use and residential projects under construction or in development Downtown.
He said it was advantageous to have a single focus.
“When we come back from these things, it can be hard sometimes to wrap your arms around everything we’ve seen or done,” he said. “I’m interested to see how it all works when we get back to Jacksonville.”
He said he believed Toronto’s mayor and other civic leaders will give attendees a good idea of how a larger city approaches more ambitious endeavors such as major development projects.
“We have a lot of things lining up for the first time in a long time,” Bowman said.
“Personally, I want to make sure now that we’ve got that growth started, we do the right things to make Downtown a nice place to work and live,” he said.