Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan says he expects construction of the nearly $500 million Lot J development west of TIAA Bank Field to begin by the end of March.
In an interview with Jaguars reporter Ashlyn Sullivan posted Feb. 4 on Jaguars.com, Khan said that once construction begins, it will take 18 months to two years before the restaurants, apartments and other Lot J elements are open.
The total project, he said, would take three years.
The proposed first phase of Lot J comprises a 300-unit residential tower, 200-room hotel, 120,000-square-foot Class A office tower and a Live! Entertainment District.
Jacksonville I-C Parcel One Holding Company LLC, a joint venture of Jaguars subsidiary Gecko Investments LLC and the Baltimore, Maryland-based The Cordish Companies, is the project developer.
Khan’s timeline is up against the full city regulatory process. Jaguars President Mark Lamping told reporters in a conference call Feb. 4 with Khan that an estimated $233.3 million incentive and development agreement with the city should be finalized in 30 to 60 days.
That agreement will have to clear the Downtown Investment Authority, which convenes monthly.
Its next scheduled meeting is Feb. 19.
The City Council also has to approve the agreement.
Lot J construction also will need permitting and architectural designs to receive conceptual and final review from the Downtown Development Review Board.
Khan and Lamping’s Feb. 4 call mainly focused on the team’s intent to play a second home game in London.
Khan told Sullivan that Lot J construction, as well as plans to demolish the Hart Bridge Expressway ramps, will create “physical disruptions around TIAA Bank Field for the next three years.”
“We’re talking about taking the highway overpass down so we have access to the river and really mixed-use development, a hotel, entertainment, etc. Jobs which are really the core of it, right close to the stadium,” Khan said.
“So, what is the best thing for the Jaguars at this point, I say we play back-to-back games in London,” he said.
City Director of Public Affairs Nikki Kimbleton said in a Feb. 4 email that Mayor Lenny Curry approved a recommendation to hire Jacksonville-based J.B.. Coxwell Contracting Inc. for $25.45 million to demolish part of the elevated Hart Bridge Expressway and construct new ramp connections.
Kimbleton said the contract has been extended and construction will begin in late February.
