By Mike Mendenhall & Katie Garwood • Staff Writers
The city’s proposed $21 million share of proposed incentives to bring Dun & Bradstreet Corp.’s headquarters to Jacksonville would be paid through grants, according to documents from Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration.
The international financial services and data management firm announced plans May 20 to relocate its corporate headquarters from Short Hills, New Jersey, to Jacksonville, creating 500 jobs.
The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee is scheduled to vote May 24 to file legislation with City Council that, if approved, would finalize the grants.
The taxpayer-back incentives deal is outlined in a May 20 memorandum from Kirk Wendland, city economic development executive director:
• $12 million Headquarters Retention Grant paid in $600,000 increments over 20 years.
• $6 million Relocation Grant paid over three years.
• $3 million Target Industry Grant at $6,000 per job paid in $1,500 increments over four years.
The state has committed a $4 million High Impact Performance Incentive Grant to the project, boosting the assistance to $25 million.
Florida and Jacksonville taxpayers are paying about one-third of Dun & Bradstreet’s estimated $75 million capital investment in the project.
According to Wendland’s memo addressed to city Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes, the incentives package gives Duval County taxpayers a return on investment of 49 cents for every $1 invested.
Wendland said the Dun & Bradstreet headquarters will give the city a “boost in marketing power.”
“Bringing a world-renowned headquarters to Jacksonville significantly enhances our status in the financial services sector and has the potential for secondary and tertiary benefits that greatly elevate the conservative ROI as shown,” the memo says.
Dun & Bradstreet told the city the 500 full-time jobs, at an average annual wage of $77,000, would create a $38.5 million annual payroll excluding benefits.
Anthony Jabbour, CEO of Jacksonville-based Black Knight Inc., also leads Dun & Bradstreet.
“I’m proud of our city and I’m proud to share it with our colleagues at Dun & Bradstreet,” Jabbour said at the May 20 news conference at JAX Chamber.
Dun & Bradstreet was acquired in 2019 by an investor group including Black Knight, which remains a significant investor in the firm after its July 2020 initial public offering.
Black Knight’s offices are headquartered in Downtown’s Brooklyn neighborhood.
That building also houses Fidelity National Information Services Inc.’s headquarters. FIS, as it is known, is building a $156 million headquarters nearby along Riverside Avenue.
The memo says the company is considering other locations in the U.S. for the headquarters relocation, but Jabbour said May 20 the company will move to Jacksonville in the fall and is considering an office location.
Dun & Bradstreet provides due diligence and data services from a database of more than 100 million companies globally and has clients in most major industry sectors, according to the city.
Dun & Bradstreet also is moving financial operations to India from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, according to a report May 20 in The Morning Call publication.
Jabbour said in a news release the choice to move to Jacksonville was a strategic investment to grow the company.
“Jacksonville is an attractive market to recruit and retain future, diverse talent and we look forward to building our presence in the market and creating greater opportunities for advancement for the local community,” Jabbour said.
