JAXUSA President Jerry Mallot told John Delaney something Monday the former mayor didn’t know.
Mallot observed that a convention center can influence a visiting corporate executive’s view of a city, perhaps creating a favorable impression strong enough to spark an economic development deal.
“I never heard that the convention business can expose people in a positive way, but it makes sense,” Delaney said, referring to the industry as a feeder system for job- and investment-producing projects.
Mallot said the convention business plays a huge role. “It feeds the image of a community,” he said.
Delaney is leading Mayor-elect Lenny Curry’s Economic Development Transition Subcommittee. The 18-member group met Monday and expects to start discussing its recommendations Thursday. It wraps up July 9.
Mallot, a 21-year veteran as the JAX Chamber’s economic-development leader, brought up the convention center connection when questioned why Jacksonville loses some deals to cities such as Dallas and Orlando.
He explained that those cities have a “brand” that is reinforced by their large convention industries.
“You get an affinity for that city,” he said.
Subcommittee member Ceree Harden, a chair of the former Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, asked further about a convention center.
“Do I think we need a convention center? Absolutely I do,” Mallot said.
Mallot said a Downtown convention center would generate restaurants and entertainment Downtown, create a lot of jobs and benefit many.
“And, by the way, it would expose our city in ways that we don’t do today to a lot of people that over time will be influenced to look our way when they get a chance to make those kinds of decisions,” he said.
Delaney then, responded, “If you thought the courthouse was expensive ...”
The former mayor then raised past questions about investing $300 million to $500 million into a convention center that would compete with the massive 2 million square feet of exhibition space in Orlando. The Orange County Convention Center tops 7 million square feet of space when meeting rooms, the ballroom and other areas are included.
Mallot said Jacksonville could compete for the mid-market conventions rather than the large ones. Now, he said, “we’re missing almost any market.”
Delaney said after the meeting that any recommendation about a new convention center to replace the aging Prime Osborn venue would be up to the subcommittee. The Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center has 78,000 of exhibit space and 265,000 square feet total.
“The capital is just so high, but we’ll see. The committee might make a run at it,” he said after the hourlong meeting at the University of North Florida.
The private Jacksonville Civic Council has endorsed development of a convention center at the Northbank Riverfront sites of the City Hall Annex and part of the former Duval County Courthouse property. The location is next to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel.
“At some point it’s ripe,” Delaney said in the post-meeting interview. “The question is if you had $400 million for economic development, is the convention center the best place to put it?”
Delaney asked whether the money would be better spent in port development, at the proposed Shipyards project or in other infrastructure.
For now, Delaney considers a new Downtown convention center a tertiary issue.
Mallot presented the JAXUSA Partnership’s role in economic development Monday, after city Office of Economic Development CEO Ted Carter explained his office’s work Friday.
JAXUSA Partnership is the economic-development division of the JAX Chamber. Mallot and Carter both said JAXUSA is the marketing and prospecting arm in the industry while the city is the deal-closer with taxpayer and other government assistance, such as in permitting and regulations.
Delaney said after three of his subcommittee’s eight meetings it’s becoming clearer that speed in getting deals done and regulatory overlay are big deals, and incentives are critical.
As for an economic-development model, he said his gut feeling is that some form of the existing four-pronged approach now in place would work.
Those four prongs are the chamber’s JAXUSA Partnership, the city Office of Economic Development, the city Office of Sports and Entertainment and the independent Downtown Investment Authority.
Mallot said the top six factors considered by a prospect to expand in Jacksonville are the city’s available workforce; an inventory of existing available buildings; quality of life; the business environment; the speed and certainty of regulatory review; and incentives.
“Speed is very, very important to the deal,” he emphasized.
Mallot offered recommendations for Curry: Update the public investment policy with the ability to deal with confidentiality, which already exists to some degree; encourage the mayor’s participation in economic-development trips and missions as well as calling on companies in conjunction with the governor; using city-owned Cecil Commerce Center, a former Navy base, for larger or unusual projects that might not fit elsewhere; and working with the JAX Chamber.
Mallot also cautioned against a matrix or system that would exclude businesses and areas from seeking incentives and then need City Council approval to waive the incentives policy to allow assistance.
“Our strategy should be to incentivize, not penalize,” he said.
He also noted that while high-wage jobs, almost $50,000 and above, are sought after with incentives, positions also are needed that pay in the more moderate $30,000-$45,000 range, considered a good wage in many areas of town.
Delaney said Thursday’s meeting will feature DIA CEO Aundra Wallace, after which the subcommittee will start deciding what else it needs to study and start discussing recommendations for Curry.
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