Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s proposal for the Shipyards can proceed, but some early questions arose from the group that ultimately will sign off on any deal.
The Downtown Investment Authority board Thursday cleared the way for Khan’s Iguana Investments Florida LLC to begin negotiations with DIA CEO Aundra Wallace on a redevelopment plan for the Downtown riverfront site. For almost an hour before that vote, though, board members dished out their opinions.
Kay Harper wanted more Downtown residential development involved, rather than office space.
Tony Allegretti pushed for dedicated connectivity between the site and the rest of the urban core.
Doris Goldstein talked about the need for a waterfront specialist in its overall design, pulling from her experience in helping select a firm to help redesign the Jacksonville Landing.
Exactly what the city would be on the hook for also was brought up, because many of the public expenditures in Khan’s proposal were marked “to be determined.” But answers aren’t available just yet.
The breakdown of tax monies generated by the site and where exactly they should go also was broached.
Attorney Paul Harden, representing Khan, said many of the design and individual components like residential and retail space will be market-driven.
In the end, there were no parameters, guidelines or deal-breakers — “guardrails” as they were called — inserted that would shape what Wallace should and shouldn’t stress during those talks.
More specifics of the project would be brought back to the board via a term sheet that could be reviewed before full contract negotiations would start.
Wallace wouldn’t try to peg how long those talks could take.
“This is a long-term project,” he said, indicating it could take up to 10 years to complete.
Although some board members questioned what should be the starting point for talks, Khan’s proposal establishes some of that.
Iguana is asking for the 46 acres of riverfront land to develop a mixed-use community that early plans show including up to 600 residential units, a private marina, office space, multitiered community football fields, a hotel and more. The plan calls for between $428 million to $663 million of private investment.
The city would pick up improvements to Bay Street, Hogans Creek, the boardwalk and public space, but that price tag isn’t yet known. It also would be on the hook for environmental cleanup at the site, which has long been contaminated. How much so is still being determined by the city, with the end of May being a goal for determining that number.
The Khan proposal caps it at $35 million from the city, although Harden said that was inserted to offer the city protection. Private assessments show it at more the $15 million to $18 million range, he said.
The city has about $13 million set aside for the site’s cleanup.
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