Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan continues to work on plans for the Shipyards, but there’s no timeframe for completing a proposal and presenting one to the city, said Jaguars President Mark Lamping.
Lamping said Wednesday the Shipyards property, which is critically close to the sports complex, is important to the Jaguars.
“We’re not at that point where we’re prepared to move forward with a proposal,” Lamping said after a speech at the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business Alumni Chapter Speaker Series at UNF.
“We continue to work diligently on it,” he said. “There’s nothing new.”
Asked if there were potential issues that would affect the plans, Lamping said that wouldn’t be known until the due diligence was completed.
Khan said in June 2013 he was interested in developing the Shipyards and said in July this year that a proposal could be ready within weeks. Lamping said the following week that a plan could be presented by the start of the NFL season Sept. 7.
Jim Woodcock, Khan’s spokesman, said in late August there was nothing to discuss about a Shipyards proposal. “To be clear, there is no delay, no deadline, no timeline. We merely said we hoped to be able to speak to something around the start of the NFL season,” Woodcock said then.
The Jaguars’ first home game will be Sept. 21 against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jaguars envision plans to redevelop the vacant 40-acre Northbank Riverfront property as a mixed-use housing and retail project to include public space, entertainment and tourist attractions. The property is owned by the city.
Lamping said in July the mixed-use development would be designed to support people living Downtown, working Downtown and visiting Downtown, “and doing it in a way that provides great support to the sports complex.”
The Shipyards property is near EverBank Field, the home of the Jaguars, and Khan has expressed a need to act quickly on the development.
Pending due diligence and resolution of environmental issues on the property, which housed a working shipyards until it closed in 1992, the Jaguars expect to make the proposal.
The city Procurement Division issued a Request for Proposals for environmental consulting, testing and operations and maintenance services for the Jacksonville Shipyards.
Proposals were due Aug. 20 but that has been tentatively extended to Sept. 24.
Lamping said Wednesday the delay in the proposal due date has no impact on the due diligence.
He said in June if the Jaguars pursued development, they envision serving as the master developer for a project to include rental apartments, entertainment, retail and a marina.
It would include a park-like setting that includes a multipurpose facility that could be used by the Jaguars or, for example, visiting teams to the TaxSlayer Bowl that need a practice facility.
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