by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will work with new Landing owner Toney Sleiman to possibly alter the existing lease agreement, the JEDC’s director said Wednesday.
Kirk Wendland said the accessibility of parking would be a primary focus of the negotiations.
“We think we have an opportunity to make sure everybody is on the same page about where we want to go from here,” said Wendland. “I think there are things in the current lease that concern them and us, parking certainly being one of the large areas of concern.”
The City is obligated by the current lease to provide 300 publicly accessible parking spots during weekdays, 375 at night and on weekends. Sleiman will officially take possession of the shopping center during a ceremony today at City Hall.
Wendland said the City wants to alter a provision that requires the City to help build a parking deck housed in Humana’s downtown building. At the end of August the City will grant Humana a $275-per-day rent credit until the garage is built. If there’s still no garage at the end of February, the agreement requires the City to build a parking deck for the Landing.
Construction on the garage has not yet begun, and Wendland said plans for the garage could be scuttled. He said the City wanted to know whether Sleiman wanted the Humana garage before investing millions.
“We want to make sure this is a situation that Sleiman wants before we pour $3.5 million into a new parking solution that may not be the right one,” said Wendland.
Complicating negotiations are Humana’s plans to sell the building. Although Wendland said Humana and the City “would be happy” to move back deadlines for the garage, he said the negotiations would have to include Humana’s potential buyers.
In addition to contractual complications, Wendland said the Humana building’s location would have to be addressed. The building is across Water Street from the Landing, meaning shoppers would have to cross one of downtown’s busiest streets.
Other parking solutions could include building a parking garage on top of the current east lot, sitting between the Landing and the Adam’s Mark Hotel. However, Wendland said the garage would take away from the riverfront aesthetic.
“A parking garage isn’t what we want people to see coming over the Main Street Bridge,” said Wendland. “That’s not really what we’re looking to see on that property.”
The City’s third option would be to cull public metered parking with the east lot and private lots in the vicinity. At last week’s Downtown Development Authority parking workshop, DDA managing director Al Battle said that approach had not been satisfactory.
Wendland said the JEDC would work “with all the key players” to evaluate the lease. If changes are made, he said they would benefit all parties. Changes to the lease agreement would follow the City’s standard approval process for downtown development, requiring JEDC approval before a City Council vote.
“If amendments are required we want to make sure we’re presenting one amendment, not six,” said Wendland.