by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Representatives from Sleiman Enterprises say they’ve been assured by the mayor’s office that their negotiations for City help with the Landing won’t be affected by changes to the City’s development incentive policies.
Mayor’s office representatives say that’s true, sort of.
At Mayor John Peyton’s direction, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission has taken a two-month break from granting incentives while it reviews where and how it spends its incentive dollars. The commission’s early discussions indicate that low-interest loans and retail shopping might not rank high among the City’s development priorities.
On the surface that doesn’t seem to bode well for Landing owner Toney Sleiman. He asked Peyton for a $21 million, low-interest loan, and help on about $20 million worth of improvements, to help jump start the flagging riverfront mall. But Landing spokesperson Rachel Kaltenbach said Peyton told Sleiman ahead of time about the JEDC’s restructuring and assured the developer that his project wouldn’t be affected.
“The mayor told us about the incentive freeze and the reorganization, and told us that it would not affect us,” said Kaltenbach.
The announcement that Peyton was going to revamp the JEDC came attached with the footnote that ongoing negotiations would be considered under the City’s previous policies, said Susie Wiles, Peyton’s communications chief. The City has negotiated with Sleiman as the JEDC continues its review.
Wiles acknowledged that the original Sleiman requests seem to run counter to the JEDC’s emerging direction. But she said the deal ultimately sent to the JEDC “could look radically different than what was originally proposed.”
At least one aspect of the evolving JEDC will influence the negotiations. Peyton challenged the commission to look beyond traditional incentives — grants, loans and tax breaks — in putting together development deals. Wiles said the Landing provided an excellent opportunity to put that creativity to the test.
“We don’t yet know what it might look like,” she said. “This is as good a case study as any to try something new.”
Peyton favors housing over retail as a means to develop downtown, but Wiles called the Landing “a special case,” for two reasons. First, its prominent location and status as a downtown landmark. Second, the City is already contractually obligated to provide parking to the shopping center. Helping Sleiman build a garage off the river would satisfy the City’s parking commitment while keeping riverfront property open for more lucrative projects.
“That’s not to say the incentive package might be more or less than if it was located somewhere else, but it’s a downtown crown jewel, and an important community asset and we’ll negotiate appropriately,” said Wiles.
Kaltenbach said negotiations “were going very well.” She said Sleiman planned to have a deal done in time to start construction shortly after the Super Bowl.
Wiles wouldn’t speculate on when a deal might be reached. She said both the JEDC review and the negotiations with Sleiman were in their early stages.