by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Despite upwards of a dozen offers over the past 16 months, some more serious than others, Landing owner Toney Sleiman is not at all interested in selling the riverfront mall and he’d really like to squelch that persistent rumor.
“I’ve had 10-12 people call me, wanting to meet with me, trying to make offers,” said Sleiman. “The Landing is not for sale. I have told them I am not at that point and that I’m not interested. I don’t buy properties and flip them. I’m a developer.”
Sleiman is currently involved in a three-way negotiation with the Rouse Company out of Baltimore and the City to finalize a redevelopment deal. Sleiman bought the Landing from Rouse in August 2003 for $5.1 million and he is negotiating to buy the 11.2 acres the property sits on from the City (the last figure on the table was $13.2 million).
Once that deal is complete, Sleiman said he will begin not only revitalizing the Landing by remodeling it and luring big-name tenants, he has even more grandiose plans.
“I want to make the Landing the No. 1 spot in the southeast. That’s my goal,” said Sleiman, who also owns many other commercial properties all over the First Coast. “I am doing this for my mother who came to Jacksonville in 1917. My family has been here for 85 years. The Landing is not for sale and I am going to bring life back to downtown. That’s why we are pushing for the new 4 a.m. drinking law.”
Sleiman declined to provide names, but he did say he is negotiating with and has verbal agreements with several nationally-recognized retail chains and restaurants willing to set up shop at the Landing — under one condition.
“What has to happen first? I have to get some parking. Until I get more parking, the Landing will stay as it is,” said Sleiman. “When I get parking, though, watch what I do. I have commitments from national retail chains and restaurants that have said they will come to the Landing when I get parking. When I get them, everything else happens.”
Although the process seems to be dragging — dealing with an out-of-town owner and some public funding is certainly contributing to the length of the negotiations — Sleiman isn’t in a hurry. His other properties are generating revenue and he understands how slowly the financial and bureaucratic wheels can grind. And, Sleiman has both time on his side and a proven track record to fall back on.
“I’m very patient. I’ve got 52 years left on my lease. I’ll get impatient in 50 years,” he said. “I probably buy more commercial property in Jacksonville than anyone. I have never sold anything without developing it. I have been working this deal for 16 months. It is not for sale. I do not need the money.
“The Landing is absolutely, 100 percent not for sale. Even if I got an offer for 10 times what I paid for it, it’s not for sale.”