by Brad Parsons and Mike Sharkey
Staff Writers
Landing owner Toney Sleiman doesn’t expect any competition for the land underneath the Landing when bids have to be in to the City’s Procurement department by next Wednesday.
“Like any other bidder, I have to submit my bid,” said Sleiman, who has a multi-decade lease on the Landing and aggressive plans to renovate the riverfront mall which opened in 1987.
Opening the land to an open Request for Proposals means the parcel is open to bids from other developers. Jeanne Miller, the deputy director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said the City was required to issue an RFP for the land because it’s located inside downtown’s Community Development Area.
Although technically an open bidding process, the City expects Sleiman’s Jacksonville Landing Investments to end up with the land.
That’s because the developer who wins the RFP would have to use the land in accordance with the City’s 50-year lease with JLI. So a developer other than JLI interested in the land under the Landing would have to buy out Sleiman’s existing lease on the mall itself.
Sleiman said that even if another developer submitted a bid and won, it wouldn’t do them any good because he owns the building and has development rights. Should a developer actually offer to buy the Landing also, Sleiman said they better have deep pockets and even then it wouldn’t do much good.
“I can sit on this property for 54 years and not do anything. I have it tied up for the next 54 years. I don’t expect anyone else to bid on it and if they do they better have plenty of money and no sense. They would be in a negative cash flow for 54 years because they can’t do anything with it,” said Sleiman, reiterating that the Landing isn’t for sale. “My deal is to redevelop the Landing and make it beautiful and something the city can be proud of. I have been offered a lot of money for the Landing and I have said ‘No.’”
At this point, the City hasn’t received any bids on the RFP. But JEDC staff expects that to change prior to the 2 p.m. deadline on Dec. 21. At that point, all proposals will be opened publicly. The City will choose a winner on Dec. 31.
Sleiman’s long-term lease on the Landing doesn’t make him an automatic winner as all bids would be evaluated based on the criteria spelled out in the RFP, according to JEDC spokesperson Jenny Walthour. That means the offering price will be the most important consideration followed by the developer’s financial capability and experience with similar projects.
Sleiman said the open bid process is fine with him despite the fact it’s practically a foregone conclusion his bid will be selected.
“The City can’t just give it to a developer,” he said. “This is fair to everyone and it’s a good law.”
The land offered in the RFP is appraised at $15.76 million. If, as expected, Sleiman claims it, the purchase would clear the way for Sleiman to move forward with plans to expand the mall from 180,000 square feet to more than 1 million square feet.
Sleiman said he will proceed with the renovations as soon as this stage of the process is complete and he receives approval from City Council.
“I am ready to go,” he said. “When I get City Council approval, I will be ready to rock and roll.”
All of the proposals received will be evaluated by Mayor John Peyton’s chief of staff Steve Diebenow and staff from the City’s Procurement Department.