by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
LandMar unveiled its plans Wednesday to make good on the $50 million promise of The Shipyards.
The development firm’s CEO, Ed Burr, released to the public for the first time his vision of the luxury development. Renderings from Rink Design depicted a series of public parks including renovation of a pier jutting 680 feet into the St. Johns River, built on the barren piece of property on the river between the Police Memorial Building and the Kid’s Kampus.
The mayor’s office is hoping Burr can deliver where previous developer TriLegacy couldn’t. That deal fell apart under the glare of a grand jury investigation and now LandMar is looking to pick up the pieces.
For the right to eventually build luxury residences and office space on the enormous stretch of riverfront land, LandMar has offered to develop 7.5 acres of the riverfront for the public and take over payments on $47 million in City-issued bonds.
LandMar would also invest $22.5 million of its own money to finish the public improvements, according to a redevelopment agreement that the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will consider during today’s board meeting.
If the JEDC signs off on the deal as expected - its leadership helped negotiate the deal with LandMar - the next step would be the City Council, which has set an April 30 deadline for the City to reach an agreement with LandMar. Thus, it appears it will be up to the Council whether the deadline can be met.
“There should be plenty of time to reach an informed decision,” said LandMar spokesman Michael Munz of The Dalton Agency. “It will probably be the Council’s decision to make.”
Several Council members have already declared their intention to go through the deal carefully before giving their approval.
Finance Committee Chairman Reggie Fullwood wants to know how much the land is worth. The City’s settlement agreement with TriLegacy estimates the land’s value at $29 million, but that assumes that $14 million worth of improvements have been built into the land. TriLegacy spent that amount on prep work, but $6 million was spent on planning and design costs that may not increase the land’s value, according to Council auditors.
Fullwood previously has questioned how the City can evaluate its current deal with LandMar without knowing exactly what the land is worth.
“That’s like Real Estate 101 type stuff,” said Fullwood.
Council President Elaine Brown said the land’s value had undoubtedly climbed since the City first started looking for developers. But she said there was value simply in finding a reliable developer for one of downtown’s premier pieces of real estate.
The mayor’s Council liaison, Paul Crawford, expects to give the Council an independent appraisal of the land before it has to consider the LandMar deal.
Whatever number the appraisal comes up with, Burr said it wouldn’t affect the deal from his standpoint.
“I don’t know what the land is worth, but our financial commitment is substantial,” said Burr. “We’re committing $34 million to the public facilities and were committing to fund the bond shortfall. If the appraisal is going to make a difference, it will only be from the Council’s point of view.”
LandMar will encourage tough questions from the Council and will be ready to answer them, said Munz. Provisions for tougher City oversight of development would prevent the recurrence of past problems, he said.
“Both LandMar and the City have worked hard to get a deal that will withstand the tough scrutiny that it deserves,” said Munz. “Both parties have approached negotiations from the perspective of protecting the City’s investment in the land.”
LandMar’s commitment to providing public space along the river should also appeal to the Council, he said.