by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Urban League will have to wait to buy its West Union Street headquarters from the City.
The deal has already been negotiated. A redevelopment agreement with the City calls for the Urban League to pay $200,000 up front and then pay off a $600,000 mortgage over 10 years for the office building at 903 West Union Street. The Urban League has been trying to exercise its option on the building for more than a year, said Richard Danford, the group’s president.
The deal was again delayed Monday, when the City Council’s Finance Committee deferred a vote until the City can decide what to do with the Urban League’s money. The deal originally called for the money to be put into an account dedicated to develop the surrounding LaVilla neighborhood. Now the mayor’s office will decide whether to make the money available to the rest of downtown as well.
Danford said he’s grown used to waiting on the deal. He said the Urban League had already done its part in negotiations.
“I think their concern is where the money’s going to go; that’s not really our problem,” said Danford. “We’re just going to sit tight and let them figure out what they’re going to do.”
Danford said he’d like to see the money reinvested in LaVilla, but would leave the decision up to the mayor. The Urban League’s original agreement with the City deposited the money into the Ritz Historical Maintenance Account. That account no longer exists.
JEDC spokesperson Jean Moyer said the City may want to keep the money in the LaVilla Land Account. That account, which sets money aside for neighborhood development, could be rapidly depleted if the City decides to refurbish and move the neighborhood’s historic Brewster Hospital. But the money could also end up in the Downtown Economic Development Fund, where it could be spent across downtown.
The Urban League partnered with the City in 1996 to develop its office building. The group and the City split equally the $1.6 million redevelopment cost. The Urban League is now seeking to pay the City back its $800,000 to take over ownership of the building. The City assesses the building’s value at $1.3 million.