by David Chapman
Staff Writer
It took a little discussion to flesh out details, but the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission approved a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit a master developer for Cecil Commerce Center Thursday during the organization’s monthly meeting.
The RFP form is broken down into ten categories, each assigned a different points value, and will be submitted by developer teams to solicit the contract for the 4,532-acre Cecil Commerce Center.
“It’s our attempt to assign a point system for developers,” said JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton, who made the presentation to JEDC members.
Minimum qualifications include experience as a master developer of a large scale industrial park, construction of 10 million square feet of industrial space within the last 10 years and at least 5 million square feet of industrial space under management.
It was the lack of one requirement – a potential developer’s minimum capitalization – that drew the first round of discussion.
“You can have an incredible proposal, but if you don’t have the financial power it won’t get done,” said JEDC member Barbara Moore.
Barton said the RFP was written in a way that should deter unqualified bids and with the drastic downturn in the economic marketplace, it is unclear what should be considered “minimum.”
“I liked the idea, but trying to put it in perspective in this marketplace is difficult,” said Barton, who noted the original draft had a minimum requirement that was taken out because he didn’t feel confident with it.
A motion to include a minimum capital requirement as part of the the qualifications failed.
Commissioners then focused on how weighted each of the 10 categories of the RFP should be, with members wanting more points going toward categories focused on developer competence, financial responsibility, ability to design, quote rate and ability to observe and advise whether plans are in compliance.
Those five categories had the highest points attainable on the RFP, but some commissioners wanted them weighted more to ensure some bids didn’t accrue points on the smaller categories and instead were successful on core elements.
A motion to reweight the point system failed.
“I applaud you on all the dialogue,” said Barton. “When we were creating the documents, we (JEDC staff) had the very same discussions you all are having.”
Following the discussions, the Cecil Field Commerce RFP was approved 6–1.
After being evaluated by the Professional Services Evaluation Committee (PSEC), the RFP will then go to the Procurement Department and become open for bids from master developers for a period of 60 days.
“We’re trying to make progress on it (Cecil Field Commerce Center) as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Barton. “Next up, the bids hit the streets and we’ll see what happens from there.”
A tentative schedule from JEDC has bids closing from the Cecil master developer in early January 2009.
Also on the agenda at Thursday’s JEDC meeting:
• Commissioners agreed to a seven year contract extension with Interline Brands that will allow the company to put off construction of its second phase development plans in La Villa due to the current economic downturn. The direct marketer and distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products assumed the development agreement of the property following a merger of Barnett, Inc. and Wilmar Industries in 2000. The company employs 440 people Downtown. Interline now has to complete a series of performance benchmarks, with the first being submission of its second phase plans to the Downtown Development Review Board (DDRB) by Dec. 31, 2013. As part of the new agreement, if Interline doesn’t comply with the benchmarks, the City would take possession of half of the property at no cost. “I believe they have made all commitments to Jacksonville so far,” said JEDC Chair Bob Rhodes. The measure will next go to City Council for approval.
• Millard Refrigerated Services was approved for a $230,000 incentive through the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Bonus. The international refrigerated warehouse and distribution company with headquarters in Omaha, Neb., is looking for a Southeastern warehouse and distribution facility and chose Jacksonville over cities including Savannah, Ga. and Charleston, S.C. Code-named “Project Coldfront,” the company proposes to purchase over 25 acres in the Imeson International Industrial Park, a designated Brownfield Area. The first phase would create 92 jobs at an average salary of more than $37,000 by 2010. The measure will next go to City Council.
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