by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
EverBank’s requests for City assistance to move 1,000 jobs from the suburbs into Downtown and create more jobs are in the hands of City Council, which could vote on the deals June 28, pending committee approvals over the coming weeks.
The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission unanimously approved the incentives on Thursday in a 5-0 vote.
The decision came after hearing from supporters and opponents of providing EverBank incentives to relocate from the Southside to Downtown, which has been struggling and has become a focus of many business and City leaders, including Mayor-elect Alvin Brown.
EverBank lawyer Steve Diebenow, with the Driver, McAfee, Peek & Hawthorne firm, said the bank will not consider a Downtown move without the relocation incentive.
“If the legislation is not approved, EverBank will no longer consider Downtown,” he said Thursday afternoon after the morning meeting.
“The decision to relocate is one they’re not making lightly. It’s a challenging exercise and an expensive exercise and without the approval of incentives, they won’t relocate Downtown,” he said.
EverBank is based in Jacksonville and maintains its headquarters along Riverside Avenue, near Downtown. It also leases space in the Southside, which is where the 1,000 jobs are located now.
Commission Executive Director Ron Barton told the commissioners that EverBank has 1,400 employees in the area. A project summary shows that 284 employees are housed at its headquarters, with the remainder in the suburbs.
“EverBank’s a local company that was founded here and they are intrigued by the possible opportunity to move Downtown,” said Diebenow.
EverBank issued a statement late Thursday through its communications firm.
“EverBank continues to evaluate a number of viable locations for our long-term space-planning needs, including a potential relocation to the Downtown area. We remain focused on making sure it’s the right decision for the company, our employees, our stakeholders and the City of Jacksonville,” it said.
EverBank’s options are to renew its current leases, evaluate new sites for construction or relocate to other existing office space, either in the suburbs or Downtown, according to the commission.
The commission approved two EverBank projects and sent them to Council. In those deals:
• EverBank requests $2.75 million to help offset the $26.5 million it said it will spend to move and improve space Downtown to house the 1,000 employees that would relocate from leased space in the Quadrant II and Cypress Plaza office centers, both in Southside. The jobs must be moved by Sept. 30, 2012.
A project summary said that EverBank has negotiated to lease more than 225,000 square feet of space and 1,400 parking spaces Downtown. No site was specified in the summary except to say it is within the urban core bounded by Jefferson, State and Main streets and the St. Johns River.
The Daily Record has reported that AT&T Tower 301 is the likely location under review. Building representative Pamela Smith attended the meeting but did not make a public comment. She has declined comment previously. Diebenow would not confirm the site, adding that there have been four Downtown buildings under consideration.
Also, the deal says that EverBank must maintain at least 1,350 jobs among its Riverside Avenue area headquarters and the urban core for at least five years. Of those, 1,000 must be maintained in the core. The City would make the payment after EverBank moved the jobs and provided documentation.
Barton called the deal a “cost mitigator” and said funds would come from a Downtown economic development fund.
• In a deal dubbed “Project Plaza,” EverBank requests $300,000 in state training assistance and also Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund assistance from the City and the state to create 200 jobs at an average wage of $49,000.
EverBank would qualify for up to $2.1 million in QTI payments from the City and the state if the jobs are created in the urban core, specifically the Enterprise Zone and Brownfield area. In that area, it could receive a refund of $10,500 per job.
The City would pay $420,000 and the State would pay $1.68 million.
If it creates the jobs outside of those areas, the refund would be $1.3 million. In either case, the City would pay 20 percent of the refund and the state would pay 80 percent, after the jobs are created and taxes paid.
Diebenow said the legislation, which was introduced to Council by Mayor John Peyton two weeks ago, will be heard by the Council Rules and the Council Recreation and Community Development committees on June 20 and by the Finance Committee June 21.
The Council could vote on the deals before July 1, the day Brown takes office. He campaigned on a platform that included a strong focus on Downtown revitalization.
Brown didn’t attend the meeting, but provided a comment Thursday afternoon.
“I applaud the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s unanimous decision to support the EverBank agreement with the City. Moving 1,000 jobs Downtown with the promise of 200 full-time jobs that will be created will have a positive effect on small businesses in the Downtown area, more people eating out, shopping and parking,” he said in a statement.
“EverBank’s promised $26.5 million private investment and the combined City and state’s $5.1 million public investment that will create jobs and stimulate small business is exactly the kind of public-private partnership I advocated for during my campaign that will have a good return on investment,” he said.
Brown said he looked forward to working with EverBank as it continues to invest in Downtown and the city.
The commission unanimously approved the two EverBank deals, and several others, in a meeting attended by about 70 people. Commissioner George Gabel, with Holland & Knight, recused himself from the EverBank votes because his firm represents EverBank.
The anticipated size of the group necessitated a decision Wednesday to move the meeting from the commission’s usual location in the mayor’s office at City Hall into a larger room at the Ed Ball Building nearby. About 20 people, almost equally for and against aspects of the deals, spoke about EverBank during the public comment period.
Members of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County and radio host Chuck White were among the people speaking against the deal, specifically opposing the use of City funds to repay EverBank for relocation costs.
Downtown merchants, residents, developers and other Downtown advocates spoke in favor of the assistance.
Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone President Jerry Mallot said EverBank had not made a decision yet about the move Downtown, but said a move of 1,000 jobs would be “a critical element” for the efforts to revitalize the urban core and to assist the City’s efforts toward economic development.
Jacobs Jewelers owner Roy Thomas said he has operated Downtown for 51 years and recalls when the City’s core was filled with retailers. “It was vibrant,” he said, telling commissioners that “we need to get this thing done.”
“This is really about the importance of Downtown,” said Downtown Vision Inc. Executive Director Terry Lorince, adding that “1,200 jobs is a big deal Downtown.”
White said that the deal was moving too quickly through Council and urged that it should wait for the new Council that takes office July 1 to be “properly vetted and discussed.”
“Those in favor are those who tend to benefit and those who pay for it are not,” said Joe Andrews of Concerned Taxpayers.
Among other legislation and business approved by the JEDC and sent to Council were:
• A settlement agreement between the City, the JEDC and Project Riverwatch LLC regarding property at Bay and Hogan streets next to the SunTrust Building.
• A deal with Parador Partners LLC, majority owner of the SunTrust Building, in which Parador would buy the property next to the building and develop a parking garage of at least 500 spaces to serve the building tenants and the public. The City would provide a grant of $3.5 million to Parador upon completion of the garage.
• A new lease and operating agreement with the Churchwell Lofts at East Bay Condominium Association Inc.
• An expansion of the Bay Street Town Center Entertainment Zone to allow more bar owners to create sidewalk cafes in front of their buildings and to rename the area as “E-Town Zone.”
The commission also approved a bond resolution authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds and revenue refunding bonds not to exceed $10 million on behalf of The Bolles School to refinance debt and make capital improvements. The City and commission will have no liability for payment.
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