Mayor Alvin Brown said Wednesday that Downtown development, one of his campaign pledges and a platform in his economic development vision, must be considered holistically.
Brown spoke to about 120 members of the Southside Business Men’s Club. A member asked him about plans for the former Shipyards property along the Northbank riverfront.
Brown said any development there would be “part of a holistic approach.”
The mayor said development would have to be viable, financially backed and sustainable. The City would need to “make sure we get a return on our investment.”
Another primary question he said would be asked: “Does it make good business sense?”
Brown provided an overview of his administration’s progress. He said he presented a balanced budget to City Council that included no increased taxes or fees. He said he told the Duval Legislative Delegation to not send him any taxes, fees or mandates from the upcoming legislative session.
He repeated his stand that he disagrees with the state’s plans to build the Outer Beltway with tolls. “No tolls, period,” he said. “Zippo.”
Brown is working on a plan to reorganize City government that he expects to present after City Council approves the 2011-12 budget. The budget must be ready by the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.
That reorganization is expected to include a revised economic development function, including a new Downtown development authority, he said.
“I’m going to focus on Downtown,” he said.
Brown said he would have “the best business leaders and developers advising me on Downtown.”
After taking office July 1, Brown appointed Don Shea, executive director of the Jacksonville Civic Council, and Jerry Mallot, executive vice president of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, to study and recommend how the City should handle economic development.
The two said this week that they expect to wrap up work within the month and present an organizational chart to include an Office of Economic Development and a Downtown redevelopment agency.
“At this point, we believe that a general outline of a new economic development structure could take shape within the next month, including a strategy to create a new, quasi-independent Downtown redevelopment agency for the City,” Shea said.
While the Downtown development agency would address Downtown economic development, the Office of Economic Development would work closely with the mayor to complete citywide deals quickly.
Brown did not address news this week that the Hyatt Downtown is scheduled to be sold in a public action Jan. 11.
Brown was not available to take questions after his speech from several reporters at the meeting.
Chief of Staff Chris Hand said this morning that Brown is confident in the revitalization of Downtown and in the future of the Hyatt.
The Hyatt, with more than 960 rooms, is the largest Downtown hotel and the newest built along the St. Johns River. The hotel, then the Adam’s Mark Hotel, served as NFL headquarters for the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville.
Hyatt General Manager Dan King said the Northbank hotel continues its day-to-day operations and has a long-term agreement to operate the property. He said the ownership group was working with its lender concerning its mortgage loan.
The Hyatt plays a key role in any plans to develop a convention center Downtown, which was called for in a Civic Council report early this year.
Shea said the auction of the Hyatt, as well as an auction planned for the Wyndham on the Southbank to start Monday, is more a statement about the state of tourism and the recreation industry.
Speaking about the Hyatt, Shea said “it’s a desirable property.”
“If it does indeed go to auction, it will have an interested bidder,” Shea said. “The Hyatt brand is not the problem. It’s occupancy in general.”
Shea said the “underpinnings of a Downtown environment are strong.”
The Civic Council envisioned a convention center at the site of the existing Duval County Courthouse. That property becomes available when the courthouse functions move in May to the new courthouse along Monroe Street several blocks west.
The existing courthouse is next to the Hyatt.
Shea said that development of a convention center needed a nearby hotel, among other elements. “We have the hotel,” he said, adding that it might be owned by another group by the time a center is developed.
Convention center development isn’t immediate, however. “We haven’t gotten beyond the conception stage,” he said.
He also said that the site wasn’t a certainty either, although a center would need to be “proximate to a headquarters hotel.”
“Keep in mind that hotels change hands all the time, which is usually not apparent to citizens, and they change flags, which is apparent,” Shea said.
The 18-story Hyatt property was built in 2001 as an Adam’s Mark Hotel.
Oxford Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel LLC, based in San Francisco, bought the hotel property March 30, 2005, and changed the flag to Hyatt.
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