Before any long-awaited development takes place at the Shipyards, city officials will have to determine what it will take to clean up the Downtown property.
They’re a step closer after the city’s Professional Services Evaluation Committee recommended Mechling Engineering & Consulting Inc. for the environmental consulting and testing of the site.
The Jacksonville-based company’s services include regulatory compliance and permitting services; assessment, remediation and monitoring of impacted site and environmental due diligence on properties.
The city put out a Request for Proposals for companies to handle sites assessment and a remedial action plan for the Downtown property that long has been known to need environmental clean-up.
Ten companies responded.
Mechling scored the highest on the evaluation matrix with an 86 out of 100 possible points. Geosyntec Consultants graded second with 81 and Tetra Tech scored third with a 73.
The grading subcommittee submitted that list to the evaluation committee, which Monday agreed and sent it to Mayor Alvin Brown for his selection.
If he selects the committee’s recommendation of Mechling, fee and contract negotiations will begin. The costs for services from the company are still sealed.
If the company and city can’t come to an agreement, it would open the opportunity for the other respondents next in the list.
City Procurement Chief Greg Pease said there was no timeline for Brown’s approval, but expected something by next week.
City Council in August designated a $13.4 million settlement from the site’s former developer specifically for environmental cleanup there. LandMar reached a deal with the city in 2004 that had the company redeveloping the property into an almost $1 billion mixed-use community. It fell through after putting almost $20 million in public investments into the property.
LandMar and its parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and the $13.4 million was what was determined to be the city’s portion that was recovered.
The environmental cleanup has been a necessary step to make the property more appealing to the private market.
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan for some time has been interested in the property adjacent to EverBank Field and turning it into some form of a mixed-use development. Such a plan would call for rental apartments, entertainment, retail and possibly a marina, team President Mark Lamping has said.
Lamping said in September he expected to know within six months whether Khan would pursue any such development.
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