At last there’s hope for the long-vacant Palms Fish Camp.
The North Jacksonville facility has a boat and pedestrian dock and ramp along with plenty of parking.
Yet, the distinct draw for the city-owned park has been the waterfront restaurant possibility. As it stands now, there’s a shell where a former fish camp once stood.
The city bought the land in 2002, demolished the former restaurant, then contracted with a partnership group that sought to rebuild a family-friendly fish camp that would maintain the atmosphere of its predecessor.
Construction delays led to the issue being mired in a lawsuit starting in 2012, which derailed progress on the site.
City Council this summer approved a $125,000 settlement with that group, getting the issue out of the courtroom and opening it up to new possibilities.
The next opportunity could be with a group of neighborhood guys.
Legislation that will be introduced to council on Wednesday calls for an agreement with Palms Fish Camp Restaurant LLC for at least a 20-year lease.
The group’s registered agent is Donald “Marshall” Adkison, CEO of Adkison Towing and a member of the city’s Planning Commission.
Marc Hardesty, an attorney and partner with the group, said his, Adkison’s and Jay MacKenzie’s interest in the project comes locally — it’s their neighborhood, as each are within walking distance of the site.
“We are, quite frankly, trying to come back bigger and better than ever,” said Hardesty. “It will be a first-class restaurant, No. 1.”
The name will remain the Palms Fish Camp, but it it won’t be anything upscale — no linen table cloths or fine china, said Hardesty. It was a fish camp and it will be a fish camp that will be a fun, comfortable place, he said.
Under terms of the deal, the group would complete the build-out of the restaurant — currently about 75 percent finished — and open by summer.
Hardesty said the group is ready and he would be surprised if it took the seven months the contract allows. He said the group has set aside about $500,000 to finish construction and open the restaurant.
Terms also call for the group to pay the city $1,500 a month in rent for the first five years, $1,650 for the following five years, $1,815 the five after and $1,997 in the final five years.
There also is an option for an extra five years at $2,196 per month.
Operations and maintenance would belong to the restaurant group, which was the only qualified respondent to a city request for proposal issued over the summer.
“We believe it could be a crown jewel for the area,” said Hardesty. “It’s had a rough patch … but we want to bring it back.”
@writerchapman
(904) 356-2466