Project Sharp, believed to be Fidelity National Information Services Inc., would be completed in four years and create 500 headquarters jobs no later than six years after that, according to legislation filed with the city.
According to Resolution 2019-596 filed Thursday with Jacksonville City Council, Sharp will create 500 jobs by 2029, at a rate of 50 per year starting in 2020,
The bill comes after the Downtown Investment Authority approved a resolution supporting an economic agreement Wednesday for the deal, which matches the description of Jacksonville-based FIS, a Fortune 500 company based along Riverside Avenue.
The legislation authorizes Mayor Lenny Curry to enter into the agreement with Sharp.
The city proposes to award $29.9 million in incentives to Sharp, which requested confidentiality as allowed by state law regarding its corporate identity and the location of the project site.
It previously was identified as an international financial technology services company. The project site was shown on DIA documents as a parking lot owned by Florida Blue along Riverside Avenue near FIS’s existing offices on the Downtown Northbank.
FIS, which provides technology for financial institutions, bought the global Worldpay Inc. last week, creating the need for more space,
The legislation shows that Sharp would create a $145 million, 300,000-square-foot office building and structured parking in the Northbank Downtown Community Redevelopment Area; create 500 jobs that pay an average annual $85,000; and retain 1,216 jobs, similar in size to the FIS workforce.
Sharp requests:
• A $3 million Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund, of which $600,000 is from the city and $2.4 million from the state, with a 10-year payout starting next year. The amount is $6,000 per job, with $1,200 of that from the city.
• A city Recapture Enhanced Value Grant of up to $23.4 million paid from tax increment district funds by 2043, or 20 years after the improvements are made. That indicates the structure would be completed by 2023.
• A $3.5 million city closing grant upon completion of the improvements, which much be at least $130 million.
