The Berkman II property on the Downtown Northbank at 500 E. Bay St. has a new owner.
The 2.02-acre site along the St. Johns River is west of the USS Orleck Naval Museum and across Bay Street street from the Duval County Jail.
Atlanta-based Choate Construction Co. sold the property July 18 to Curtis D. Hodgson of Addison, Texas, for $7.3 million.
Hodgson is the founder and director of Legacy Housing Corp. in Bedford, Texas. Legacy says it builds, sells and finances manufactured homes and “tiny houses.”
Also on July 18, Hodgson entered into an exclusive option agreement for the property with Florida Innovation Capital 500 E Bay Street Parent LLC of Jacksonville.
Florida Innovation Capital is managed by Jacksonville developer Michael Munz and was created in April. On his LinkedIn page, Munz says he is the founding partner and CEO. He says it is a “ venture capital fund focused primarily on startups in the state of Florida.”
Hodgson said he provided financing for the sale personally, not through Legacy, and was not involved in any development plans for the property.
“I’m just the money man,” he said. “I’m holding it until they get their ducks in a row.”
Munz and Peter Rummell worked for years to develop what is now called RiversEdge: Life on the St. Johns on the Downtown Southbank. Preston Hollow took control of that project in 2020. Munz also was an executive at the Dalton public relations firm.
Munz, contacted by text message July 28, said he was traveling and asked to be reached another time.
The sale ends decades of involvement in the Berkman II by Choate.
The Berkman II was a condominium development where construction was halted in December 2007 after the parking garage for the building collapsed, killing one worker and injuring others.
It left a ruin along the riverfront that stood for decades.
After years of litigation, Choate, one of the building’s contractors, acquired it in a foreclosure auction and secured the property for $100 in April 2014.
Failed development efforts led to Choate acquire the property in another foreclosure auction in July 2024 for $5.13 million.
The city condemned and demolished the Berkman II in 2022. Its lot remains empty.
