One Jacksonville City Council committee recommended approval and another voted the opposite on a combined $3.53 million in loans for two Downtown properties set to be converted into a restaurant or retail space and apartments.
The Council Finance Committee voted 5-1 in favor of the two proposed loans for the former Mag’s Cafe property at 231 N. Laura St. and for the adjacent property at 38 Monroe St.
The Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee voted 4-3 not to recommend the loans.
The loans were contained in two separate pieces of legislation, both of which drew the same vote totals in each committee.
In the NCSPHS committee, members Mike Gay, Randy White, Ken Amaro and Michael Boylan voted no. In the Finance Committee, member Rory Diamond cast the no votes.
The loans are likely to go before Council on April 28.
Alan Cottrill, CEO of Avant Construction Group, bought the former Mag’s Cafe property through Global Solutions Partners Inc. in March 2026 from Carmen and Rafael Godwin.
The Godwins, through Historic Urban Core LLC, own the adjacent property on Monroe Street.
Council members expressed concern that the return on investment was too low for the projects. The Downtown Investment Authority, which would fund the projects through its Downtown Preservation and Revitalization Program, estimated that the ROI would be 53 cents for each dollar invested for both projects based on 20-year valuations.
The DIA says the high costs of restoring and modernizing older buildings justifies the lower return on investment, because otherwise it would be financially infeasible for developers to revitalize the structures.
Ordinance 2026-0219 would provide a $1.91 million loan for the Laura Street property, with allowance for $1.53 million to be forgiven.
Ordinance 2026-0218 would provide a $1.62 million loan for the Monroe Street property, with allowance for $1.3 million to be forgiven.
Council approved the funding for the projects as part of DIA’s 2025-26 budget, and the Council votes were simply to approve the agreement structure.
Loans can become forgivable at up to 20% of the potentially forgivable amount each year, for five years, should the developer meet requirements in an agreement with the city.
“Just looking at this for myself, just the forgivable part, I got a lot of reservation with that, and I feel like it’s (not) in the best interest of the city,” Gay said.
Council members who supported the bill in the Finance Committee noted that the funding would not come from the city’s general fund, and that ROI was above the minimum required for DPRP projects.
The Laura Street property would include 2,800 square feet of leasable commercial retail/restaurant space on the first floor and two one-bedroom apartments on the second.
The Monroe Street property would include 2,700 square feet of leasable commercial retail/restaurant space on the first floor and four one-bedroom apartments on the second.
“None of these projects are financially viable without the DIA programs that are set up specifically to revitalize historic structures,” Carmen Godwin wrote in an April 20 text message.