A legal battle has broken out over the former Regency Square mall, with the owner of most of the Arlington property accused of diverting a deal away from a Jacksonville church on the mall grounds to acquire it instead.
Impact Church of Jacksonville Inc., owner of one of three independently owned buildings on the former mall grounds, filed two complaints since late 2025 in the 4th Judicial Circuit Court against Blackwater Regency LLC, Blackwater Regency Acquisition LLC, Blackwater principal Rurmell McGee, real estate developer Ramzy Bakkar, Xera Realty Inc. and Mustard Tree LLC.
The church alleges that after making an unsuccessful attempt to buy the mall in partnership with McGee in 2021, it reached an agreement with him in 2024 to provide licensed real estate sales services.
Eric Lawson, corporate counsel for Impact, said the church wanted to buy the mall property at 9501 Arlington Expressway and began working with McGee in his capacity as a real estate broker for the purchase to earn a commission on the $19.1 million sale.
“He was going to make about $360,000. We had it all lined up until Rurmell diverted the deal,” Lawson said.
Blackwater bought the remaining portion of the mall structure and the 90-acre site surrounding the building in April 2025 from Mason Asset Management Inc. and Namdar Realty Group LLC, both in Great Neck, New York.
Impact Church alleges McGee breached the 2024 agreement by purchasing the property without the church’s knowledge.
McGee and Blackwater deny it.
“We are disappointed that Impact Church has chosen to file these two meritless lawsuits. Impact’s lawsuits are both premised upon false and misleading allegations and ignore Impact’s own repeated failures to honor its commitments,” attorney Alan Wachs with Smith, Gambrell & Russell, representing Blackwater and McGee, said in response to the complaints.
“Quite simply, Impact is engaged in efforts to greenmail Regency’s redevelopers into providing Impact financial benefits to which Impact is not legally entitled. We are certain that we will be completely exonerated in these cases and that Impact Church will be held fully accountable,” Wachs wrote.
“Greenmailing” is the term for a practice derived from “greenbacks” and blackmail.
Impact’s accusation
Impact owns the former Belk department store building at the center of the mall, which it purchased for $7 million in September 2016.
According to the church’s court filings, Impact and McGee formed Mustard Tree LLC to facilitate the closing of the purchase and formalize their 2024 agreement on the property acquisition.
Impact said at its direction, McGee, through Blackwater, began negotiating with the mall owners.
Impact contends the terms of the deal to buy the mall, including the offer price, were those of the church, which McGee communicated to the mall owners through Blackwater.
Impact says its representatives and attorneys reviewed and revised all proposed purchase agreements exchanged between Blackwater and the mall owners throughout the sale negotiation process.
The church contends that it provided a $101,000 down payment to Blackwater for the mall purchase. The church says it also funded all costs incurred for due diligence before the closing, including surveys, appraisals, inspections, title searches and attorney’s fees.
In June 2024, Impact says it wired $18,000 to Blackwater for additional due diligence.
The church that McGee, Bakkar and Blackwater executed an agreement to buy Regency Square on their own and ceased all communication with Mustard Tree.
“We tried to negotiate. It just never happened,” Lawson said.
The complaint says McGee refused to provide Mustard Tree with a copy of the purchase and sale agreement.
In January 2025, the church says, counsel for Mustard Tree sent McGee and Blackwater Development a letter demanding they cease and desist from their improper and unauthorized conduct.
On April 10, 2025, McGee closed on Regency Square and the mall owners executed a quit claim deed and corporate special warranty deed transferring ownership interest in the Regency property to Blackwater Regency.
After the purchase was announced, McGee laid out plans to rename the property “The Nexus at Regency,” a mixed-use project.
The plaintiffs ask the court to declare that Blackwater Regency Acquisition and Blackwater Regency hold their ownership interests in the Regency property as trustees for the benefit of Mustard Tree.
“He (McGee) is a fiduciary as a member of Mustard Tree. Mustard Tree is the proper owner of the property,” Lawson said.
If a constructive trust cannot be imposed or is insufficient to compensate Mustard Tree for its loss, the church asked the court to award a money judgment to Mustard Tree and against Blackwater Regency Acquisition and Blackwater Regency for any deficiency.
Other complaints
Complaints filed by the church Dec. 30, 2025, and Jan. 21 allege that the mall owners committed breaches of covenants, an easement agreement and an operating agreement. The complaints also include an allegation of fraudulent misrepresentation, among other charges.
The lawsuits were filed by attorneys with Brennan Manna and Diamond because, Lawson said, as Impact’s corporate counsel, he was involved with discussions and negotiations related to the transaction and will no doubt be called as a witness when the trials are held.
Impact says that under its 2016 declaration agreement with Mason and Namdar, the mall owner is required to provide electricity and property services, such as trash removal, sidewalk, parking lot and common area maintenance, security and landscaping.
In exchange for those services, the church paid a $15,738 monthly fee.
Impact said that the 2016 agreement extended to any future mall buyer, who would be required to negotiate a new declaration agreement with the church within 180 days.
Impact alleges that Blackwater did not negotiate and instead put in force a new agreement, increasing the monthly common area maintenance fee to $20,588.39.
Lawson said the church began paying and continues to pay the increased fee.
Impact alleges that Blackwater breached the declaration agreement by terminating its trash service, providing diminished security services, failing to ensure paving is safe and in clean condition, failing to provide proper striping in the parking areas and failing to provide clean and well-maintained landscaping.
The church also said Blackwater is charging an additional monthly fee for electricity.
It said in September 2025, Blackwater sent the church a $47,636.01 bill for electricity used since April 2025, when the mall was sold.
In October, Impact received a demand for payment with a threat to cut off the church’s electric service.
In November, Blackwater sent another bill for $78,259.52 for electricity usage retroactive to Blackwater’s purchase.
Impact is asking the court to issue an injunction preventing Blackwater from cutting off electrical service to the church’s building and prohibit Blackwater from beginning any construction on the Regency property without the church’s approval.