The city of Jacksonville could be asked for a total of nearly $225 million in completion grants for Downtown redevelopment projects over the next three to five years, the head of the Downtown Investment Authority said Feb. 9.
In a presentation to the City Council Special Committee on the Future of Downtown, DIA CEO Colin Tarbert listed four projects that had yielded requests for completion grants, plus six more that could come forward.
Committee Chair Joe Carlucci requested the list after he and other Council members said it would help them prioritize projects and time payoffs for the grants to ease their financial impact on the city budget.
None of the 10 projects Tarbert presented have been approved for grants.
Tarbert said the six for which no grants had been formally sought could come forth in the next five years.
“These are the projects that we know about,” Tarbert said of the full list. “Some are very much along the path to beginning, others are out there that could happen but we don’t have as much detail on.”
Tarbert said he didn’t anticipate all 10 receiving completion grants.
“Our goal is to eliminate the completion grant program as soon as we can. But we also recognize there’s still a financial gap. As more projects come online and the market builds, the need for completion grants, the goal is to eliminate that.”
The pipeline projects include:
• Gateway Jax’s Publix-anchored Block N7 mixed-use development in the former First Baptist Church main auditorium at 119 W. Beaver St. The DIA board approved a $49.66 million incentives package for the project in December 2025, including a $28.25 million completion grant. The DIA’s approval sent the package to Council for final consideration.
• A Marriott hotel on Baptist Health’s Southbank campus, for which Baptist is seeking a $20.9 million package that includes an $8 million completion grant. The DIA also approved that incentives deal, sending it to Council.
• Project Revival, a possible Hard Rock Hotel at 500 E. Bay St., the site of the demolished Berkman II condominium along the St. Johns River. Tarbert’s presentation listed completion grants for the project at a low estimate of $37.5 million and a high estimate of $75 million, based on two models submitted by the developer. A formal redevelopment agreement has yet to be filed on the project.
• The Laura Street Trio of historic buildings at Laura and Forsyth streets, with an estimated completion grant of up to $15 million.
• The former JEA headquarters campus at 21 W. Church St., 421 Laura St. and 21 E. Church St. In September 2021, JEA selected Jacksonville-based Live Oak Contracting in a ranked process to purchase the 19-story office tower along with adjacent properties for $1 million. Live Oak plans an office-to-residential conversion. The DIA estimates that a completion grant of up to $19 million would be needed for the project, which has not generated a redevelopment agreement.
• The Independent Life Building at 233 W. Duval St., for which Augustine Development Group requested a $20.27 million completion grant. Tarbert said the DIA has not performed underwriting on that request, a necessary step before submitting it to the DIA board. Augustine Development Group, which bought the building in 2019, is now facing foreclosure on the property.
• The Ambassador Hotel, 420 N. Julia St., for which Gateway Jax has requested a $10 million completion grant. Tarbert said that request also had yet to be submitted to the DIA board.
The DIA estimated completion grants for the 10 projects at $145.62 million on the low end and $224.72 million on the high end. Total development costs of the 10 projects would be $1.14 billion.
The presentation came as Council members initiated debate about whether the city should reduce or eliminate incentives, particularly completion grants, for Downtown projects.
Completion grants are paid through drawdowns of the city’s general fund, which provides for such citywide services as police and fire protection, public works, parks and recreation, and libraries.
They differ from other incentives, such as Recapture Enhanced Value Grants, which are rebates on increased taxes generated by development. For those grants, the city gives up a portion of tax revenue for a property but does not have to take money from the general fund to pay them.
Council member Chris Miller said the city Office of Economic Development, which administers incentives for projects outside of Downtown, had tailored its requests to adjust for Council concerns on the issue.
“In the last two years, I don’t think they’ve used any completion grants, and those projects have still happened,” he said.
Council member Ron Salem called the DIA report “a bit overwhelming” and urged Tarbert to explore replacing completion grants with no- or low-interest loans.
“We’ve got to get developers out of this idea of completion grants,” he said. “If they’re expecting completion grants and we’re putting them on a list for completion grants, it’s sending the wrong message in my mind.
“We just can’t afford this in our budgets. To think we’re going to have these kind of numbers over the next few years, it scares me for the City Council to have to deal with that.”
Other committee members said the list of projects showed that investors were interested in Downtown.
Jimmy Peluso, whose District 7 includes the Downtown Northbank, said this was not the time to “take our foot off the gas” by dialing down incentives.
“You’ve got to invest so that the private sector wants to invest,” he said.
Member Matt Carlucci said he believed the city should ease off of completion grants but should strive to support the remaining projects.
“I’ve worked with a lot of mayors and I’ve worked with a lot of councils that have been dreaming for what we see right here in front of us,” he said, referring to the project list.
“Never have I seen such a scope of Downtown development in front of the city and the city moving in such a great direction Downtown.
“I have to tell you, I can’t think of any mayor I‘ve worked with before, or Council, who wouldn’t have said I’d give my right arm, so to speak, to have such wonderful developments in front of us. The opportunity is great.”