Jaguars owner wants to build a Four Seasons hotel Downtown

Jacksonville Jaguars President Mark Lamping told the Downtown Investment Authority Strategic Implementation Committee on Nov. 12 that Jaguars owner Shad Khan plans to build and own a Four Seasons hotel at what is now Metropolitan Park in Downtown Jacksonville.

Lamping made the proposal as the DIA considers a $12.5 million, 20-year Recapture Enhanced Value Grant and development rights for the $450 Lot J mixed-use project west of TIAA Bank Field. 

Lot J is planned by Khan development company Gecko Investments LLC and Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies. That project is seeking $233 million in public investment.

A project map in Lamping’s presentation shows the Four Seasons south of Lot J on what is now Metropolitan Park. 

Also shown in the park space is a riverfront office complex with a parking garage and a 200,000- to 250,000-square-foot office building.

Lamping said Nov. 12 the parking structure would be “low profile” and have a rooftop public green space. 

The Four Seasons site also shows a parking garage and a 52,000-square-foot medical center building.

Adjacent to the west of the Four Seasons is Parkside Residences, which shows two parcels with 200 units each. That site is south of what is now a retention pond at Bay Street and North George Street.

The plan also would extend the Downtown Northbank Riverwalk into the Shipyards development. 

For Khan to use the Metropolitan Park property for development, the city must first get permission.

The DIA is waiting for the National Park Service to decide if the city can swap Metropolitan Park for Shipyards property to satisfy the requirements of a 1981 grant agreement that prohibits selling the 24.7-acre park without a comparable replacement.

To the west of the Parkside Residences, the map shows three parcels, Hogans East, West and Maxwell House with no development. The Museum of Science & History has said it plans to move to that area.

According to a chart in Lamping’s proposal, the Shipyards and Lot J would comprise the following:

■ Residential: A total of 830 units. The Lot J plans called for 400 apartment units, so the Shipyards would bring an additional 420 units.

■ Hotel: A total of 371 rooms. A hotel at Lot J was proposed for 150-250 rooms.

■ Office space: 430,000 square feet.

■ Parking: 4,542 spaces.

■ Retail, commercial and restaurant space: 356,000 square feet.

■ Marina: 78 boat slips.

If built, it would be the second Four Seasons ownership for Khan. He purchased the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto in 2016 for $225 million Canadian dollars.

The Four Seasons operates more than 100 hotels worldwide. The closest location to Jacksonville is the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. Rates there start at more than $600 a night.

Staff Writer Mike Mendenhall contributed to this report.