"Jobs factory" pitched for Jacksonville Shipyards/Riverfront site

Innovation meets Silicon Valley, right here in Jacksonville.

It's the third concept that's come forward for the Shipyards/Riverfront property- the JaxONE Innovation District. Wess Holdings, LLC and Mission One Global Holdings, LLC have partnered with other entities like EMJ Corporation, C2C Innovation Labs, and Gallop to pitch the project, which would create a "jobs factory" in Downtown.

“We have a far larger vision, and that is to make a difference for people,” says Wess Holdings Senior Vice President John Albers.

The focus of this project isn’t about the infrastructure, but the concept. The “jobs factory” is designed as a sustainable idea, meaning it’s growing jobs instead of just moving them. The developers say building new office space for existing business to move in to means another building would lose the business- instead, they want to build business.

“If we don’t create a sustainable, underlying foundation for our country, we’re going to be in trouble in another 20 to 30 years max,” he says.

If they’re chosen, Albers says they would be able to pretty quickly start putting the factory concept in place, even as the other details like site planning are being negotiated and mapped out. They want to create a space where innovators can come to not only test out their ideas and collaborate, but get connected with resources to help that idea grow.

Mission One Global Chairman of the Board John Newman says the new business concepts would be put through the C2C- or “Concept to Completion”- software to help determine its viability.

“If this thing that this person has conceptually as a framework does have legs- and we know that  it does because we can benchmark it and test it- we then allow them not to have a concept, but we take them all the way through creation, and we also give them the financial wherewithal to do it,” Newman says.

Albers says they would work with partners to fund these innovation projects long term. He projects the development would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in investments by them over the next five to seven years. He says they would be looking for a public/private partnership with the City, declining at this point to give specifics except that the City’s contribution would be “nominal”.

Their site plan would include hotels, residential space, office space, the USS Adams, and more, largely driven by market demand. Albers says the first phase would include moving the park area to a more central spot on the property, with the second step in that phase starting on the “jobs factory” itself.

“A place where innovators will come and they’ll work, they will live there, they will cross-pollinate ideas, they will crease and invent new businesses,” Newman says.

Newman says the project is strong for more than just the economic impact. He says it allows for healing.

“Our city has been broken for a long time, because of a lot of disenfranchisement. Every community has not benefitted in terms of opportunity. This concept that we’re bringing to Jacksonville is for everyone,” he says.

Newman says nobody would be cut off from the factory, regardless of background, and that could ultimately have even further positive effects on the community, like cutting back crime. Albers says they would eventually look to bringing parts of the concept in to schools as well by finding young people with some of the core characteristics of an innovator, and making tools and resources available to them at an early age.

“The opportunity to bring something completely different and really help ignite and energize a city with a sustainable message,” Albers says.

JaxONE is competing against two other proposals for the newly redefined Riverfront property on the Northbank of Downtown Jacksonville. Jaguars Owner Shad Khan has proposed a plan that includes substantial greenspace, an elevated pedestrian park, a luxury hotel that connects to EverBank Field, and other features. A team led by Presidium Group is behind the other proposal, pitching a mixed-use plan that centers on a 1,000 foot Sea Glass Tower and other entertainment attractions that aim to generate consistent foot traffic in the area.

This is the second major push in recent years to redevelop the property. Khan's group won the prior proposal, which was just for the Shipyards, but after lengthy negotiations with the City, a deal could not be reached. The Downtown Investment Authority then redefined the proposal to also include the Met Park area, and reissued the proposal- bringing in the three plans.

While Khan's prior plan stalled, two main features- an amphitheater and practice facility for the Jaguars- were separately implemented through a partnership with the City. Those structures are currently being built next to EverBank Field, and are slated to open in the coming weeks.