JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lot J was the main topic of discussion at City Hall throughout Tuesday with two council public meetings and the main general city council meeting.

The proposed development agreement is a $450 million project. The taxpayers would put forward $233 million in investments and incentives. The project includes space for two residential buildings with 400 units, a 150-200 room hotel, two 350-space parking garages, 7,500 square feet of street level retail, a 750-space parking lot, 40,000 square feet of Class A office space, and an entertainment venue.

HOW MUCH SHOULD THE DIA BE INVOLVED?

The debate in City Council last night wasn’t if the Downtown Investment Authority should be involved, but to what extent.

Council member LeAnna Cumber proposed that the DIA review the deal between the city and the Jaguars. The resolution also recommended that the DIA come to a conclusion on whether they approved, denied, or wanted to make changes on the deal.

Council member Matt Carlucci however wanted to go further than that. He recommended that the DIA not only do a market analysis and study on the impacts this project would have on Downtown Jacksonville, but to also become the negotiating team of the city and take over the current administration’s negotiating team.

This review and the change of the negotiating team will reestablish the trust that Carlucci says the city has lost.

However, the argument against Carlucci’s proposal is that it would push negotiations back to the beginning, something that Jacksonville Jaguars President Mark Lamping said he would not want.

The study and analysis that Carlucci would want the DIA to do would take approximately two-and-a-half months, according to DIA CEO Lori Boyer. This would push the Council voting date to February - a major difference between the prompted first vote which is planned to take place on December 8. There is a market feasibility analysis being done right now by the DIA, outside of the Lot J project, but that report won’t be published for another four months.

The Council voted in favor of Cumber’s resolution, passing it 15 to 4. The 4 council members opposed to Cumber’s resolution included Carlucci, Garrett Dennis, Brenda Priestly Jackson, and Joyce Morgan,.

In one of the public meetings, Lori Boyer, the CEO of DIA, said that they have already started to review the documents.

The DIA board already approved of a $12.5 million REV grant earlier this month for the apartment buildings.

TIMELINE AND CHANGES TO THE PROJECT

In a separate meeting on Tuesday, the Jaguars President Mark Lamping detailed changes made to the term sheet after meeting with council members. There were 10 revisions total. Some of the biggest changes include:

• The city will now have input on Breadbox trustee and negotiation of the management fees
• The hotel and/or the mixed-use business building won’t be sold to unaffiliated party within 5 years
• The operating costs for the residential garage will be split 50/50 between the developer and the city
• The city will participate in fifty percent of net proceeds from any Florida/Georgia ticketed events two days before the actual game.

LEASE EXTENSION STILL UNKNOWN

Some of the concerns from councilmembers about the project have to do with the Jaguars themselves. The concern lies on if the Jaguars will extend their contract. Right now that contract expires in 10 years.

Lamping says that in order to get an approval from NFL owners to extend the lease, they must make major renovations at TIAA Bank Field.

“We have to have a stadium solution,” Lamping said at the earlier public meeting Tuesday. “Asking for a lease extension now, we would get the answer none of us want.”

Lamping said that they have been working on “Project Lifetime”, a five-phase plan that will help keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville for essentially a lifetime. According to Lamping, the first phase has already been completed.

That phase was allegedly a look at the structure of the stadium. The results of the phase was that while there were no major issues, the Air Conditioning and Heating units/systems will have to be replaced.

The costs of “Project Lifetime” are being split with the City, according to Lamping. However the cost of any renovation won’t be calculated for another 2.5 years.

THE NEXT STEPS

The Council of the Whole will meet again on Dec. 3 to discuss the Project and councilmembers would possibly even motion to move the bill forward - a proposition that Mayor Lenny Curry was in support of on Twitter.

“Council should go on the record this year. The people of Jacksonville and the @Jaguars need to know where this body stands.  If this gets pushed to next year the message will be loud and clear,” Curry tweeted during the City Council meeting Tuesday night.

If the council decides to push the bill forward, the final vote could come as early as Dec. 8.

Cox Media Group