JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After a long battle to block a liquor store from opening in the Brentwood community, across the street from a school, and in a predominantly black community, Jacksonville City Council members voted 16-1 Tuesday night to acquire the property from its current owner for $1.8 million.
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Jacksonville City Councilmember Tyrone Clark-Murray was the only council member to vote against the purchase, and she had her reasons why.
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“I felt that we were just enriching this owner for something that should’ve not been approved from the beginning,” Clark-Murray said.
Clark-Murray said in 2019 when the property was initially purchased by the owner planning to build the liquor store, she wasn’t a city council member but was a part of the city planning and advisory committee.
She explained that there were a lot of red flags surrounding the property then, but the store plan was still approved by the planning commission, despite opposition from the planning department.
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“The planning department also did a report and study to ascertain whether or not the application should be approved or denied. Well, their recommendation was it should be denied,” Clarke-Murray said.
The Duval County Property Appraiser website shows the owner purchased this property for $150,000 in 2019, which means the city is paying more than $1.6 million dollars over that sale price just four years later.
Action News Jax reached out to Jacksonville City Council member Matt Carlucci, who was on the council at the time, to ask why the owner is receiving so much money.
Related Story: Brentwood residents say no to liquor store
“The building got built, that cost a lot of money,” Carlucci said. “Then they got the zoning and the liquor permit. Those three things enhance the value of a piece of property that you buy.”
Lydia Bell, President of the Metro Gardens Neighbor Association, has been fighting this battle with the city for months now.
She said she is finally satisfied that this liquor store will not be in business.
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“We waited to see how they were going to vote, and I’m so glad they voted to purchase it,” Bell said.
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