JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council members voted yes Tuesday night to give developers about $9 million in incentives for a downtown grocery store project. It was a close vote, with 11 council members voting yes and 8 voting no.
Action News Jax first told you last week that the City Finance Committee was split on the decision. That split vote came after Amendment 3 passed, with concerns about future city budget cuts. It sent the vote to the full council Tuesday night.
The original bill would have given about $50 million to Gateway Jax for the Publix project, with $28.25 million coming from a completion grant from the city’s general fund. Developers told Action News Jax last week in a statement that the project could not be completed without the city. A revised ask requested that only $9 million be pulled from the general fund. The rest would come from the Downtown Investment Authority and other projects.
“Publix coming soon” has been on signs in downtown Jacksonville, with anticipation that the grocery store would offset a prominent food desert in the city. Both residents and council members were split in their support. Some were for giving those incentives.
“I urge you guys, you know, to vote pragmatically on it and not emotionally on something that we all know will be great for the city,” one speaker said.
And some were concerned about the city’s spending.
“These companies have enough resources to make their projects successful. Stop giving away our tax money for all these incidents because they’re going to be downtown anyway,” another speaker said.
Council members on both sides spoke up.
“We need to have a grocery store to help anchor this community,” said City Council member Tyrona Clark Murray, a Democrat.
“I cannot add another $9 million to this total. I think it’s wrong and we should vote this down,” said City Council member Ron Salem, a Republican.
As far as next steps, the Downtown Investment Authority wants people to know that this money would not go directly to Publix. It would go to the mixed-use development where the grocery store would go.>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
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