JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has obtained the ten initial bids submitted to purchase DCPS’ Southbank headquarters and found the top-dollar offer was never presented to the board.
Action News Jax requested copies of the initial bids more than a month ago, but didn’t receive them until this week - the same week the school board unanimously rejected the only offer presented to it.
But we weren’t the only ones who never got to see the initial offers until after the last standing deal was shot down.
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“I think it put us at a disadvantage to make a decision,” said Board Member April Carney (District 2) during Tuesday night’s meeting.
While debating the sale offer, Carney expressed concerns about the fact that board members didn’t get to view all the options that could have been on the table.
“Just the unknown of what could have been, besides what was presented to us,” said Carney.
A review of the documents showed all but one of the bids had purchase prices lower than the final deal that was considered.
That deal would have paid the district $12.5 million at closing and an additional $7.5 million over three years.
But one offer, submitted by Stash Self Storage LLC, proposed paying the district $30 million at closing.
A DCPS spokesperson explained that the offer wasn’t as appealing as its sticker price, as it also proposed the company building a new district headquarters, which would be leased back to the district over a 30-year period.
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“In line with the Board’s guidelines to avoid lease arrangements and ensure a clear net benefit to the district, this proposal was not presented for Board consideration,” said a district spokesperson in an emailed statement.
In terms of next steps, Duval Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier told Action News Jax to stay tuned.
“Our real estate agent, TCG, will work with both the buyers and the person who was selling, kind of find based upon the board’s vote where we are, and then we’ll be making some recommendations next week to the board,” said Bernier.
This week’s vote wasn’t the only rejection of a sale offer made by the board in recent years.
Another potential deal was shot down in March of 2024.
The deal would have also included a lease agreement.
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