JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville is offering to erase hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to encourage a sale of the Regency Square Mall.
The dying mall has racked up fines of up to $1.8 million for code violations. The city sent a settlement agreement to the prospective buyer for the property – giving them the option to reduce the fine based on completing all the repairs back into compliance.
We’ve been telling you about the deteriorating conditions at the mall for years. It went from thriving to dying – now sitting empty with only two vendors left standing - a Japanese restaurant and a jewelry store.
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“Grateful that we’re still here, but it’s hard,” Roger’s Jewelers Lewis Hyderali said. “It’s not the Regency it used to be.”
Roger’s Jewelers has been housed inside the Regency Square Mall for over two decades. Back then, people would come to shop, eat, and hangout.
“I grew up in this mall – it was packed,” Hyderali said.
But after some changes in developers, the mall went from packed to….
“It is like a wasteland,” Jacksonville resident Michael Lampley said.
The reason – holes in the ceiling, leaking roofs, and no air conditioning.
“It was an outlet for kids, and for people to come shopping with their family during the holidays, your Best Buy, your Bath and Body Works and this city let the mall go to the wase,” Lampley said.
Two years ago, we told you when the mall owners – Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group LLC -- were slapped with $726,000 dollars in fines. Those fines never stopped racking up.
Read: Regency Square Mall owners slapped with $726,000 in new fines for repeated code violations
The city cites five cases for the code violations - unsanitary conditions of the ceiling, holes and cracks in the ceiling, leaks coming from ceiling damage, a leaking roof, and damaged floors. The daily fines ranged $250 to $500 over a period of 100 to 1,000 days.
All the vendors dropped out except two - Tokyo Sakura and Roger’s Jewelers.
“A lot of people don’t even know we’re here,” Hyderali said.
So, the vendors now have to rely on local customers.
“That is the sad part of Jacksonville, it is this mall,” Lampley said. “But I’m still going to be loyal to because the fried rice, and chicken is real good.”
“Honestly, we’re just here on prayers and hope,” Hyderali said. “We’ve been here just waiting for a miracle and someone to come and flip this place upside down and bring it back to what it used to be.”
Read: ‘Wasteful use of space:’ Community voices concerns over redevelopment plans for Regency Square Mall
But new people still try to come and enjoy a mall atmosphere.
“They kind of lied to me on Google Maps you know,” UNF student Mason Pini said.
“I understand places close down but it should be updated, it should be like – people should know about that ,” Lilu Pini added on.
The city tells us they have not heard back from the current owners nor the potential buyer. They also said it’s up to the two parties to determine how the fines will be settled. But, the fines will continue to grow until they are paid, or a settlement agreement is signed.
Action News Jax has reached out to both parties and have not heard back.
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