JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tens of millions of dollars could soon be on the table to incentivize development on two empty lots along Bay Street.
Since the City Hall Annex buildings and the old courthouse came down in 2019, grass has occupied the lots.
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Development deals have been pitched, such as the proposed “The Hardwick at The Ford” apartment project, but none have come to fruition.
“These lots have been totally stale for a long, long time,” Councilmember Joe Carlucci (R-District 4) said.
Now, Carlucci believes he’s found a way to turn the tides.
Through his work on the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown and with the help of city auditors, he identified surplus funds totaling $45 million in the city’s self insurance fund.
He’s sponsoring new legislation that would transfer those dollars into a residential incentives account which could be used for incentives to spur development projects on the empty lots.
“Basically, we scraped a surplus off of a surplus and it has no impact on our general fund. It has no on the fund that this was sitting in,” Carlucci said.
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Carlucci wants residential units to be constructed on the lots, with opportunities for mixed use space as well.
He said he believes East Bay Street will take center stage as Jacksonville’s downtown develops.
“When you go to any city, there’s always like a main street that you can just show up and go the whole day, park and walk around it, you know, food and drink and a show or whatever and that’s gonna be Bay Street. One street off the river and that’s where we need to start getting moving on,” Carlucci said.
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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s office told Action News Jax it was not consulted on the proposal and is currently reviewing the legislation.
“Mayor Deegan will continue to be focused on ensuring the city is in a strong financial position,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Action News Jax in a statement.
Carlucci is unsure on a timeline for his bill, as it may be deferred and taken up after the new council leadership begins in July.
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