JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A possible path forward for the Laura Street Trio in downtown Jacksonville as new owners could soon take over the historic cluster of buildings.
“This property is really the linchpin of the business district of downtown,” Council Vice President Kevin Carrico, the chairman of the council special committee on downtown, said.
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It’s the center of the downtown business district and also the center of development fatigue as residents have waited years for movement at the empty buildings.
“The people of Jacksonville lose when things like this happen,” Council Member Chris Miller said.
The sellers, SouthEast Group, have not come to an agreement with the city despite years of negotiations and the Mayor’s Office announced it was halting negotiations.
RELATED: Laura Street Trio developer to work with Jacksonville City Council after city re-files lawsuit
It’s why some council members were pleased to hear Live Oak Contracting is prepared to buy the property. Action News Jax first told you when Live Oak signed on as a partner with SouthEast Group a few months ago.
“It’s not the same set of developers. So, we will look at it from a different aspect,” Paul Bertozzi, Live Oak’s CEO, said.
But already there’s a bump in the road over an $800,000 lawsuit the city filed against SouthEast Group for years of fines. The sellers want the fines wiped away and the lawsuit dropped before selling.
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“There’s very little wiggle room based on the seller’s position. So, we are working within a time frame for them,” Bertozzi said. Their goal is to close by the end of December.
At Monday’s council special committee on downtown meeting, members discussed emergency legislation to be filed at Tuesday night’s council meeting that would clear the liens and help a deal go through. However, Mayor Donna Deegan is standing firm against dropping the lawsuit.
“Right now, we stand by the lawsuit. We took it away last time because we thought it would move it forward. Now we are back asking the exact same thing,” Mike Weinstein, the mayor’s chief of staff, said.
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In a statement, Deegan said:
“Our commitment to preserving and protecting the Laura Street Trio has never wavered. However, we can’t let this desire result in a deal that is fiscally irresponsible for taxpayers.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. In September, we agreed to terms with the current development team to withdraw the lawsuit. Those terms were immediately violated. The proposals that followed ballooned the city’s financial commitment and risk exposure.
“The city has suffered through nearly a decade of failed proposals. This lawsuit has been the only thing that’s moved the dial. Rushing to remove it on a 24-hour deadline would be counter-productive. We remain open to working with the City Council on viable options that will preserve these three historic buildings.”
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