THURSDAY July 16, 2020
Mathis Report: 1.1M square feet of industrial projects in works PAGE 3
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
MAYOR’S 2020-21 CITY BUDGET PROPOSAL JACKSONVILLE
Hakimian to upgrade Southside retail plaza
Budget ‘a different Daily Record set of challenges’
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Mayor Curry’s $1.34 billion spending proposal includes $239 million in capital improvements with a focus on Northwest Jacksonville and resiliency.
BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
JACKSONVILLE
BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER
The Jacksonville-based developer will renovate the Promenade Shopping Center and sell some acreage for apartments.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry proposes a $1.34 billion fiscal year 2020-21 general fund budget with no tax increases and an emphasis on infrastructure projects for Northwest Jacksonville and sea level rise resiliency. Curry offered a plan with a 5.6% increase in spending over the $1.267 billion budget approved in 2019, despite tax impacts by COVID-19. The mayor told members of City Council during his annual budget address July 15 that spending and projects in a proposed $239 million capital improvement program were drafted through the lens of the global pandemic’s impact. “We need to recognize what a difference a year can make,” Curry said. “When I presented a budget to you last year, every projection indicated we would continue to have record levels of economic growth ahead of us. Now, with the impact of COVID-19, we face a different set of challenges and opportunities.” Curry administration officials offset a $14.408 million, or 7.9%,
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
$1.34 billion budget a 5.6% increase Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s proposed $1.34 billion fiscal year 2020-21 budget is a 5.6% increase in spending over the $1.267 billion budget approved in 2019. The city expects a $14.408 million, or 7.9%, drop in shared state sales tax from 2019, largely due to the impact of COVID-19. After the mayor’s budget address, City Council member Aaron Bowman said “ad valorem (tax revenue) is what saved us this
year,” after the budget documents indicate a $50.66 million increase in ad valorem property tax revenue for 2020-21. Curry’s budget asks the Council to authorize $176 million in debt to pay for the proposed $239 million capital improvement program. The budget states $29.7 million will be funded by “pay-go,” or cash on hand, and the remaining $33.3 million would come from city funds and sources.
$100 million Northwest Jacksonville projects The budget calls for $100 million in proposed multiyear infrastructure projects targeting Council districts 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Northwest Jacksonville. Curry called the infrastructure investment during his July
15 speech an effort to close historical racial inequities demanded during recent protests and work toward the “unfulfilled promises” of consolidation in Duval County.
$47 million for hydrology and resiliency Curry’s budget offers $47 million in hydrology and resiliency projects, as the Council Special Committee on Resiliency works toward establishing policies to
mitigate the impacts of sea level rise on city infrastructure, private development and the St. Johns River and its tributaries.
TOP CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, PAGE 10
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 10
Hakimian Holdings Inc. intends to start upgrading the Promenade Shopping Center in the fourth quarter for full conversion into the Gates of the Promenade, add more retail space and sell some of the property for apartments. Jacksonville-based Hakimian Holdings estimates those projects represent a $36 million investment at the almost 3 0 - ye a r - o l d property at 8595 Beach Blvd., west of Southside Hakimian Boulevard. Hakimian Holdings intends to invest $2 million to upgrade the 115,835-square-foot center and $3 million to build about 20,000 square feet of additional speculative retail space, according to Blake Hakimian, Hakimian senior vice president of leasing. Hakimian Holdings intends to sell 11 acres to a developer for an estimated $31 million project of 240 high-end apartments. Hakimian said the apartment site will become the residential component of the mixed-use development. “We intend to transform the Southside – Beach Blvd. corridor into a beautiful and convenient place for families to live, play, and shop,” Hakimian said by email. SEE HAKIMIAN, PAGE 7
THE BASCH REPORT
Economist says pandemic turns metrics ‘upside down’ Earnings will be difficult to decipher. PAGE 4 VOLUME 107, NO. 170 TWO SECTIONS