Jacksonville Daily Record 8/3/21

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TUESDAY August 3, 2021 jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents

Design work to resume on Concourse B at JIA PAGE 3 Public legal notices begin on page 4

Daily Record JACKSONVILLE

REDEVELOPMENT

DVI: Pop-up holiday ice rink on hold until 2022

Daily Record

DIA board OKs $625K loan for Lofts at Cathedral apartments

JACKSONVILLE

The DIA board votes to donate $10,000 to Cathedral-District Jax Inc.’s Christmas light show.

Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE

BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER

succeeds at “fairly distributing” lowincome housing incentives but the market needs more inventory. “When you can deliver a property and have it 100% preleased or near 100% … it clearly demonstrates that there is far more demand for affordable housing than there is supply,” Citrano said. “I am more than happy to support Vestcor or any other housing developer that wants to do a project like this in our (Community Redevelopment Area),” he said. The report states Vestcor would be awarded points in the scoring process if it secures a minimum $610,000 from local government. According to the DIA, Vestcor plans to ask it and the city for another $400,000

Downtown Vision Inc. will not bring a pop-up ice rink to Riverfront Plaza for this year’s holiday season. At the Downtown Investment Authority board’s July 29 meeting, DVI CEO Jake Gordon said his staff did not have enough time to plan or secure the sponsorships needed for the rink. Gordon said in June the activity would cost $750,000. He said DVI will work to bring ice skating Downtown for the 2022 holiday season. “I am devastated about the ice rink as well,” Gordon said. “We think it’s a fantastic idea for Downtown. The reality is, we’re about 14 weeks away from when it would have to be set up. I think the issue mainly was just starting a little late in terms of planning.” The nonprofit DVI is a Downtown business advocacy organization funded by taxpayers. It helps plan events on the Northbank and Southbank and operates the Downtown Ambassadors program. Gordon said DVI had sponsorship interest but the organization could not secure commitments in time. He said in June DVI needed to raise $300,000 to $400,000 to pay Ice Rink Events for its 40-by100-foot rink. Additional money would be needed to operate it. DVI planned to pay for the remaining costs with an estimated $350,000 in revenue generated by skate rentals and concessions from Nov. 27 to Jan. 8.

SEE VESTCOR, PAGE 2

SEE ICE RINK, PAGE 3

JACKSONVILLE

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The Vestcor Companies wants to transform the old Community Connections building at 325-327 E. Duval St. in the Cathedral District into apartments.

The incentive is contingent on developer Vestcor securing a $17.7 million state low-income housing tax credit. BY MIKE MENDENHALL STAFF WRITER

The Downtown Investment Authority voted 8-0 on July 29 to approve a $625,000 development loan for The Vestcor Companies’ proposed mixedincome, multifamily renovation of the former Community Connections building Downtown. It is the second time since Aug. 19 the board has advanced the incentive for Vestcor’s estimated $28.78 million Lofts at Cathedral project at 325-327 E. Duval

St. in the Cathedral District. The board first approved the loan last year contingent upon Vestcor winning a 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit award from Citrano the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority selects local projects for the tax credit but chose a competing project in the 2020 selection process, meaning Vestcor needed to start the process again. Vestcor told DIA officials it again will apply for the low-income tax credits expected to pay for $17.7 million of the housing project, according to a staff report to the DIA board. Board member Jim Citrano said Florida

Culver’s clearing site in Regency The city issued a permit July 16 for Elev8 Land Clearing & Demolition to tear down a closed restaurant and remove parking lot pavement at 101 Monument Road in Arlington for construction of a Culver’s restaurant. The city also is reviewing a permit application for Campbell Construction to build the 5,169-square-foot, 126-seat restaurant and drive-thru on 1.19 acres at a project cost of $2.13 million. The Barolo Group LLC of Jacksonville is the developer and franchisee.

VOLUME 108, NO. 182 • ONE SECTION


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